Reply #3: I don't know if you can teach someone to be compassionate ...

[LisaLynne]

toward people or animals. I think it depends on the abuser. Thinking about child abuse cases, there are times when, after the parents have taken parenting classes, they stop abusing. They didn't have the knowledge before of proper parenting skills, became overwhelmed, and turned to abuse, usually because that was the only thing they had seen when they were children. I think in cases like that, knowledge does end the abuse. I think classes might work for someone who, say, leaves a dog chained out in the backyard all the time. I had an acquaintance who was a fairly decent human being in every other way, but she got a dog and left it outside all the time, until her other friends and I found out and "schooled" her about it. She was very upset and taken aback. We convinced her to give the dog to a friend of ours since she just didn't want it in the house. She just never realized that dogs are social animals. She thought they were merely objects without feelings or emotions.

Now, with those cases, I think the education would work. Maybe they just don't know, as my friend didn't, and once she did, she did do the right thing by letting the dog go to a good home where it would be loved and cared for. I don't think everyone would change, because some people are stubborn, but I think there's a chance.

In other cases -- the really sickening cases of abuse, I think often times the abuser likes the suffering of the animal or child or spouse or random victim. That to me is a completely different situation and I doubt any sort of education would change that, unfortunately.

Anyway, JMHO.