Am I the animal here, or is it you?

In the first Humanities class of my junior year, Rhetoric, our class discussed how to use our own voices to bring people together, divide opinions,and transcend conflict. In the third and final unit of this class, which is called Unite, we studied how rhetoric can be used to inspire and mobilize people. In order to understand this, the class looked at many different forms of artwork that expressed a message about an important issue. For the action project, the class was asked to study a specific social issue that is going on right now and try to bring awareness to that issue by creating some form of art that speaks to it. I decided to look into animal abuse, and I brought awareness to that issue by writing a poem. I already had a challenge when the project was introduced because I didn’t know what issue to study, but after doing some research, I finally chose animal abuse. It was hard for me to do research on this topic because I didn’t like reading the horrible statistics, but I’m also glad that I can use my words to bring attention to it. Thanks to this project and unit, I now know what it artistically takes to inspire a group of people in order to make a change on a specific issue. I hope you enjoy my artist's statement and poem below!

Artist’s Statement:
I’m RD and I’ve been an animal lover my entire life, so it was both easy and hard to write a poem about animal cruelty- easy because I have a natural admiration for animals, hard because I had to read all the horrible statistics about animal abuse. I really don’t understand what goes on in the minds of people who think that hurting an innocent, helpless animal is alright. These animals are coming into our life and all they are expecting from us is care and love.The HSUS led a study that estimated that nearly 1 million animals a year are abused or even killed as a result of problems going on in a household. If you know you won’t be able to care for an animal, please don’t let one into your home.

I also want to bring attention to the clothing that you put on your body. If you’re a person who wears fur, I just have one question: why? “More than 50% of fur in the US comes from China, where millions of dogs and cats are often bled to death and skinned alive for their fur” (Do Something.org). Do you really want to wear or support a brand that tortures animals just to look good or get big bucks? As you’re paying for these jackets, hats and other fur products, you’re handing money to the killers of the 50 million innocent animals who are violently murdered (Born Free USA). Animals love us no matter what, why can’t we do that too?

To raise more awareness on this issue, I decided to create an art piece from an animal's point of view. I really want to bring attention to the thoughts and emotions that these animals have, about which people often forget. I sat down and thought of all the different feelings that a person who is abused might experience.The only advantage that humans have is that we can talk and try to speak up, but animals cannot do that, which breaks my heart even more. There are many ads out there showing the cute animals that are victims of animal abuse, but we really do not bring attention to their thoughts and emotions, which is why I wrote a poem to do exactly that. If I had a choice as to where I would want my poem to be showcased, I would definitely print out tons of copies and stick them around animal shelters, pet stores and veterinarian offices to remind people about the importance of taking in an animal in their home, and how crucial it is to treat them right. I would also want my poem to start a new wave of anti-animal cruelty ads, where real, young people would speak up for animals, who sadly cannot do that themselves.

I included a great deal of pathos in my poem as I described the emotions and thoughts of these animals. I can also say that I added ethos because I have been around animals my entire life, so I know how much deep love animals actually have and how much deep love they also deserve. I would also say that my whole poem carries strong logos because it’s logical to not hurt an animal. Animals have feelings just like us, but some people still do not understand that. I hope you enjoy my poem below!

I want you to hold me in your arms, not put me in harm

I want you to care, but all you do is put me in a scare

I want you to stroke my neck, but instead you twist it

I want you to pet my fur, but instead you wear it

It looks better on me anyway

It kills me to see you raise up by the fall of my feathers

You brought me in and I was expecting love

But all I got was a million shoves

Now all I see from you is a boxing glove

Am I the animal here, or is it you?

Works cited:

"11 Facts About Animal Cruelty." 11 Facts About Animal Cruelty. Yahoo, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

"The Fur Industry." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015

"Get The Facts:." Ten Fast Facts about Fur. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.