I want to thank all of you for writing today.  I have over 37 messages thus
far, and I hope you will forgive me if I don't respond personally to each
one.  To those of you who were pretty sure that no chicken was hurt: I do
not know the writer.  I did not find hurting an animal to be humorous even
if that was the intention.  Thank you guys for making me feel less upset.
 
For the over 30 moms that wrote me--I understand completely how upsetting
the story was.  I believe part of it is true also.  We all know a troubled
person who would do this.  And thank you for sharing all of Your stories of
animal abuse and how it affected you!
 
My first experience with a ferret was many years ago.  I was in college
visiting a friend who had run away from home and was living with this young
man.  I went to their party.  Two ferrets and a cat were starved.  And when
they came up to the young man to eat the food he had in his hand, he threw
them against the furniture.  Everyone laughed.  It was funny.  It was a
joke-like stealing and injuring an animal and trying to kill it.
 
I was afraid of the people and animals.  I left.  I have forgotten many,
many things.  But not that.
 
Then there are the funny gerbil stories of thousands of gerbils thrown out
windows in parachutes and injured and killed.  This was a big thing to do
at fraternity parties and caused a lot of laughter.
 
Three months ago, someone I love stole a puppy from another state and
dumped it in the woods.  He thought it was funny.  Then he and his friends
purchased two live chickens downtown in some shop, slit them up so they
were alive and bleeding, and let them loose in his x-girlfriends car.  The
whole group thought it was hysterical.  He has moved on now to beating up
15 year old girls in public places, and thinks this is also funny.  I do
not think he will be laughing in jail.  He is out on bail now.
 
You teach your children to say no to drugs.  But of the 30 some women who
wrote me--which one of you will write to this list and say no to jokes
about hurting and trying to kill animals???
 
I am a horrible writer.  I am no ones spokesperson.  And I am very, very
busy right now.  I have NO time to get involved in any controversy.
 
While I am grateful to all of you silent readers for sharing your belief
that this sort of humor is not to be tolerated on a list children and
young adults read--Nothing changes unless you stand up for yourselves.
 
I am not writing anything else about this subject.  If taking the kids off
the list is your way out, then so be it.
 
To Tom and Alicia and Brian and Cameron--You know how I feel about jokes
about children being shot at schools by other children and about animals
being abused or killed.  I am sorry I talked you into reading the list.
You know I did not know this would happen.
 
[Moderator's note: Certainly, some posts offend some people but not others.
This is just a fact of mailing lists -- it's impossible (at least in my
experience) to please *everyone*.  This doesn't mean that sensible choices
cannot be made.  In fact, as moderator of this list, I *do* have to make
some decisions about the content of the FML.
 
Now, I understand -- and even appreciate -- your sensitivity for the
well-being of animals.  And I will even go so far as to admit that some
parts of the original "chicken joke" post were a tad, ummm, crude.  But,
I don't really understand why the post should not have been allowed.  Even
young children who are continually exposed to things like the Coyote trying
to kill the Roadrunner or Elmer trying to hunt Bugs (or much more horrible
things in old nursery rhymes!) understand these things are humor.  Most
children old enough to read the story can see this, and if not, parental
guidance should come into play too.  If subscribers disagree with this
position please contact me: I do, indeed, want to hear both sides of the
issue and base my decisions on subscriber sentiment.  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 2749]