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Saturday, July 13, 2013

Headline you won't see...

Mother of nine killed in hit and run crime.

Norman, Oklahoma. Sometime in the late evening or early morning hours of Thursday night or Friday morning (7/11-12/2013) a mother of nine children was hit and killed by a driver on a residential street who then left the scene. Two children were also killed and their bodies, along with the mothers and the remaining seven children lay in the street for several hours. It is presumed a number of motorists passed during that time but no one reported the crime nor did anyone stop to attempt to render assistance. The living children clung to their mothers cooling and stiffening body until about 7:30 on Friday morning when a motorist finally stopped to check on the condition of the mother. The living children were discovered at that time and the deceased mother and the children were then transported to a facility for medical treatment. The seven survivors were reported to be in fair condition when the treatment center was contacted the next day.
The mother and children happened to be opossums therefore their lives are considered to be without value by the dominant human culture. A dead body in the road is ignored or avoided if that body doesn't conform to artificially created human standards. Hitting one with a car isn't a crime, leaving the scene of injuring or killing an opossum with a car isn't a crime, even when children were with her and they are left alive and clinging to her mangled body.

I think we are all lessened by these kinds of travesties, we are related to all Earthlings, those are our relatives lying there in the road.  We are all children of the Earth, don't we care about our siblings?

I found her and the babies just a few blocks from my house when I was on my way out to Heartland Rabbit Rescue. I took them to Wildcare and they seem to be as well as could be expected now....about 24 hours after I took them out there. It was a horrible start to a day that really didn't get much better after that. A fairly serious rabbit fight at the south warren left one bunny bleeding from the mouth and then later news that a long time resident of Heartland had cancer spreading through her eye and jaw and that the most merciful thing was to not bring her out of the anesthesia from an exploratory surgery. Lots of death and pain. Friday the 12th should have been Friday the 13th.

I felt and feel so horrid for the babies, I couldn't help but imagining their terror and their hours of horror and fear. And that we humans, for the most part, treat it as nothing. No headlines, no news story, no note, no tears...no nothing. It left me bleak and dark and despairing and sad...just sad.

I plan to follow the babies and to donate to Wildcare to help them with the cost of their care. If a safe place isn't available for their release, I will find one. I feel responsible for them, I think we are all responsible for all the little ones...especially those who become orphans because of our malice or lack of caring. Aren't we all in this together? Aren't we all related? Shouldn't we look out for the innocent and the helpless ones? Isn't that the best way to live, to be? So many don't seem to think so. So many seem to think I'm weird or "strange". I truly don't get it. I just don't.

I firmly believe what I did was the absolute minimum anyone can do and continue to live with any genuine and valid sense of connection with life on this planet. Doing the minimum doesn't deserve thanks. it just should be what we do. Please live vegan, that's part of the minimum of living as if you're connected. Volunteer and support with donations your local rescue and sanctuary organizations. We have so much to make up for in terms of how much pain and loss and death we've inflicted (and continue to inflict) on our fellow Earthlings. We all owe these victims more than we can repay and our repairing or mitigating what we've done and do to them is partly the path to our redeeming ourselves from the horror we've created and the monsters we've made of ourselves. Help them in order to help yourself.

10 comments:

Have Gone Vegan said...

Horrible day indeed. Sorry you had to go through that. And sorry of course for all the horrible days that our fellow sentient beings have to endure.

You're absolutely correct that we all have a responsibility to each other, and it makes us less human, less sentient, when we fail to do so. And for what it's worth, you're one of the sanest people I know. :)

veganelder said...

Thank you for commenting HGV. Your kind words are appreciated. I just re-watched a movie called "Snow Falling on Cedars" (which isn't my favorite because of rather overdone flashbacking) but the attorney played by Max von Sydow had a great trial closing speech where he remarked something to the effect that the longer he lived the more he felt like some being from Mars that had been transported here. I often feel like I'm from someplace further away than Mars. :-)

Oh well, if the baby opossums survive and get to live their opossum lives...that, at least, will be something good.

joan.kyler said...

What you did was wonderful. Those babies are lucky in that you found them and did what you could to help them. So many people would have driven right past. My best friend is a veterinarian and usually has an opossum in the bathtub or a pigeon with a broken wing on the porch. She taught me to stop to check the pouches on opossums hit by cars because, as you discovered, they sometime have babies tucked away.

I agree with you completely. We can never repay animals for the pain and abuse our species inflicts on them daily. My heart grows heavier with each year. A friend sent me a link to a YouTube video which may cheer you up or give you hope, if you haven't seen it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Usz1LdIUxLk

veganelder said...

Thank you for your comment Joan. I have seen the video, the kiddo is scary excellent. We just need to grow more human animals like him.

I continue to feel anguish for the mom and her babies. Life is important, even when we act as if it isn't. Someday enough of us will wake up to that truth...and we'll begin to shrink the debt we've created instead of adding to it.

Good for your vet friend, so many vets ascribe to the "human superiority syndrome"...it's good to hear of those who are real healers.

Bea Elliott said...

Oh what an awful day for sure. Sounds like all the grey clouds gathered round every event that followed the unnoticed killing of Opossum Mom and some of her precious babies.

Poor bunny with the cancer. I'm glad she won't have to endure a painful end. Just sweet dreams.

And the one who got the bad end of a fight - I know for sure that everyone in Heartland have set things up so such a trauma won't be repeated. Still... I know how awful it must have been to have one bad-news story follow another. Some days just suck.

But look at it this way... (I know you do) those rescued opossum kids just won the lottery to the best care they could possibly have found! I'm hoping with all the rest that they pull through to make opossum babies of their own. And live the safe and full life their mother never could.

And just like our fellow Earthling-Marsupials do... Hang in there. There are better days to come. <3

Christina said...

Yes there are days when I don't even want to crawl out of bed. Thank goodness you were in the right place at the right time.

Little Ardvark will be missed.

Bea Elliott said...

Just a clarification - The babies will get the best *human* care available. Nothing subs for a mom. :/

Thanks Christina for filling in the blank... Ardvark. RIP.

Christina said...

Bea, Arkvark was just a little nickname for the bun that passed at Heartland. Her name was Arven and she was a good kid.

Bea Elliott said...

Nicknames work... Our little girl Teco has more nicknames than whiskers! ;)

Arven is a lovely name. <3

veganelder said...

Thank you for commenting Bea and Christina.

Bea: It was a day with many bads. As far as avoiding another bunny fight...they happen sometimes. Bunnies who are housed right next to each other are the worst at mixing it up if they get the chance...you can get the angriest at those closest to you and bunnies just follow that rule like we do. The two that fought are neighbors. :-)

Here's hoping the babies have better and longer lives.

Arven is missed.

Christina: Yes, Arven is thoroughly missed.