Cute Kitten or Victim?
Darwinian principles suggest that we human beings evolved from lower forms of animal life. This is now soundly accepted by all except science-denying creationists who continue to mislabel Darwin’s contribution as a “theory.” But what does this have to do with behavior and criminal justice?
Plenty, as it turns out.
Last month, an article appeared the Las Cruces, New Mexico Sun-News by Dr. Wayne Barber, a local psychiatrist. It came to our attention because it quoted John Douglas on the subject of childhood cruelty to animals. Based on three recent and shocking elements in the community, Dr. Barber affirmed John’s declaration that, “serial offenders’ earliest acts of violence are often the torture and/or killing of pets or wildlife.”
Dr. Barber went on to very responsibly cite a parade of statistics as well as violent offenders who had demonstrated early cruelty to animals, including Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, California “Coed Killer” Ed Kemper and Columbine High School shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, among others.
The connection between childhood violence toward small animals and adult violence toward other human beings is well established and the evidence is sound. It is the strongest and most prevalently seen leg of the so-called “homicidal triad” that also includes fire-starting and age inappropriate bed-wetting.
Yet while fire-starting and bed-wetting can often have other benign etiologies, animal cruelty is always significant in and of itself. We continue to be amazed how often the torture of a cat or drowning of a puppy is chalked up by parents as a “phase” or childhood “experiment.”
Right. And a pressing pain in the center of your chest might be nothing but a muscle spasm, but do you want to take the chance and not have it checked out immediately?
Cruelty to animals may signify a lot of emotional problems, but two that should come immediately to mind are sadistic tendencies – emotional and/or sexual pleasure from seeing another being suffer at your hands – and lack of empathy – the inability to understand and appreciate the suffering of others. This should be obvious, but too often, it doesn’t seem to be.
And when it is not, the long-term consequences can be severe. Because in the study of criminal behavior, just as in the study of nature, Charles Darwin was right: Just as lower animals evolved into humans, cruelty toward one naturally evolves into cruelty toward the other.
It is hard to know what is worse. Children doing it or parents allowing it. Some may disagree with me,but there really isn’t any excuse for a parent to allow this behavior.
The Mcdonald Triad is valid I think and has shown time and again to be true. Most of the parents with children who display Triadic traits seem to be in denial and think if they ignore the problem it will go away. I’m curious however (this is directed at Mr. Douglas) if there has ever been a case in your experience involving a Mission Motivated type who targets various criminal elements, and did not display any of the features associated with Psychopathy? A person who has simply lost faith in the efficacy of law enforcement and the Legal system in general, and decided to ignore due process, taking matters into his own hands? exercising Organized Vigilantism and acting as a type of social landscaper who “plucks the tares so that flowers may bloom.” Or would such a stance simply be a cleverly veiled way a psychopath justifies his blood lust and need to kill? (i.e. by targeting types who most in society despise so that they would be more apt to sympathize with his murderous impulses.)…just curious.
I would say that if you repeatedly kill people, whether it is because you have lost faith in justice, or just because your initial motive was just the love of killing, you MUST have a lack of empathy compatible with psychopathy… I mean, even with all the heinous killers out there, would YOU be the one killing them one after the other after the other? COULD you do that? I believe most people cannot, because killing other humans (even heinous other humans) is not really part of “normal” human nature (outside of extreme duress and suffering).
@I_the_Stranger.. you would not be alone in your thinking, and it’s an understandable view. Though I find Normal in most instances (aside from the acknowledgement of various moral axioms) to be a matter of cultural relativism, and consensus reality. There really is no Sanity so much as varying degrees of Psychosis and/or Neurosis, and the least affected of the extremes are considered Mentally Sound Individuals. One of the greater problems with Vigilantism is that it is incapable of being moderated..and the roles between justice and revenge would be confused or intermingled by others within society. It would also create social chaos, and it’s likely in the process many innocent, or wrongly accused would be victimized.
I agree that child cruelty towards animals is a dangerous signal of missing empathy that needs to be addressed.
I also agree that bed-wetting can often have other benign etiologies. I think there are a lot of bed-wetting kids out there who suffer enough stigma already without them worrying about their parents concern that they may grow up to be violent criminals.
I’d like to learn more about what is considered “age inappropriate bed-wetting”.
Thanks.
As you note, Tom, most of the time bed-wetting is a benign psychological symptom and I agree completely about not stigmatizing children. From the perspective of aberrant behavior, we only begin to take it seriously when it is combined with fire-starting and/or cruelty to animals. Combined with these other two behaviors, it can be a significant indicator.
Thanks for the comment.
There are probably many reasons for animal cruelty but I wouldn’t say that animal cruelty = human cruelty because we did not evolve from animals, we were created by God, who an itelligent being. I don’t understand why that is so hard to except. If a person can believe they are capable of creating or inventing, then it would seem logical that we could be created. Darwin’s theory is exactly that: A theory because there is no scientific or historical evidence to back it up. Everything that was once thought to be a fact has been disproven. There is both science and history to back up creation by intelligent design. If you’re interested you can check out “Bibical Creations” for more information. The need for control usually because these persons are bullied or live in abusive enviroments are most likely the # 1 cause for animal cruelty in my opinion, followed closely by religious torment or affliction, either from a religious fanatic or because of the persons own mis-preception of truth and/or delusions. Just because you don’t always see abuse doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, but when abuse is not the factor. then it is more than likely caused by a personal desire to be evil or from delusions imo.
I dont believe any concerned or caring parent could consider torture of an animal as being normal Behavior or experimentation. I would believe either they’re in denial or didn’t know what their child was doing. If they had ever witnessed such behavior I would think they would made an effort to correct the child. If so, the child who continued with this behavior would have taken extra steps to make sure they didn’t get caught again. And yes I believe some children can be smart enough to do this.
I appreciate what you say, Sherry. I respect your position and have no reason to ever debate or challenge faith, and I agree completely with your analysis of the progression of cruelty. Thanks for weighing in.
Thank you both for your sensitive and insightful comments.
Animal cruelty and human cruelty and the connections. Where parents see this as Experimenting, or a Phase….My hair stands up on that…would’nt you rather be seeking help than seeing it as experiment or phase..let alone wonder if those elements could carry over onto a human ?
With cruelty signifying “emotional problems”; perhaps the parents that have called torture/drowning – a phase/experiment…could be the connection. Treat a human with cruelty/torture..whether verbal/physical/emotional…then the return of the same vented out-cruelty/torture..would come to cruelty toward one-evolves cruelty to another.
Thank God for the Professionals..Mark Olshaker, John Douglas and Professional Psychiatric…for the knowns Fire-starting/Bed Wetting/Animal Cruelty…. it has to begin somewhere…and its not acceptable. Yet Parents see this as Experiment/Phase…hhmmmm that’s creepy to me.
I have always thought recognizing this link between animal cruelty and human violence was one of Mr. Douglas’s greatest contributions.
As a child, animal cruelty was the focus of my deepest concern and would gnaw at me, even as it still does as an adult. Yes, it truly is amazing how many parents totally overlook this as a phase and don’t teach their children not to do it, much less get them therapy for it. I’ve observed that rescuing animals quickly turns normal loving people into human-hating machines. Participating in the rescue/adoption process shows you how low the bar is for humane treatment even among people with reasonably good intentions (chaining a dog, crating them for 10 hours while at work). People let their toddlers poke and grapple helpless pets. These are everyday occurrences by people who consider themselves normal, and that is where the default bar is set, which is pathetic. I overheard my cubicle neighbor at the office talking about buying her toddler a baby duck and say “It will either live through it or it won’t.”
As a child, my bully neighbor was allowed to go out and shoot things with a bb gun (not to mention sit on his sister’s head and fart). His dad was an animal loving person, so I don’t know why he thought this was okay. He would torture frogs and anything else he could catch. An odd thing he did is he would stalk his sister and I to see where we were hanging out in the woods (horseback) and then destroy that natural habitat. (I did check in with his sister some decades later, and she says he at least didn’t turn into a serial killer, but I’d rather ask his wife what she knows. He once strung a wire across the road and tried to decapitate me on my dirt bike — I saw it and ran over his foot instead.)
Entitled apathetic people treat animals as toys to be put back in the box. Cowardly psychopaths torture and mutilate helpless animals because they just want to see what it’s like and feel that power over them. If it were up to me, it would be life sentences for animal mutilation and killing just as it is for human killers. If we locked them up as teens when they began and left them there, there would no doubt be far fewer serial offenders and far less violence.
It is hard for me to grasp why the laws have not been changed to reflect this knowledge we now have about the link between animal cruelty and human cruelty.