Animals vs humans round 2

[livingzuid]

I was enjoying our previous debate started by Fifi. Not sure if we were done!

AIBU to think if faced with choosing a pet over a human (even if a stranger), you should choose the human?

The idea was brought up in another thread and put in life or death situation. Building on fire contains your pet and a stranger. You could only save one, who would it be?

I had a dog, Ralph, I cried my heart out when he died 3 years ago. The only dog I wasn't scared of! But I can't imagine leaving a person to die instead, no matter how my heart would break.

Merry I'm not ignoring the efforts of the dog finding the missing human - it's a fantastic tale. But there are lots of comments here (not just from yourself) about 'all the things' that animals do for humans, as some kind of justification for preferential rescue. "But don't we realise how much they do??"

I'm just redressing the balance. Well, it isn't really a balance, because clearly, when totting up who's helped the human race the most, humans would win, by a country mile. And that applies, even if you hate most humans you've ever come into contact with. Example: People (quite rightly) laud guide dogs - wonderful creatures; perhaps saving them instead of a human is entirely justified? Are those people forgetting the humans it took to train the guide dog, those who spend the hours/days/weeks/months dedicating themselves to helping blind people, via the guide dog programme?

I'm baffled at how easily people dismiss entire human endeavour that exists to make their life better. It is humans who grow your food, it is humans who build your house, it humans who make you well when you are sick, it is humans who clean your water, it is humans who teach your children, it is humans who remove the never ending stream of rubbish pouring from your domicile.

Thus, the argument that 'non-human animals do so much for us' is a non-starter for me. You go and tell an A&E medic, just off a 12 hour shift where they saved 4 lives (who knows? one of those lives saved might have been your parent, or sibling, or child, or mate....) and helped many others besides, that you think your choice to save a dog is justified because there's a dog in America that's been trained to track down missing people (but this isn't the dog you want to save, mind)....well, I can't imagine how anyone thinks that's a good idea.

Someone want to copy paste the complete list of human achievements and heroism here?

Foooocus Toys

Lol yes toys and put that chewing gum out

the 'people are all horrible to me therefore I prefer animals' viewpoint is one that really baffles me. Surely everyone has crossed paths with at least one human who has caused them a great deal of pain? Many of us have had the misfortune to have our lives intertwined with many such people. Having been badly hurt by humans doesn't mean that we should automatically reject them all.

I was bitten by dogs twice as a child. Once, it was my own fault as I didn't understand how a dog would react to my action, but once I was just walking aling minding my own business when I was attacked. It doesn't mean that I now view all dogs with suspicion. Why is the reverse so true of so many people when it comes to humans?

akdo you honestly believe that the devastation you would feel if you lost a pet would compare in any way to the devastation most mothers would feel at looking a child?I can't believe anyone would be so selfish and cruel to save a pet over a child.

Quite frankly I couldn't give a flying fuck about the devastation of some random mother over the loss of their random child. Why should I? It has no impact on my life whatsoever.

I actually think merrygo seems like a cool person despite my mocking :)

treacle no it doesn't add up for me either. I'm not sure whether that's the real reason people say they would choose their pet or whether it's a mixture of reasons and it just seems easier to use previous bad treatment from a human as the justification.

AK it would have an impact on your life. Especially if that was your attitude after the event...

And AKAK actually does have DC of her\his own if I remember correctly, scary.

So we've established you don't care about a strangers grief AKAK but what about a child you could've saved dying in agony, do you care about that?

Rather remarkably (and more than a little ironically), AKAK, your dog might be able to teach you something about empathy.

One thing that puzzles me is, why do those of you who think a stranger is not worth saving spend so much time chatting with them over the Internet? Very odd.

I think AK saying she doesn't give a fuck about someone else's grief is bad enough but the 'why should I?' bit is the icing on the cake.

You should because it's called having a conscience.

although of course I know myself that AK's answer to that will be that their conscience is just fine because there is nothing wrong with the view that they hold

Maybe she has taken onboard the irony of someone who is an 'island' using a internet chat forum

AKAK81 is a man. And there are many studies to show that men are generally less empathic than women...

It really baffles me that you say you raise money for children's charities AKAK. Why do you bother to do that if you care so little about other humans as you seem to be saying with your last statement?

I imagine some of these people watching Silence of the Lambs without emotion until the part where the kidnapped girl lures Buffalo Bill's dog into the well with her.

That bit's probably beyond the pale for them.

The heartless bitch he was only going to make himself a new skin from her - she didn't have to drag the innocent dog into it

I would happily give my own life to save someone that I know and care about I'm just not fussed about strangers. What hostility towards other persons children? I don't want to actively hurt anyone or take pleasure in other people's suffering. Obviously I'd prefer it if bad things didn't happen to strangers but I certainly don't lose any sleep over it.