Protecting the Innocent -- Both Animals and People

The headline in the suburban Chicago newspaper read "Man gets taste of hot dog vendor's mercy." But the vendor's mercy was misdirected.

Here's the gist of the story:

After hot-dog vendor Joe Hornbaker refused to testify against him, charges were dropped against a convicted drunken driver who allegedly went on a drunken "rampage" two months ago.

Scott B. Muller, 23, was arrested in August after allegedly jumping onto Hornbaker's van, punching its windshield and breaking a rearview mirror. Hornbaker refused to appear in court against Muller.

"'I've been that guy,' Hornbaker said with a laugh," referring to the young and drunk Muller.

It's sad that Hornbaker finds Muller's actions so funny.

Muller on May 4 was fined and placed on a year of court supervision, after pleading guilty to a charge of drunken driving in Naperville. He could have faced new penalties for violating the terms of that supervision had Hornbaker opted to pursue the vehicular damage complaint.

Clearly Muller didn't learn any lesson from that conviction for drunken driving.

While Hornbaker said Muller apologized to him and that the attack on his van is "water under the bridge," the rest of society shouldn't be so forgiving of a man who is a threat to anyone on the road. Drunken driving is attempted murder. While Muller wasn't driving (or at least wasn't charged with a DUI) in August, he was allegedly drunk.

The news story spun Hornbaker's actions as those of a nice, "laid-back" guy, but I view them as harmful to society. Muller clearly isn't mature enough to drink alcohol, and he needs help. He's not going to get it if people write him off as simply young and foolish.

Muller isn't the victim; the drivers who share the road with him are.

(I realize the above doesn't have anything to do with animal rights, but I feel very strongly about drunken driving.)

The other victims
It wouldn't have mattered what Hornbaker did for a living. My opinion of his actions wouldn't have changed. But since we're talking about victims -- and this is a blog about animal rights -- I do wish Hornbaker would consider showing mercy to the animals whose flesh he sells.

Pigs are kept in crates so small they can't turn around. Their piglets are taken from them shortly after birth. The runts are routinely pounded on concrete floors or walls to kill them. The others are castrated, the ends of their teeth cut off, their tails chopped off -- all without painkillers. When it's time for them to be slaughtered, they travel on crowded trucks in extreme heat or bitter cold, their skin sometimes sticking to the sides of the vehicle. They are often slaughtered while still conscious.

Here's another look at an undercover video Mercy For Animals released last year of a pig supplier:



It's our responsibility -- the responsibility of each of us -- to protect the innocent among us, whether they be animals or people.

(Image courtesy of U.S. Army Medical Department.)