Did You Know
Children Abusing Animals
[A correlation between cruelty toward animals early in life and becoming a serial killer]
Violent acts toward animals have long been recognized as indicators of a dangerous psychopathy that does not confine itself to animals. "Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of worthless human lives," wrote humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer. "Murderers ... very often start out by killing and torturing animals as kids," according to Robert K. Ressler, who developed profiles of serial killers for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Studies have now convinced sociologists, lawmakers, and the courts that acts of cruelty toward animals deserve our attention. They can be the first sign of a violent pathology that includes human victims.
Animal abuse is not just the result of a minor personality flaw in the abuser but rather a symptom of a deep mental disturbance. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty toward animals don't stop there; many of them move on to their fellow humans.
The FBI has found that a history of cruelty to animals is one of the traits that regularly appear in its computer records of serial rapists and murderers, and the standard diagnostic and treatment manual for psychiatric and emotional disorders lists cruelty to animals as a diagnostic criterion for conduct disorders.
A study conducted by Northeastern University and the Massachusetts SPCA found that people who abuse animals are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against humans. The majority of inmates scheduled to be executed for murder at California's San Quentin penitentiary " practiced" their crimes on animals, according to the warden.
Notorious Killers
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- As a child, serial killer and rapist Ted Bundy -- ultimately convicted of two killings but suspected of murdering more than 40 women witnessed his father's violence toward animals, and he himself subsequently tortured animals.
- Earl Kenneth Shriner, who raped and stabbed a 7-year-old boy, was known in his neighborhood for hanging cats and torturing dogs.
- David Berkowitz (a.k.a. "Son of Sam"), who pleaded guilty to 13 murder and attempted murder charges, shot a neighbor's Labrador retriever.
- Brenda Spencer, who opened fire at a California school, killing two children and injuring nine others, had repeatedly abused cats and dogs, often setting their tails on fire.
- Serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer impaled the heads of dogs and cats on sticks.
Governor Janklow was arrested for raping a 13 year Indian girl who was their babysitter but was never convicted in South Dakota.
Reported by Marlene Davis MHuckababy@aol.com
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The rise in violent youngsters in Britain has nothing to do with parents. It is the Government, who several years ago realized the number of new recruits in the Armed Forces was declining. What where they going to do with all the armaments they were intending for National use and their dream of become again, if not a British Empire, at least an important international force.Thirty years ago, war, violence, murders, rapes, were seen on TV between midnight and 1 AM. When all-night TV appeared, you could see it between 1 and 5 AM. Ten years ago, violence on the small screen was allowed from 11 PM, 5 years ago, from 9 PM and nowadays, at any time. When you interview criminals in prison, 90% tell you they started to get ideas from watching TV or from a friend who watched some TV programme.
Obviously the violence in TV, etc., is harmful. But the psychological damage is not evenly distributed over all of the kids. If you go deeper and analyze WHICH ones are permanently influenced in their behaviour you will find that it is the ones coming from from loveless violent homes.
You'll rarely hear someone say: I became a criminal because my parents beat me up or they didn't love me enough. The individual, of course, is not able to view him/herself objectively. We ARE the programming of the brain we were exposed to as 0 - 3 years old children. That's our personality. With these eyes we look back on our childhood and find that it could not have been differently. Everybody tends to think of their childhood as "happy."
In recent years, film producers have been encouraged to make women the villain of the films. Result, an enormous increase in female criminality.
In a beautiful glossy brochure by the navy, to attract young men and women, which is also distributed in prisons (ex-criminals make good shooters) instead of reading what I had imagined, something like "you'll travel the the world, see new exciting countries, try new foods, make friends the world over," etc, I saw the photograph of a Helicopter with the caption underneath "From this helicopter you'll be able to throw 60 bombs per minute, each bomb with the capacity of killing....etc." Next to the picture of the warship it had "imagine how exciting, from a distance of 200 miles you'll be able to send missiles that will hit your target with pinpoint accuracy."
In Sierra Leone, 5,000 children sent to fight were shown the film Rambo every day, with the promise that if they learnt how to kill, one day they'll be like Rambo.
It is happening the world over. With arms production enormously increased in the last 10 years, and soon to become obsolete if plans for war in space go ahead, governments must make sure that people are violent, that they enjoy killing. They teach you patriotism in a way that it makes you love your people and not all human beings, regardless of their nationality.
In whichever country you are, you could start movements to ban violence from TV. In fact, the whole educational system should be changed, because already at school they brainwash us into liking the people of one country while hating the inhabitants of another country.
All of the examples from the fundamentally perverse and criminal capitalist society you mention are correct. But again, there is a decisive difference in the RESISTIBILITY between those with a basically positive view of life coming from good homes and those with a basically negative view of humans and life coming from bad homes.
Sent by "portugheis alberto" <alberto_portugheis@yahoo.co.uk>
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The Journal of History - Fall 2002 Copyright © 2002 by News Source, Inc.