Deanna Stovall

An Excerpt from the poem:
"I repudiate any humanity taught,
Emulating video games played by youth.
With no strings attached I tend to attack
any living thing that moves."


At birth we're taught to treat every man, woman, child, or animal, with the same respect as ourselves. William Ralph Inge said it best when he stated that: "We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form" Thinking deeply about this very common, and reoccurring problem believes that Igne speaks the truth on the matter. Humans have become the death and destruction of innocent animals living in our Great American woodlands. With no regret, humans have trespassed in to the habitats of animal communities and one by one took the life of out fur covered family members. The NMS project three was inspired by the class's visit to the Columbia featured exhibit Loaded. Using various forms of art and media, artist conveyed the universal message of the hunting of animals as a form of entertainment. One piece that really caught my attention was a piece that was simply a white canvas with multicolored letter (using the materials: Leather, cotton, wool, and a plastic and fabric mixture). The letters to someone who didn't view the piece deeply would only see: "designedtodeliverkillshots," formed in a row of four. When viewed differently the piece reads: "Designed to deliver kill shots." This is a representation of how weapons for game hunting isn’t designed to stun the animals, or to merely wound them to the point that they could still function in their environment. Its meant to kill them, shed blood, and make it easier to mound them atop our Jeeps and SUVs. As a child, I grew up in the south. My family on my fathers side lived in very wooded areas where hunting was a major sports that was highly respected by the men. Hound dogs of about fifteen were kept in the back yard of my grandmother’s neighbor’s home. The Jackson was the type of elderly people who knew nothing more than southern life, and were content with the lifestyle. Mr. Jackson, an experienced black hunter, was mostly proud of the prizes of rabbits and deer that was eventually skinned and cooked my Mrs. Jackson, the proud housewife. It never struck me that animals were harmed in such a non-humane manner. The long wood finished rifles didn’t strike me as instruments of fatality. The pot sitting on the porch covered in a white plastic grocery bag, didn’t scream innocence animals to me. As an adult the true began to set in while watching films and documentaries about PETA, and other anti-hunting groups. We’re known for being the superior species, but I don’t believe that means harming the ones under you as a form a game. I felt that this exhibit spoke a lot to unfamiliar ears. The Sean Slifer portion exhibit, in addition to the in class discussion, brought to my attention also the false representation of large and “dangerous” animals and how conquering the beast is a sign of strength. This thought has been display in early literature and art, and created heroes like Beowulf and Hercules. Killing an inferior was an achievement only the brave and strong could succeed. The question that pops in my mind is: I don’t see killing of a harmless, unfamiliar, or inferior animals doesn’t show a sign of heroic traits; I only see traits of a bully of the environment.