tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333594380363882958.post5288577322389153179..comments2023-08-28T03:19:34.617-07:00Comments on It's Nelly's World: UnleashedMelissa Holbrook Piersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15617752678155038816noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333594380363882958.post-82708406950691787902010-05-11T10:52:15.992-07:002010-05-11T10:52:15.992-07:00Thank you, Holly. Yes, it was the kind of disturb...Thank you, Holly. Yes, it was the kind of disturbing thing that haunts one--it's the worst sort of powerlessness, when we can do nothing to prevent another's suffering. I had a different type of experience in that line on Mother's Day, of all times, seeing a gosling who was obviously separated from its mother, running around a roadway in such obvious distress it made me feel nauseous. My son saw that one, too, and days later is still saying, "I wish I could have helped that poor baby!" Me too.Melissa Holbrook Piersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15617752678155038816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333594380363882958.post-39705393307055559652010-05-10T13:53:29.217-07:002010-05-10T13:53:29.217-07:00Hi Ms. Pierson,
I'm just a random internet per...Hi Ms. Pierson,<br />I'm just a random internet person barely starting on my on blog. But I love animals deeply, and I suppose that's how I stumbled upon your words today.<br /><br />This story brought tears to my eyes. Your voice of disapproval-however meaningless to the violent dog owner-was important for your son to see. Sometimes in the this world the best we can do for our own safety and sanity is to "let it be known" that we disagree. This quiet, peaceful disapproval can be a seed that grows into full-blown action and change at the right time.<br />Thanks for sharing.Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08387391541378859788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333594380363882958.post-20669347052279030082010-05-06T06:24:21.843-07:002010-05-06T06:24:21.843-07:00I know, I know. I have *so* many times been tempt...I know, I know. I have *so* many times been tempted to go up to parents who are emotionally abusing their children (creating those films that later you see imposed on their behavior to those who are smaller), but in our society this is "OK." It's "discipline." And the underlying message is that children "belong" to their parents.<br /><br />I have seen parents screaming at, or ignoring, a struggling, weeping 1-year-old who has been imprisoned in a shopping cart while Mom endlessly peruses the racks at Walmart. No thought to bringing a toy, a snack, anything to fulfill the needs of a child that age. Then, when Baby expresses his natural frustration and anger, he gets yelled at. Sometimes really brutally. <br /><br />I know the urge to say something. But in all these cases, what would it accomplish, but foment a fight?<br /><br />Your guilt, Catherine, is premised on the idea that you *could* change matters but for your inability to speak up. If that were the case, OK. But alas it's not. You do nothing wrong with silent sympathy.Melissa Holbrook Piersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15617752678155038816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333594380363882958.post-42069190877305228952010-05-05T18:13:20.673-07:002010-05-05T18:13:20.673-07:00I have not read your blog in a while and this just...I have not read your blog in a while and this just enrages me. You were good to get up and do what you did. The event will no doubt be scarring for a long time to come.<br /><br />But what I wonder about myself is this: I would have done the same thing you did, without question (while wanting to shoot the man myself or put a leash around his trachea, at least). Yet, when people are yelling at their children in a public place, like when you see a family that is ridden by squalor and despair, I say nothing and turn away.Catherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11361090241108323002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333594380363882958.post-48597259397198900862010-05-03T11:56:48.972-07:002010-05-03T11:56:48.972-07:00You have no idea how much I wish I could have actu...You have no idea how much I wish I could have actually *done* something (then again, I know you do truly know). And I wish I'd had company; perhaps peer pressure could have accomplished what one woman could not.<br /><br />The sad and dismaying fact is that this kind of abuse, when called "discipline" or "training," is not only permitted, but is perpetrated by people who hang out a shingle and then get paid for it. Dogs end up dead because of it: either directly (I can't bring myself to describe some of the methods, but they are pretty akin to lynching), or because dogs are given one last resort to save themselves: biting. Then they're put down for being "aggressive." Hmmm. How's that for projection?<br /><br />My hope is that someday, we will become as enlightened--at least for the most part, in the western world--about abuse of dogs in the name of education as we finally have become about children. Unfortunately, that day keeps getting farther and farther off, thanks to the popularity of people like Cesar Milan. Grrrr.Melissa Holbrook Piersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15617752678155038816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333594380363882958.post-4344198837530443122010-05-03T04:12:55.979-07:002010-05-03T04:12:55.979-07:00The fact that you did something at all, while ever...The fact that you did something at all, while everyone else just ignored it, says much about your strength of character. Everyone should have converged on that guy, together; there is a greater strength in numbers.<br /><br />And this is when that video function on your cellphone comes in handy. Use it, submit it to the Humane Society or Code Enforcement or whatever agency governs animal abuse in your neighborhood.renhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577465484305520103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8333594380363882958.post-33700636008434257462010-05-03T04:11:53.363-07:002010-05-03T04:11:53.363-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.renhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577465484305520103noreply@blogger.com