I admit that I have abused a family pet. In my case, I became self-conscious years after she died (apparently due to bad meat from something she caught, but I blame myself for possibly fueling aggression).
I have moderately improved my rage problem, and I feel I'm on the right path to being an overall good person.
But I don't think I will ever be able to trust myself to not lash out in some inappropriate way in the future. That violent streak may exist for life.
There's also a difference between the type of people who kick dogs on occasion, and sadistic animal abusers who derive gratification from torturing animals. The first type might dislike animals or is just an angry person lashing out at the vulnerable. They could be shown the error of their ways and reformed. The second type is a serial killer. If they haven't murdered humans yet the only reason is fear.
If you really are a good person then your penance is to carry that regret to your dying day, and to have it randomly come up to humble you if you haven't thought about it in a while.
I actually edited my comment almost immediately from echoing to previous comment's "animal abusers" to "animal torturers".
There's still worrying elements to lashing out at or seriously neglecting an animal in your care, but I don't think those are nearly as irredeemable as actively torturing an animal for pure sadistic pleasure.
I guess what's "worse" is what drives the behavior.
Persistent anger issues can definitely be a bad thing, and lashing out is not a good habit to develop, but at least the person is potentially capable of empathy since they're clearly experiencing other emotions like rage.
The kind of sadism we're talking about from serial-killer mentalities tends to be almost devoid of emotion in general (sociopaths), and almost incapable of developing guilt or empathy. Thus... they tend to be less capable of
I admit that I have abused a family pet. In my case, I became self-conscious years after she died (apparently due to bad meat from something she caught, but I blame myself for possibly fueling aggression).
I have moderately improved my rage problem, and I feel I'm on the right path to being an overall good person.
But I don't think I will ever be able to trust myself to not lash out in some inappropriate way in the future. That violent streak may exist for life.
There's also a difference between the type of people who kick dogs on occasion, and sadistic animal abusers who derive gratification from torturing animals. The first type might dislike animals or is just an angry person lashing out at the vulnerable. They could be shown the error of their ways and reformed. The second type is a serial killer. If they haven't murdered humans yet the only reason is fear.
and I think more often than anyone would like to admit: opportunity
If you really are a good person then your penance is to carry that regret to your dying day, and to have it randomly come up to humble you if you haven't thought about it in a while.
I actually edited my comment almost immediately from echoing to previous comment's "animal abusers" to "animal torturers".
There's still worrying elements to lashing out at or seriously neglecting an animal in your care, but I don't think those are nearly as irredeemable as actively torturing an animal for pure sadistic pleasure.
I guess what's "worse" is what drives the behavior.
Persistent anger issues can definitely be a bad thing, and lashing out is not a good habit to develop, but at least the person is potentially capable of empathy since they're clearly experiencing other emotions like rage.
The kind of sadism we're talking about from serial-killer mentalities tends to be almost devoid of emotion in general (sociopaths), and almost incapable of developing guilt or empathy. Thus... they tend to be less capable of