Why does A&E or the Hoarders produces keep allowing episodes to be made where these animals suffer so horribly and are often euthanize.
While I COMPLETELY understand where you're coming from, let me offer this alternate way of thinking about it: if Hoarders DIDN'T do the episode, those animals would be LEFT wallowing in the filth, disease, and neglect, and would end up dying horrible deaths with no help from anyone. Not only that, but by airing episodes like this, the show brings awareness to the issue.
The worst part to me is the fact that the Hoarders don't usually even get into trouble! It's disgusting.
You're right, and I totally agree. I can only think of a handful of times (and I'm thinking of both Hoarders and H:BA) when a person actually faced charges for animal cruelty/abuse/neglect. I understand that they're mentally ill themselves, and that they started out with GOOD intentions, but they should be held responsible for what they've allowed to happen. I don't think jail time is usually called for in these cases because, as I said, their intentions were good, i.e., rescuing/taking in abandoned animals, etc. I think community service and being required to take classes on responsible pet parenting are MUCH BETTER choices than jail or fines.
Perhaps this sounds like I have a bleeding heart or something
And...? I've been called a bleeding heart more times than I can remember! NO problem at all. (By the way, I love animals so much that I cannot tolerate the thought of abusing/torturing/killing ANY sentient being, therefore I've been vegetarian/vegan since 1988. You want to see abuse, get educated on factory farming and slaughterhouses. There are plenty of undercover videos available online.) You care about animals, nothing wrong with that. Who cares if that makes you a bleeding heart?!
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darkwingsdesending
8 years ago
As far as your first point goes, I totally agree. I understand why A&E shows it. I just hope it is indeed for "educational" and awareness purposes rather than for shock value and entertainment value.
As for your second point, I do agree. Mentally ill people, depending on the disorder, are sometimes supervised with animals. I also agree that they probably did have good intentions. The only thing that concerns me is the lack of empathy that many of the hoarders show when they see the conditions of their pets. (Or if they are dead. They just kind of shrug it off. Then again, everyone processes grief differently. It's still surprising though.) In some episodes, some of the psychologists or cleaners will also comment on the lack of empathy. I don't know if that is apart of hoarding or not. I want to say that it can be considering how some hoarders treat their children. However, despite watching almost all of the episodes of hoarders, I'm certainly not an expert so I don't know. As for jail time, I think it should possibly depend on the individual case. Some should receive classes while I think others who were aware and not caring should receive either therapy and or jail time. That's just my non-professional opinion on the matter.
For your third point, being a bleeding heart is seen as a bad thing these days where I am. People also think it clouds judgement and people tend to receive a lot of criticism over it. I've been vegetarian for the most part of my life. I know the unfortunate horrors that occur in factory farming. It's sickening.
Thank you for your thoughts on the subject.
Lestatics # 3
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GraceFromSoCal
8 years ago
Nice post. Thanks.
When it comes to an APPARENT lack of empathy and/or affect when the hoarders are confronted with the appalling conditions--including death--of their pets, I think it's very likely that it's part of their mental illness. In other words, they're so shut down emotionally, or they're so deeply depressed, or so mired in despair that they lack emotion. MANY of the hoarders I've seen (again, on both shows, not just Hoarders) have expressions/affect that totally defy all logic. I remember one woman whose children were going to be taken away--throughout the ENTIRE episode she had a smile frozen on her face! That's not normal...but there it was. However, I didn't, even for a moment, think that she was smiling because she was happy. No, she CLEARLY was absolutely overwhelmed with her circumstances and was shut down emotionally. Of course we can't diagnose the hoarders from here, and we can't assume that every hoarder who lacks appropriate emotions is dealing with a psychological issue, but in at least SOME of the cases I think it's pretty obvious.
About the bleeding heart thing: I no longer care! If someone wants to call me a bleeding heart, so be it. As far as I'm concerned, it's just further proof that I'm doing the right thing, i.e., if my compassion toward ALL sentient beings bothers someone to the point of name-calling, THEY'RE the one with the problem, not me.
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avortac4 (3610)
2 years ago
" I also agree that they probably did have good intentions."
Good intentions do not magically turn to competent information or knowledge or expertise of how to take care of animals.
To TRULY take care of animals, you have to understand the animal PSYCHOLOGY.
Dogs, for example, need exercize, discpline and affection, in THAT order.
People usually only give them affection, affection, affection, and think it's enough, and then are shocked when their dogs become aggressive red zone cases.
Women especially seem to think 'love cures all', so all they do is 'love' their pets (and it's really selfish love, they just want to cuddle and kiss, hug, and treat them like living teddy bears without for ONE SECOND thinking what the animal psychologically needs), and neglect everything else the animals actually need.
Women don't seem to see anything wrong with treating an animal like a 'baby' or a 'human being'. If they only knew how much damage they do treating animals that way, they might stop to reconsider.
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TravisTheSky
8 years ago
(Pardon me for making light.) The phrase, "[B]rings awareness to the issue" leapt off the page at me.
Hurry, Grace! You can make loads of money inventing the Awareness Ribbon for hoarding! And hoarding awareness bracelets, and hoarding awareness tee shirts, and hoarding awareness internet avatars, and hoading awareness bumper stickers and ...
When did "awareness" even become a popular word that people used every day?
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remember: tv is called PROGRAMMING, items of news are STORIES
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GraceFromSoCal
8 years ago
No problem, Travis! You're right, there's a whole untapped market out there...I'd better jump on it before someone else does!
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disinter
8 years ago
As far as your first point goes, I totally agree. I understand why A&E shows it. I just hope it is indeed for "educational" and awareness purposes rather than for shock value and entertainment value.
As long as the animals get help, it makes no difference to me what motives they have.
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LoneWolfAttack
8 years ago
As long as the animals get help, it makes no difference to me what motives they have.
I hope you're not one of those deluded souls who think the animals confiscated are going to "forever homes." The hoarder's house is their "forever" home. The only help they get after being taken away from that involves a needle and then a deep sleep.
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GraceFromSoCal
8 years ago
I hope you're not one of those deluded souls who think the animals confiscated are going to "forever homes." The hoarder's house is their "forever" home. The only help they get after being taken away from that involves a needle and then a deep sleep.
That's not necessarily true. In some cases, the animals were too far gone with illness, so it was the most humane thing to euthanize them. But in other cases we've seen that the animals were adopted out, and in a few cases the original owners (the hoarders) were allowed to keep one or two of them, but with followup visits from Animal Control to make sure things were okay. (I'm thinking of both shows, Hoarders and H:BA.)
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