I read a story on CNN today. It was about a young boy who stabbed a mother Mallard and her ducklings to death with a pencil. The boy was in the sixth grade.
While reading this story it struck me that what this troubled boy did was no different than what my friend's son had done when he used live turtles for target practice. The boy who stabbed the ducks didn't "understand why it was wrong." These boys, and many others just like them, will grow up without a necessary respect and empathy for life..whether it is the life of a turtle, a family of Mallard ducks, or even, perhaps, a human. Their indifference to death scares me. The parents who teach this indifference scare me. I can only imagine how the mother Mallard fought against this young boy as he attacked her. She couldn't fly away. She stayed to protect her young.
I hope this boy has some adults in his life that are supportive enough to get him some help. He needs it. Jeffrey Dahmer tortured and killed animals when he was young. Nuff said.