Month: April 2014

Heartbreak in the Heartland

White horse painting by BZTAT
“Survivor” painting by BZTAT

Tragedy has hit way too close to home for me this week. I posted on Monday about one tragedy, and now, another one has hit even closer for me.

Animals are very special to me, and knowing that violence towards animals has direct links to violent acts towards human beings, I take any reports of animal abuse very seriously. When a heinous act of animal abuse happens in my community, it tears my heart apart. Sadly, that has happened this week.

Sunday night, two horses were maliciously gunned down in a field in rural Canton Township just south of Canton, OH where I live. The field is along a road that I frequently travel when I visit my friends who live nearby. My friends also have horses, as do many people living in this rural countryside area.

The two horses apparently bled to death and they were not discovered until the next day.

Any senseless act of violence such as this stuns the senses. But this act was particularly jarring. One of the horses was a therapy horse for a girl with autism, and the other belonged to a 15 year old girl. These two girls and their families have suffered immeasurable loss.

I am an avid pet lover and I understand the human-animal bond that exists between a human being and a pet. Even so, I recognize that the relationship between a human being and a horse takes that bond to a unique and special level. There is a soulfulness between horse and rider that rises to a level of connection that is not matched anywhere else in our world. I cannot imagine the pain of having that connection so violently and hatefully broken, especially to a young girl.

I am not one to dwell on pain and hate. It is my nature to try to do what I can to promote healing and hope. In that spirit, I am in the process of reaching out to these two families to extend a special gift to them. Both girls who have experienced such great loss will be receiving BZTAT portraits of their beloved horses to remind them of the special moments that they shared together. Certainly, this gift will not replace their beloved equine friends, nor will it take the pain away. It is one thing that I can do, however, to excise my own pain and hopefully bring some healing to these two girls. I hope that it will show them that there are more people in this world that care than there are hateful ones.

Also, as a Board Member for Peace for Pets, a local group offering Safe Haven services to pets affected by domestic violence, I am happy to announce that we are, thanks to a generous donor, offering a $1000 reward for any information leading to the conviction of the perpetrators of this crime. Any information about the crime should be directed to the Stark County Sheriff’s Office at 330-430-3800.

My hope is that the perpetrator is brought to justice so that he or she will be stopped from causing any more pain for man or beast. And I hope that the affected families will be consoled by the knowledge that their community cares.

“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and get away with it.” -Anthropologist Margaret Mead.

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

I just don’t understand hate.

"Angel Heart" Drawing by BZTAT
Angel Heart Drawing by BZTAT

I understand anger. I understand fear. I understand mental and emotional distress that sometimes motivates hateful actions. I even understand suspicion and prejudice.

But I just don’t understand hate.

The kind of hate where a man wraps his entire life around hating a group of people who he does not even know, simply because they are from a culture that he has been taught to despise. The kind of hate that motivates a man like Frazier Glenn Miller.

Frazier Glenn Miller is the alleged shooter who went on a rampage yesterday and killed 3 people in Overland Park, KS in the parking lots of two Jewish facilities. When arrested, Miller proudly yelled anti-Semitic utterances in full view of a near-by TV news camera.

He is considered the “alleged” shooter, as he has not yet been convicted of the crime. But his long history of hate towards Jewish people has been well documented, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Not only has this 73-year old man  expressed his hatred in many forms throughout his life, he has mobilized others to do the same. Through “leadership” in the Klu Klux Klan and his creation of militia groups, he has motivated countless others to engage in hate activities towards innocent people.

I am not Jewish myself. But this man’s hate hurts me deeply. My good friend who lives in Leawood, KS is a frequent attendee at the very Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City where his life of hatred culminated in murder yesterday. Thankfully, she was home yesterday. preparing for Passover. But her world is shaken. The place that once represented community and joy and fellowship for her now is shattered by hate.

It also hurts me to know that my friend, who has helped me to understand the beauty of Jewish culture, is hated so violently by people who never have, and never will know her.

I will never understand that kind of hate, and truthfully, I do not want to.

I do, however, want to understand the kind of love and passion that drives people to continue their faith and traditions despite the presence of people who have built their lives around hating them. It is that kind of love that makes our world a compassionate and enriched worldwide community.

We come from different traditions and beliefs, but love is love. I thank my friend for reminding me of that. I pray for her healing, the healing of those who lost loved ones, the healing of the entire Jewish community, and the healing of our worldwide community.

May we all find a way to respond to hate in a way that does not allow it to take us in its grip in the way that it did this man.

 Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT