Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter

Monday, March 10, 2008

Empathy Overload

It's been over a week now since I saw that video of the U.S. marine taking a puppy and throwing it over a cliff. Thinking that time would lessen the anger a bit and even out my outrage at the whole stinkin mess. I was wrong.
If anything I'm even more pissed off. Those images hit me hard. Damn hard, and not only do I want payback, I want immediate payback. I'm not so naive as to believe that's gonna happen because I know the wheels of justice turn painfully slow.

It still doesn't stop me from the following absolute rant.

I still have trouble with the fact that anyone could do something that callous and heartless. It's not that Mortari was "mean," it's that he's a monster who shrugs off an unneccesary murder like it was nothing... as if to say "Oh, well."
The fact that his friends share in the same sarcastic attitude (and don't tell me they didn't - it's all there in the video) makes them accessories.

I hear his family in Monroe received so many threatening phone calls they've had to change their number. While I don't condone such threats, I completely understand this incident sparked an extreme level of outrage from anyone with even an ounce of compassion for animals. Just the same, its never ok to target those who aren't directly involved. So if you've done that, or are still doing that please stop. This won't help the cause for animals and you certainly won't be taken seriously.

Mortari's sister recently voiced her opinion on a local call-in radio show, basically condoning her brother's behavior. My message to her is: If you're gonna be an asshole, then I'll be more than happy to treat you like one. There is no such thing as a defenseless pup being "just a dog." Your brother murders puppies for kicks; so I would treat him no better than the killer he is.

Interesting how many of you who saw the video and even some of those who didn't see it are still convinced it's been altered. It sure didn't look fake to me, considering how a puppy reacts to being held like that. But if the video is such a fake, then where the hell is this guy claiming his innocence? If he has nothing to hide, he should have been all over the place trying to clear it up if this was such a misunderstanding. The reason for that is probably because he's been caught on tape, he's in deep shit right now and he knows it.

To those of the opinion that his being over in Iraq in a combat situation somehow drove him to a mental state separate from reality. That's a load of crap as well. This guy didn't look all that shell-shocked to me. I'm sure he was messed up in the head to begin with. The lure of having a gun and getting to use it was probably why he signed on in the first place. Maybe when he didn't find the action he was looking for, that trigger finger was just itching for a gun. Maybe for whatever reason, he chose not to shoot anything. For him the "next best thing" was exactly what he did to that puppy, sick bastard he must have always been.

I'm calling for the U.S. Marines to impose a dishonorable discharge, revocation of any and all military benefits, criminal charges, court-martial and any other discipline that would apply in this case, to David Mortari.

No comments: