Do you like animals?

[tree]

I'm not too good with non verbal communication all the time. I'm also pretty sure not being able to understand that is something people on the spectrum go through. I just prefer talking or texting. Humans are good at that, so I talk to them.

That's like what I was thinking.

You being angry with animals because
you don't know their way of communicating,
so you de-value the animals.

It's like anger at yourself/disappointment that
you don't understand, so you place the "blame /fault"
on to the animal. *They are worthless because I
haven't learned their way of communicating. How dare
they exist showing me up as a person who has trouble
learning.*

 

[Darkkin]

Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin (probably one of the most well-known autistics of the last century) explores the nonverbal languages of multiple species.

 

[BrokenBoy]

That's like what I was thinking.

You being angry with animals because
you don't know their way of communicating,
so you de-value the animals.

It's like anger at yourself/disappointment that
you don't understand, so you place the "blame /fault"
on to the animal. *They are worthless because I
haven't learned their way of communicating. How dare
they exist showing me up as a person who has trouble
learning.*

I also devalue them because I also simply think they're not interesting. Even if I completely understood non-verbal communication, I would never own a pet myself.

 

[Darkkin]

Better to be honest and leave the creatures be than to pretend and create a toxic interaction.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I love squirrels!

 

[BrokenBoy]

Better to be honest and leave the creatures be than to pretend and create a toxic interaction.

It's hard because dogs keep barking at me and trying to chase me.

 

[Darkkin]

It's hard because dogs keep barking at me and trying to chase me.

Dogs aren't stupid. They can sense hostility and respond accordingly. With a clear warning to keep back.

I side with the dogs. Anyone who can devalue an innocent animal can transfer that behaviour to people with astonishing ease.

 

[Knower of nothing]

Pay attention how people act when they have impunity. It's the direct window to the soul.

 

[Darkkin]

Number one on the trifecta of sociopathy and psychopathy is an apathy and cruelty toward animals. The most innocent and convenient of potential victims.

 

[Shamar]

I often prefer the company of my pets over some humans.

I prefer he company of my dog over nearly all humans.

Broken Boy -- I hate to put it this way, but you have one of the most appropriate avatar names here.

 

[BrokenBoy]

Broken Boy -- I hate to put it this way, but you have one of the most appropriate avatar names here.

I've know that since day 1.

Number one on the trifecta of sociopathy and psychopathy is an apathy and cruelty toward animals. The most innocent and convenient of potential victims.

I have never harmed an animal.

 

[Darkkin]

I've know that since day 1.

I have never harmed an animal.

No one said you did. But the hatred still exists. And hatred is the catalytic force that can result in harm to a sentient creature.

The cat can't say, 'Ouch. Please don't hurt me.' A small child who is just learning to talk, same story. They cannot communicate their pain and terror in a 'human' way, but they scream it out in their actions. (Both the cat and toddler will scream in a very literal sense of the word.)

Devalue one. Let hatred develop...and the slope is greased. Morality is determined by the individual, but there are certain things that are huge red flags.

The difference between inaction and action pertaining to that hatred is a deciding factor between sociopathy and psychopathy.

Sociopaths do not act on their hatred or indifference. Many actually learn to mask to pass as 'normal', very much akin to autistics.

Psychopaths take action and find malicious delight in the pain they cause.

The difference between inaction and action is huge, but the stigmata holds the two as equals in the eyes of society. (And pragmatically speaking that is not fair.)

Sociopaths lack empathy. A capacity they were born without. It is a safety gauge on behaviour that can have devastating consequences for those dealing with the disorder.

Sociopaths actually make up about 4% or 1:20 of the general population (US) and occur nearly twice as often in the population than autistics (2% or 1: 49).

The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout is an insightful, slightly terrifying read on the topic.

A more fundamental question:

How much of a person's hatred for animals is rooted in the animals' instinctual reactions to the unspoken hostility?

For a majority of people, animals (our pets in particular) respond with joy and friendliness when they see us. But when that reaction doesn't happen because of a vibe the animal picks up on, that affection and attention is withheld. The animal deems that individual unworthy and that can trigger an unconscious hostility because of the animal's instinct based reaction.

 

[tree]

I have never harmed an animal.

Including yourself?

 

[Matthias]

I aggressively don't care about them. My apathy becomes hate due to how extreme it is. I see them as no different than any background object or "prop" you see around your house. The reason for this because they cannot communicate verbally, in the same language as human beings. I don't see anything I can't communicate with in human language as an equal or worth giving common decency or respect to.

I hope you never have a non-verbal autistic child.

 

[Luca]

You know what? Dogs are not big fans of sociopaths either.

 

[Alaric593]

I aggressively don't care about them. My apathy becomes hate due to how extreme it is. I see them as no different than any background object or "prop" you see around your house. The reason for this because they cannot communicate verbally, in the same language as human beings. I don't see anything I can't communicate with in human language as an equal or worth giving common decency or respect to.

They do communicate though just not in the same way. I'm not one of these people who think I can read their minds on every bark or behavior but my dog clearly understood my commands and I clearly understood their requests based on her behavior based in rational pattern recognition rather than intuitively. I didn't need to actually read their non-verbal communication but rather through trial and error learned what each behavior meant that she did regularly because there's many books to explain what their most repeated behaviors mean.

 

[Luca]

Look at the way my dog looks at me. Enough said.

 

[Alaric593]

Look at the way my dog looks at me. Enough said.

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"Whatchu got there girl. I want it"

 

[Alaric593]

I'm not too good with non verbal communication all the time. I'm also pretty sure not being able to understand that is something people on the spectrum go through. I just prefer talking or texting. Humans are good at that, so I talk to them.

I'm not the best at it, fairly bad at it tbh. You don't really need to be good for relative accuracy. Other animals are repetitive like humans. They adapt to you as well and once they find a way to get you to do what they're wanting, they will continue to do that and all you have to do is use pattern recognition to know which behaviors mean what.

 

[Darkkin]

Our pets don't come with perfect communication interfaces installed. They require time, effort, and training. Just like people.

As @crewlucaa_ repeatedly demonstrates with Enzo and Co. what patience and consistency can do, how all of them grow and flourish. Put good in, get good out. And with pets they return that time and attention in an exponential way.

Potato Cat is a conversation bridge for me and Rue Dog allows me to live independently. I shudder to think where I would be without them and those who came before.