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Response: Why does the issue of equality arise in humans...

Why does the issue of equality arise in humans but not for animals?

Student's Response:

I believe we are all equal, and animals might not have the capability to do some of the things we can, but that does not give us the right to cruelty. In this essay “ All Animals are Equal” by Peter Singer, he brings up issues of racism and sex, and creed. I understand that we are all different and those issues should not be important to equality, the demand for equality should not be based on actually equality (pg.28).

I liked what Bentham wrote on page 30, when we were treating the slaves as nonhumans. “ The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been witholden from them but by the hand of tyranny.” And at the very end when he questions about the capability’s of animals, “ Can they reason, talk? but Can they suffer? Yes they can suffer and go through all the feelings when we are in pain.

There is no need to pour shampoo in a mouse’s eye till they start to puss and get real big, that is downright cruelty. There is no need to treat a pig differently then how we treat a dog, why is it if you do you will get prosecuted for the dog but not the pig?

If all human are equal, no matter what sex or race we are, why does that not stand for animals. All animals are different, and should be treated with the same respect as we treat our house pets. I agree with Singer, this is discrimination in animals, we would not do that to humans.

My response to the question:

Because unlike most other species in this world, humans are selfish and we as a species are out for ourselves. All one needs to do is look at various relationships that humans hold with animals.

We will take a newborn calf from its mother at birth, chain it to a stall beside her and drink the mother’s milk. We will take that same calf, confine him to a cage the size of a laundry basket and eat him later calling him “veal”.

We will drop shampoo into thousands of rabbits’ eyes each day so that we may have shinier, fuller hair.

We will kill a fox by trapping, anal electrocution, drowning or gas so that we may wear his fur instead of him.

We will take our rifles and shotguns to the wilderness and kill a defenseless deer or squirrel and call it a “sport”.

We will hunt down and murder gorillas so that we may chop off their hands and use them as ashtrays.

Humans are selfish. We take what we want because we know that animals don’t have that voice to speak up against our heinous acts of murder and torture. Equality has only happened among humans because those that felt they were being treated unfairly spoke up and fought against it.
Humans know that animals will never demand for their own equality, because they do not speak the same language or understand our society.

So instead of humans trying to understand and accept the equality that animals deserve, it’s much easier to wear blinders and continue to abuse the silent.