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Among the very worst accusations one can make towards others are, "child abuser," "wife beater," "rapist" or "animal abuser."
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Such denote the accused as predators who prey upon the vulnerable and defenseless.
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These allegations are not to be thrown around lightly (without actual evidence to the crimes) for to do so, is not just to destroy careers, but in many cases, lives.
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For some years, those men and women who work with carriage horses in New York City have been barraged with accusations of "animal cruelty" and personally labeled "animal abusers" on a weekly and sometimes, daily basis.
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This despite the fact there is no actual evidence to the accusations. On the contrary, countless veterinarians, animal behavioral experts and even the Director of the Equine Rescue Network have testified to the physical and mental health of the horses and to the excellence of their overall care.
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What does such repeated name-calling and scurrilous accusation do to one's self-image? How is the accused presented to his/her family, neighbors, friends and community? How does the accused defend against such allegations other than hiding in a corner?
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Actual criminals have right to legal defense in courtrooms.
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But those who are simply subjected to malicious innuendos and criminal accusations without proof are left twisting in the wind as it is always hard to prove a negative. (e.g. "I did not do what I am accused of.")
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Years ago, I had a Labrador mixed dog who lived for catching Frisbees. Fawn lit up like a Christmas tree every time she saw me grab the Frisbee because she knew she would be in doggie heaven for the next couple of hours in Central Park. So proficient was Fawn at running and jumping high in the air to catch Frisbees, (regardless of weather or conditions) she often entertained people in the park. Once, I even entered Fawn in a Frisbee contest! (She didn't win, but both she and I had a blast.)
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But, what if others interpreted these actions as "animal cruelty" or me "enslaving" and "forcing" my dog to perform tricks against her will? How would I have felt if called an "animal abuser?" How would I have defended against such?
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For sure, I would have been very indignant and angry (as many carriage drivers are). But, it would have been actually hard to defend against the accusations as dogs can't talk to provide witness testimony.
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Horses of course, can't talk either to defend their owners and handlers.
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But, like my dog, Fawn, horses show through their body language and their willing and enthusiastic cooperation in the endeavors before them, their contradiction to the accusations. Put simply, If a horse doesn't want to do something, s/he doesn't do it -- just as none of my dogs previous to or following Fawn have shown any interest in catching balls or Frisbees.
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Unfortunately, one does not need to be convicted of actual crime in a courtroom to be convicted in the worlds of social media or on-street, name-calling.
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Repeat certain buzzwords like "animal abusers" or "cruelty" or "enslavement" long and often enough and many people start to believe them without actual facts and investigation.
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Copy and blow up, hundreds of times, photos of the few unfortunate and accidental incidents in which carriage horses have been injured or died over the course of many decades and millions of carriage rides and one can create and manufacture a case of alleged "abuse" or horses representing "weapons" on the streets of NYC. Photoshop and highly edit videos to create dark images accompanied by equally dark music and it can be made to appear on YouTube that carriage horses indeed lead a "miserable" and bleak existence in NYC.
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Indeed, these days one can cook up a credible case against almost anything with a little creativity, a camera and a computer.
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But, in courts, creative, edited and photoshopped videos and photos don't necessarily make the case for actual and criminally intended abuse as recent human controversies have demonstrated. There is much more in actual evidence juries and judges have to go by. Photos and videos are only part of the picture -- usually a small part as they generally don't show or go to state of mind and intent.
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Much of what has been happening with carriage horses over the past few years reminds of the famous play (and movie), "The Children's Hour." In that, two young and idealistic teachers start a boarding school for children, but become victims of malicious rumors and innuendos that they are gay based upon the repeated misinterpretations and exaggerations of one student who alarms an entire community of parents to withdraw their children. In the end, the young teachers lose everything, including nearly, their friendship with each other.
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It seems in the closing of the year, 2014, we are witnessing nearly the same thing as the bill to ban horse carriages in NYC based mostly on alleged "cruelty" has been officially introduced into the City Council this past week.
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With a seemingly "bought" mayor behind the bill, some dirty politics and the City Council Speaker also championing the legislation, its quite possible it might actually pass, despite it going against the wishes of most New Yorkers, organized labor and inspiring a rash of newspaper Editorials against it:
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But, even if the City Council caves out of political self interest to this cruel and misguided legislation, it will never stand up when challenged in the courts. Courts are, after all, the places where actual evidence and constitutional free choice counts at the end of the day over innuendo, false labels, emotional projections and highly edited photos and videos.
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At least in this way, we are different and a little more progressed today than in the times of The Children's Hour or The Scarlet Letter, though many of the human tendencies towards suspicious, scurrilous and cruel accusations remain. -- PCA
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