Featured | Jan 03,2021
Apr 2 , 2022
By Carolyn Kissane
A fellow human being can make us angry or trigger us to start a fight from time to time. Differences in ideas and arguments are a given. That is why we often see people fighting, even though that is not always the solution. I cannot remember the last time I was in a physical fight with anyone. There is no point in throwing a punch unless in self-defence and even then, it is not a sure bet.
The idea of fighting is fascinating. As an overprotective, anxious control freak who often assumes the worst of scenarios, I find every punch lethal but that is not always the case. I know some fights are necessary to make us strong both mentally and physically. Instead of countries going to war, if leaders could have sorted out their differences in a fist fight without dragging the population into it, then the world would have been a better place.
In some circles, it is sometimes argued that adults should not meddle when children fight. Let them sort it out on their own as that will prepare them for the real world, they claim. There could be some truth to it, but it is never okay when there is a power differential.
But it could be even worse other times. Some boys, especially those between the ages of six and twelve, take fancy hitting stray cats or dogs. They are walking on the road and they see a cat, sitting on the side of the road harmlessly, neither approaching nor attacking them; simply minding its own business. Out of the blue, it is hit by a stone by some boy. And they do not even show remorse; they keep hitting it.
Why and for what?
I understand the logic behind hitting a dog that was aggressive towards one but wanting to hurt a harmless creature only because we can show that we are indeed capable of inflicting pain is absurd.
It is not like these children were having an emotional fit or needed to displace their anger, it happens out of nowhere. We see them talking and laughing and all of a sudden, they see a cat and get the urge to either throw stones at it or hit it. The poor and helpless cats do not even know what they did wrong.
It might be the way we are raised. From a young age, we are told to chase away pets when we see them, especially if they are not owned by us. We encourage our kids to tell pets to go away and even to apply physical force to chase them away every now and then. By the time we are adults, we have told our brains that it is okay to do that to pets or other animals. There are parents who teach their children to take care of pets and treat them with kindness. But this is not as common as it should be considering the abuse perpetrated against cats and dogs.
Whenever I see children hitting pets, I tell them to stop but the older children have an attitude and look at me as if to say, “nobody asked you.” They even scare me at times. Understandably, we do not have the privilege to talk about animals’ rights yet, considering what happens to human beings to the present day. But we cannot witness it happen so many times and fail to speak out either.
The same analogy applies to humans too. Sometimes we hurt others because we can and because we simply do not like them, which makes them prey to abuse. This is especially the case if the power differential is tilted in our favour. Sometimes, if the act is being perpetrated against those considered weak and powerless, we do not even notice – much the same way few notice the abuse towards animals.
PUBLISHED ON
Apr 02,2022 [ VOL
23 , NO
1144]
Featured | Jan 03,2021
View From Arada | Oct 19,2019
Radar | Mar 30,2019
Sunday with Eden | Mar 25,2023
Radar | Nov 30,2019
Radar | Sep 28,2019
Viewpoints | Oct 24,2020
Agenda | Jun 08,2019
Life Matters | Dec 17,2022
Fortune News | Sep 21,2019
Photo Gallery | 186394 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 176444 Views | Apr 26,2019
Photo Gallery | 172262 Views | Oct 06,2021
My Opinion | 139710 Views | Aug 14,2021
Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...
May 9 , 2026
The Ethiopian state appears to have discovered a fiscal instrument that is politicall...
May 2 , 2026
By the time Ethiopia's National Dialogue Commission (ENDC) reached the end of its fir...
Apr 25 , 2026
In a political community, official speeches show what governments want their citizens...
For much of the past three decades, Ethiopia occupied a familiar place in the Western...
May 9 , 2026 . By NAHOM AYELE
Finance Minister Ahmed Shide entered the last quarter of the fiscal year with a budge...
May 9 , 2026 . By NAHOM AYELE
At the Federal High Court's Lideta Division, on Dejazmach Bekele Weya Street, one of...
May 13 , 2026
Mayor Adanech Abiebie's cabinet has approved an additional 9.9 billion Br budget, a m...
May 9 , 2026 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER
The fight over Cosmo Trading Plc has outgrown the courtroom where it began. What star...
Loading your updates...