To be confused as to why we’re not all sociopaths?

[User854]

This thought was triggered by the other thread where a child accidentally kills a hamster but seems to show no remorse; the child is widely being labelled a sociopath on that thread.

Are we not all then sociopathic when we gleefully tuck into our lamb chops that someone has killed for us? What’s the difference really?

I think it's odd that people aren't really focussing much on the fact that it has been normal for humans to eat meat for hundreds of thousands of years. You don't really need cognitive dissonance to eat meat in spite of it not being necessary to survive, because it's an ingrained part of human behaviour, even though some people choose not to do it. Being human involves navigating all kinds of moral grey areas all the time and balancing desires and needs against what is acceptable or not. I don't find it at all incongruous that people can eat meat but live their pets. Even my dog can manage that level of distinction. No doubt in the wild he'd kill and maybe eat a cat. He's been brought up with a cat, so he doesn't see cats as prey.

The simple answer is that so many people are “experts” on mental health issues these days who love to put a label on people without having the faintest idea what they are doing. I’m sure there are some genuine experts reading the types of thread that the OP referenced who despair at the mob who dishes out sociopath, psychopath and narcissist diagnoses based on practically nothing.

I eat meat and I claim to love animals. I realise that makes no sense and I think often that I should become vegetarian.

I don't even agree with argument it's for food as there are so many other foods you can eat.

I have lots of pets and eat meat. I also grew up on a beef farm and my parents made sure all of our animals had the best life possible (often to the detriment of us kids but that's another story!)
I don't have a problem with eating meat, it is nutritious and enjoyable however I do think that animal welfare in this country and across the world needs to be greatly improved.
We have removed ourselves too far from the food we eat, I see too many 'hilarious' comments on social media about older primary aged children that have never connected that a chicken nugget comes from an actual chicken.
People who have no idea that cheese is made from milk and is a dairy product. People who only buy egg whites in a bottle and have no idea what an actual egg looks like in its natural state.
I think that the more our food looks less and less like the animals it came from the easier it is for people to ignore how it got from farm to table.
I do wish we could all go back in time a couple of generations when the meat we ate would have come from the farms surrounding the local towns instead of flying in on a plane from Brazil.

Exactly. Plus we’re omnivores.

if I or my family were starving I would kill an animal to eat it. Not doing that would be sociopathic/stupid.

We have removed ourselves too far from the food we eat, I see too many 'hilarious' comments on social media about older primary aged children that have never connected that a chicken nugget comes from an actual chicken.

Oddly my DD eats vegetarian/vegan sausages, nuggets etc, but bits of meat and fish that look like meat and fish.

The initial reason was the lower salt content but we have continued to do it. I suspect it's because myself and my DP have spoken to too many adults, who can only eat meat if it doesn't have a bone in it and doesn't look like it comes from an animal.

Incidentally I've had decent conversations over the years with people who are vegetarian and vegan, before the latter became fashionable. They all have different reasons, and in some cases they are only vegetarian in countries were they don't get their meat locally.

Being a psychopath is not just about being callous or cruel but about transgressing societies norms and rules.

So for example a child that went around killing people's pet cats for fun would be showing signs of abnormal and concerning behaviour (children aren't diagnosed with personality disorders only adults). Another child that shot pheasants or rabbits with their father would not. Though both children would be effectively killing for fun.

If I understand correctly then I'm a sociopath because I eat meat.
Now I've heard everything.

I actually don't think it is you know. Killing an animal is killing an animal, and that some people will eat one and cry about another is a bit weird to me

That's not just British culture though is it? It's pretty much the whole of Europe and N.America.

Children can't be diagnosed with ASPD anyway. A child would be diagnosed with conduct disorder.

Conduct Disorder (CD) is diagnosed when children show an ongoing pattern of aggression toward others, and serious violations of rules and social norms at home, in school, and with peers. These rule violations may involve breaking the law and result in arrest. Children with CD are more likely to get injured and may have difficulties getting along with peers.

The thread was clearly a deliberate exercise in being goady. Because otherwise why not start a discussion about animal welfare.

I know a lot of people who don't have the same moral values as me but that doesn't mean I automatically conclude they are sociopaths.

Happens in our town.

I found this pretty fascinating and disturbing on the subject https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-50986683.amp

They aren't focusing on it because they want to get on their high horse and proclaim they're better people than us evil sociopaths.
They should get off. Plenty of tasty meat on those horses😋

But would you do it if you were not starving and there was an abundance of plant based foods available?

Eat mostly plants. Just like I do now.

Oh, and not start poking my beak into other people's kitchens.

If you need any helps, tips or suggestions to go vegan would be happy to help 😊 I too couldn’t face funding the dairy industry any more after many years as a vegetarian.

So you would still kill some animals even if you did not need to?

Is it vegan day on here or something?

No, it's pompous vegan day.

It stems from the hamster thread.

The lad was being accused of being the next Ted Bundy.

MiL used to wring the necks of chickens on the family farm when she was young. It was a functional chore to get food in a poor country. The chickens has a good life, a quick end and served a practical function. They were respected as living creatures and there was no gratutious pleasure in causing them harm.

I once aquired a brace of pheasants. The deed was done anyway so I accepted the offer and the chance of free, good quality food. I filleted them and thanked them for their life. Not that the thanks made a difference to them, but it was a mark of respect to them as creatures. They were bred and raised in the local woods for the hunting. Not my scene, but I put the situation to practical use.

When I ended the life of a wounded pigeon in the garden, I felt pretty rotten about it. It had broken a wing after flying into a window, it was stuck on the ground for days, showing distressed behaviour, and being attacked by other pigeons. It was not having a happy, healthy life and would inevitably be a victim to a cat or fox at some point in the future. It was a deed I did out of respect to the creature's life and future suffering, but an act that I derived no pleasure from doing, but did because I felt that there was some moral value to it.

The issue with the hamster thread was that the boy's actions and emotional response to the situation didn't seem to consider the hamster as a living creature, nor the relationship of the hamster as a loved pet. He also had history of aggression.

There is variation in people's moral values towards animals, but generally in British society it's accepted to some extent that some species are farmed for food (although some don't partake), some are raised as pets and you don't hurt animals without a practical benefit (e.g. food, easing suffering)

The issue with the hamster thread was that the boy's actions and emotional response to the situation didn't seem to consider the hamster as a living creature, nor the relationship of the hamster as a loved pet. He also had history of aggression.

This thread proves that people accept different things as OK.

I eat meat
I would never hurt any animal, I don't kill spiders.
I adore dogs. I will be devastated when mine die. When our guinea pigs died I wasn't that bothered. I was sad but not devastated.

I don't like things in cages (regret having guinea pigs) because I think it's cruel and I don't like holding hamsters and mice so I wouldn't. I would have explained to the boy it might nip and if I wasn't sure I wouldn't have let him hold it.

If the boy had opened the cage and picked the hamster up and then threw it I would have been more judgmental.

If I think about eating meat I do think it's weird and I couldn't kill something to eat. However, if it was to feed my child I would have to it if there was nothing else available.