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Mrs T
Not really. They run from nearly all encounters. They roll over and play dead. Here we have an idiom
playing possum, which means feigning helplessness. They have big teeth and a nasty growl, but they will not willingly attack anything.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 25, 2006 at 5:08 AM
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OMG.. this hit me so hard. How can people be so cruel.
I would say that if your life is threatened then you can try and defend yourself and would probably hurt the animal but if the animal hasn't done a thing to you, why hurt it... especially in such a manner. I never knew what a possum was until I watched the kids movie "Over the Hedge". Are they dangerous?
Mrs T
posted by
Tanga
on November 23, 2006 at 1:00 AM
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Blanche
Yes, it is true. Play the victim and become one.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 2:39 PM
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Avant, what I've been told by students of martial arts is that part of the
training is the acceptance of pacifism, and only using force as a last, not first, option. Criminals watch body language, I've been in rape prevention seminars where we were explicitly told how to walk, stand, etc. in order to not appear the victim. These people operate on the basest, most animalistic, predatory level.
Predators look for the physically and emotionally weak, to cull from the herd, so to speak. A woman who walks tenatively, head down, soft voice and unsure of herself is a prime target, so it behooves a city dweller to adapt a more bold body language: eye contact, brisk walk, an almost masculine swagger. I hate to challenge fate by bragging that I've never been attacked, other than by rottweilers, poodles and cocker spaniels, who may have other issues, it's true.
posted by
Blanche.
on November 22, 2006 at 11:59 AM
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Troosha
I was fine once I realized the little fellow was dead. It was his suffering that afflicted me so.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 11:44 AM
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star4u
Thanks.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 11:43 AM
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Blanche
What you're saying is true. When I used to carry a handgun, I would be more bold and tell people off, which of course made a confrontation a lot more likely. I haven't carried a gun around in a long time. I'm not afraid of being without one anymore.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 11:43 AM
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Avant
Compelling story from both the perspective of the pathetic neighbour (or a least not conscientious enough to ensure he had "finished the job"), and thinking of you with gun in hand having to kill the suffering animal. It doesn't fit the picture I have of you but your solution was by all means the most logical. Maybe it was the gun aspect that caught me off guard as it's very rare for a household in Canada to possess a gun. Anyway.... the whole ordeal must have effected you on several levels.
posted by
Troosha
on November 22, 2006 at 7:46 AM
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posted by
star4sky5
on November 22, 2006 at 6:10 AM
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Sorry, Avant, I just re-read your comment,. you did say Sam would be taught
in a few years. I'm assuming that means Luke already knows.
posted by
Blanche.
on November 22, 2006 at 4:59 AM
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I think you're right, Avant, especially when considering situations like
the one you were in the other day. The reality, like it or not, is that we live in a society, a country where guns are rampant. I wish I had had training, I might still. Information and knowledge dispel fear. It's better that Luke know (and I'm assuming Sam, in due time, and eventually Noah), than not know how to handle themselves.
Because as they say in martial arts, the more you know, the less likely you'll ever need to use the knowledge, because the knowledge itself dispels fear and conveys an attitude of confidence. Also, what if you were in that same situation, where you and your family were isolated, and you needed Luke's assistance. It does not even bear thinking on, better he should be able to help, even a child can use a gun safely, or a woman, they are, as they say, the great equalizer.
We, my boyfriend and I don't have weapons, although he is a trained marksman, and a former sniper and paratrooper, so if he needed to, he wouldn't hesitate I'm sure.
posted by
Blanche.
on November 22, 2006 at 4:51 AM
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Blanche
Sam will be taught in the next few years. My wife opposes it, but I insist that by having a trusting adult show him, he will never be curious about it. Curiosity kills the cat. I was shown gun safety when I was a teenager. I learned to respect firearms and not point them aimlessly at things I didn't intend to shoot.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 4:37 AM
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Avant-Garde, I was wondering at what age you'd teach Luke and Sam
to handle guns. That's a side issue from teaching them the moral and ethical dilemmas of being a decent human being. See, this is why parenting is not for everyone. Many people do it, so few do it well.
As I've said before, any animal can reproduce, and does. Then we have people like this guy running around.
posted by
Blanche.
on November 22, 2006 at 4:32 AM
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Tanga
Yes. I was angry that I had to go through seeing that. The poor animal was so near death and it was suffering terribly.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 4:01 AM
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Julia
Me, too. I hear a gun go off and I pray they missed! I haven't seen too many carcasses hanging about this year. Perhaps my prayers are helping.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 4:00 AM
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faholo
Thanks. I hope you have a great holiday yourself.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 3:59 AM
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appleworks
This was completely unnecessary. I went into that same yard another time when a dog had gotten in between the two fences. I put a leash around its neck and hoisted it over into the yard. The staffie jumped and licked it playfully. He was harmless. That possum might not have been so lucky. I think he was overreacting. Around here, I am saving the animals from my dogs.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 3:58 AM
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Whacky
It hurt to have to kill it. I would've rather seen it get attention; but, I've come to know when something is irreconcilable.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 3:56 AM
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Blanche
First of all, my neighbor's dog was a staffordshire terrier. It is essentially a pit bull, with a slight modification. It was perfectly capable of taking care of itself. If anything be in danger, it would be that possum.
What he did to that animal was inexcusable. It takes talking yourself into a state of judging that animal worthless and worthy to die to take a bat and beat it to death. Hell, he didn't even check to see if he'd finished the job!
Killing something is, in my opinion, something that is very weighty. I will teach my boys if you decide to kill something, first of all there must be a reason to do so; i.e., to relieve it of suffering. Secondly, use a humane method and be quick about it.
posted by
avant-garde
on November 22, 2006 at 3:54 AM
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You did the right thing
relieving the animal from its pain and suffering. Would like to take a bat to your neighbour! Surely he could have come up with a more humane solution!
posted by
Tanga
on November 22, 2006 at 1:03 AM
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oh...that turns my stomach.
(not your act of mercy but the neighbors cruelty and subsequent indifference). It is appalling what some humans will do to animals with barely a thought. I'm in "hunter" country now and I hate that there are people who love to shoot animals for sport. It's something I don't think I will ever understand.
posted by
Julia.
on November 21, 2006 at 8:02 PM
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Avant, it is so hard to udnerstand how someone can
be cruel to an animal as was your neighbor. You did the kind thing by shooting the little feller, but I know that was difficult for you. I remember finding a possum in my garage one evening, he was so frightened and big eyes stared at me. I called my brother to ask what to do. Open the garage door and turn on the light, he will see his way out and he will never return he said. And you know what he was right! take care, have a peacful Thanksgiving and I hope you do not have to work!
faholo
posted by
faholo
on November 21, 2006 at 6:36 PM
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hey avant
i took a living turtle off the road, the shell was crushed by a car. if i had a gun i would have shot it. i left it out of the sun.
to beat a lively possum with a bat, i wonder what breed of dog the guy had.
posted by
appleworks7
on November 21, 2006 at 5:08 PM
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You know that was one of the things no one had to tell me when I was little
That critters have feelings, just like me. I just knew it. Hard to understand why others don't.
posted by
Whacky
on November 21, 2006 at 5:07 PM
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Avant-Garde, I agree, how can anyone witness the suffering of an animal
and not realize that it is as sentient and conscious of pain as we humans are? I've never been in the position of having to witness (and despatch) a suffering animal, but I can't imagine that the dilemma that it would put me or any other person acutely aware of the suffering wouldn't affect me for the rest of my life.
The native Americans supposedly have a tradition of thanking the animals that they hunted for sustenance for giving up its life to feed the tribe. At the very least, even if we, as I do, eat meat, it is not too much to consider the animal's suffering and sacrifice.
This seems like needless cruelty, but your neighbor was worried for the safety of his dog, so perhaps it was understandable if not justifiable.
I've encountered possums more than once, one died in the walls of a house I was renting, because I stupidly put rat poison out for the rats who scampered around the house in the evenings. The stench and the maggots lasted for weeks, and there was nothing to but wait, because no one knew where it was. The carcass eventually turned up in the heating duct, so that when the furnace repair man came to check on it, he screamed when it fell on his head. It was macabre.
posted by
Blanche.
on November 21, 2006 at 4:45 PM
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