Heart of The Matter

I am intrigued and impressed by the intensity and ferocity of the public outrage in response to the current emails circulating at light speed regarding a certain artist- this extract from Wikipedia:

"In 2007 Guillermo Vargas took a stray dog from the streets of Managua, Nicarague and tied it to a short leash in an art gallery, titling his exhibit "Eres Lo Que Lees" ("You Are What You Read"). Photographs appeared on the Internet showing a emaciated dog, tied to a wall by a length of rope in a room full of standing people, with the title of the exhibit written on the wall in dog food. The outrage triggered by the exhibit spawned allegations that the dog had been left to starve to death; these allegations quickly spread internationally via blogs, e-mails, and other unconfirmed sources."

The circulating emails encourage the signing of an online petition to stop the artist from repeating his artistic statement in another art exhibition.

Some said they were in tears when they read about this, others angry. It seems all energy is directed at the artist, condemning him and attempting to stop him. We're told that we can make a difference, save a life etc in just a few seconds without leaving the comfort of our chairs at home or in the office if we just tap on our keyboards, taking only a few seconds to sign a petition. That’s one way to do something constructive about where we stand on such issues.

But wait a minute- what IS the Heart of The Matter?

Yes this artist’s action may not be something many of us would condone. The truth is many things which we would not condone happen each day, everywhere, hundreds of miles away from where we may be or just right beneath our noses. Many of us automatically turn to focus on the perpetrator and determinedly tear the person apart and anyway, all this makes for good conversation fodder.

We can also choose to look at ourselves when something happens.

It is sad and unfortunate that our attention has been captured by such an extreme act - but undeniably that's what it has done. But we can still take that one step further and match our outrage with an equal effort otherwise wouldn’t that reveal us as being hypocritical bystanders? (let’s be honest, surely banging on the keys to sign the online petition which takes a few minutes was only equal to a fraction of the outrage each person felt) Surely this can be taken one step further into each of our own immediate realities.

Is the Heart of the Matter the issue about the prevention of cruelty to animals?

If there’s one thing working in crisis management in the past has taught me, it’s “Every problem is an opportunity in disguise”- there’s still some good that can come out of this negative situation.

I wonder if the people who are moved, saddened, outraged would DO SOMETHING NOW, CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING themselves, personally towards the prevention of animal cruelty. It’s about making the effort/contribution equal to one’s response to this artist's unacceptable act, more than simply tapping the keys at the computer to sign the petition. There is a lot or a little anyone can do, and it all makes a difference in another day of a dog's life when it is struggling.

I wonder if anyone would call an animal shelter or animal rescue group where they live and ask what they could do to help. One hour, one meal, one walk, one monetary gift, one visit to pet them- for a dog or cat, makes a difference. When animals are abandoned or suffer from cruelty for whatever reason, they live on the edge day by day and I have seen and felt how every little thing makes a difference.

So what is the Heart of The Matter?

I wondered about the people who visited the exhibition and saw the dog for themselves. I couldn’t find any account of someone trying to free the dog or feed the dog. Had anyone of us been at that exhibition- saddened, outraged, shocked, repulsed- what would we have done?

Is this not an equal if not bigger outrage that many people came and saw and left. I can imagine many went home disturbed and to cry. Which reminds me of another incident.

Several months back when we were at a busy pub enjoying a good day, a tiny stray kitten wandering in from a nearby gutter with its sibling and was accidentally trodden to death underfoot by an innocent patron. While it convulsed and bled, several women who saw it happen jumped up in horror and another started crying hysterically. This hysteria went on for awhile and the other patrons’ attention naturally shifted in that direction. The woman had to be consoled by several people and eventually left, obviously too distraught to continue her evening plans. I have no doubt it was a disturbing experience for her as it was for many of us. When things happen we struggle with many aspects- how easily it seems to distract us from the Heart of The Matter. It seemed all about her- what about the kittens?

We picked up the other tiny kitten wandering lost and crying, disturbed by the commotion. Cuddling it was probably the therapy we all needed. We spoke to the staff at the pub and were told that the kittens lived with their mother in the gutter and often wandered into the pub. After some discussion with the boss of the pub and kind staff member, they agreed to provide the kitten a box for safety and to keep it in the back lane away from the busy pub front, in hope that the mother would find her kitten later.

7 months ago when I started feeding the emaciated street dog Fa and she was possibly more emaciated than the dog at this particular artist’s “show”.

Fa 7 months ago, emaciated and roaming the streets

the street dog "exhibited" by the artist

visitors to the artist's "show"

She was starving, roaming a well-known shopping and eateries area which has one of the highest vehicular and human traffic in the city. I didn’t see anybody stop to give her a second look. I didn’t see anybody give her something to eat. I didn’t see anybody outraged, saddened or moved. Mostly they moved away quickly. If not, she did.

What would we do if we came across Fa or the dog at the exhibition on the street, starving as it were? Yes, we don’t like what this artist has done. Would we like what we had not done too?

Last night on my walk back from dinner on this same very busy street especially since it was also a Friday night, I saw up ahead an old, apparently homeless man lying on the sidewalk in drunken stupor. He had been there hours earlier in exactly the same position when I had gone out to get something from the pharmacy. A young man came along, seeming not to be of any relation to the old man sleeping on the sidewalk, and started shouting at him and kicking him in the back several times. Others kept their distance and watched in silence. Another elderly man passing by said “Enough, that’s enough!” to the young man upon which the young man just walked off. I stopped just by them, stunned by the needless violence which had all taken place within seconds. In a silent voice, I’m still asking myself, what I would have done if someone else had not put a stop to this unnecessary hurt.

This time I was spared the answer. I walked home saddened at being a witness and saddened that there are truths to be faced about who we are, ourselves.