Redefining compassion and mercy

In the etymology of the word "compassion," the word’s Latin root,
pati, means "to suffer," while the prefix
com means "with." Combined, they literally mean "to suffer with." The ability to connect with other living beings and deeply feel and identify with their suffering compels one to strive for humane alleviation of that suffering.

The definition of the word "mercy," according to the online Oxford Dictionary is “compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.”

Recently, new definitions of those two words were coined by some men in Trinidad.

The word "mercy," redefined by three men of Embacadere, South Trinidad, now refers to the act of stringing up an innocent dog to hang from a branch high on a tree, laughing and filming as the animal screams and writhes in pain until its tortured demise.

Earlier this year those three men were arrested and charged for the above mentioned unlawful killing of the pet dog of one of the men, Madison. The heinous act was committed in Roodal Cemetery, Embacadere on April 11. The trio pleaded guilty, claiming that their act of hanging was one of mercy, since the animal was in pain, having been hit by a car three months prior and was, in their words, “interfering with people garbage.”

The attorney representing the three men also exercised lexicographical creativity when he gave new meaning to the term "compassion."

A newspaper article by Sascha Wilson stated that in his mitigation plea the attorney said that his clients did what they thought was "best and convenient" and that they acted out of "compassion" because the dog was in pain.

How could such a torturous act ever be classified as compassionate?

At this juncture it is vital that we pause to remind our nation’s citizens of the true meaning of compassion, the essence of which is grossly lacking in our deeply suffering society and is in need of emergency revival.

Compassion’s original, globally known and accepted meaning is beautifully highlighted in the below quote by Buddhist monk Thich Naht Hanh:

“The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognise the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves 'inside the skin' of the other.  We 'go inside' their body, feelings, and mental formations, and witness for ourselves their suffering.  Shallow observation as an outsider is not enough to see their suffering.  We must become one with the subject of our observation. When we are in contact with another's suffering, a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means, literally, 'to suffer with.'"

As per that definition, one must ask: did those three men put themselves in the position of the dog that suffered at their hands? Were they at any point moved by love and compassion to become one with her and connect with her feelings?

And yes, animals, being sentient beings, do experience and express feelings...as do we humans.

It is natural and expected that those who care would feel and express anger over the unacceptable outcome of this case. Many have voiced the desire to see the killers suffer as the dog did. Commentators on social media have not held back from vehemently expressing their disgust and horror at the ruling.

One animal lover described it as a "judicial spit in the face"...a paltry fine of $400 each for an act so diabolic that it traumatised many across the nation.

Would even the amended fine of $100,000 and a year in jail (ironically proclaimed law exactly a month after the hanging) have been enough?

What did those men learn from the experience other than to refrain from filming and uploading their killing on social media?

Is it possible that they could ever learn about love and compassion? Or will senseless torture forever be their A+ subject in the School of Life? Ironically, their best teacher of ‘compassion’ and "mercy" may never be a human. The true master of unconditional love and forgiveness is a dog.

Among various elements that are amiss in this case, it must be made clear through widespread national debate that the torturous hanging to death of an innocent animal or the unlawful killing of any living being could never be a "compassionate" act or an "act of mercy."

If we in TT do not know the true meaning of those terms, then "May God save our nation.”