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When you use the word “animal” or “beast” to describe evil people, you are implying that animals are somehow bad. Animals are not bad, these people are. Calling them animals is like calling them plants. Plants and animals are not bad. It shows a lack of knowledge and creativity in the realm of insults and disparaging language and is offensive to the wonderful creatures that share this planet.
PETA, is that you?
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When an animal acts like an animal it is not evil.
When a human acts like an animal, it is evil.
Animals might not be “bad”, but they aren’t “good” either. That’s okay – they lack the capability to be any better than they are. Only humans, and especially Jews, are expected to be “good”.
I actually quite disagree with you, RebYidd. I find it extremely insulting when someone calls a group of Jews “animals”, as if to imply that they never employ their Yetzer HaTov and are complete slaves to their basest natures. I find it difficult to view such as anything other than Motz’ei Shem Ra – l’Mehadrin.
I guess I’ve been unknowingly insulting wolves this whole time.
The ____
Nah. Plants and rocks are such low-level entities that it would be crediting them entirely too much to imply that they are slaves to their base instincts and urges. Animals move, eat, make noises, and DO things – sort of like a person who just follows his own Nefesh ha’Behami would.
RebYidd23,
How is walking around on four legs and eating grass evil? Stupid if you’re human, but not evil.
Suppose you lock up an animal in a cramped space, keeping it from roaming and devoid of companionship, and you feed it inadequate food until it dies. Is that not an evil thing to do?
By acting like an animal, a human being confines his neshama, keeping it from rising, deprives it of companionship with Hashem, and fails to keep it fed via spiritual growth. Is that not an evil thing to do?
RebYidd23,
Animals don’t lock up animals in cramped space and deny them proper food and companionship. People do.
Cats torment mice and birds. Feivel can tell you about a wasp that takes over the brain of a spider and drives it around before eating it alive. Dogs sometimes shun other dogs at the dog park.
By acting like a plant, a human being confines his neshama, keeping it from rising, deprives it of companionship with Hashem, and fails to keep it fed via spiritual growth. That doesn’t make plants evil or make it an insult to call a person a plant.
To willfully act like a plant would be evil; however, we tend to be more repulsed by active evil, e.g., harming others. And the vast majority of plants are not active.
The sins for which people are called “animals” are not of the types of actions that animals do. They are of the exclusively human evil variety.
The exclusive human evil variety is a toxic gumbo of animal impulses and human intellect.
RebYidd23,
Plants are very active.
Depends on your definition of active.
Animals do not have any impulse to do anything that harms others without benefiting them in some way.
Have you interacted with animals? That is a big underestimation of their impulses and intelligence. Animals feel jealousy and rage. They overeat, get fat, and get heart disease. They sometimes bite for little or no reason. They can be psychotic and anti-social. They can be lazy.
RebYidd23,
They are not suicide bombers.
Give a dog the ability to be one and tell him there’s a big box of dog biscuits in it for him, and I’d bet he’d do it.
The premise of the OP is wrong.
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