The backlash from animal lovers has brought a deluge of material from the BK supporters in an escalating battle of words. The more articulate ones bandy around phrases like "First Amendment" and "Freedom of Speech," while attempting to stifle those same rights of their opponents. They would have us believe their motives for supporting the BK site stem from the loftiest concepts; all the while attempting to educate us to the finer qualities of satire, parody, and black humor, by quoting Jonathan Swift and Kurt Vonnegut Jr, while missing the possibility that the BK creator may not even recognize the concept of satire, but may have stumbled onto its imitation quite by accident.
Redeeming Social Value?
One young woman (who fancies herself a "vixen") discussed the "redeeming social value" of the site, insisting that the beauty of black humor is that it forces us to "think the unthinkable," which serves a "valuable social function". Are we to believe that desensitizing humans to inhumanity makes them any more human? Would desensitizing us to the atrocities at Auschwitz by disguising them as "humor" serve any redeeming social purpose? Do the rap lyrics of "How to Kill a Kitten" serve any valuable social purpose? Or do these attempts at "Black Humor" make impressionable kids think that maiming and killing cats is not only okay, but it's cool as well?
Rotten.com, the alleged new host of BK, has achieved notoriety by posting photographs of dead accident victims, mayhem, and other atrocities. Does viewing these photos somehow make the majority of us "better people," or does it pander to the others who "get off" on this kind of visual fare? I wouldn't know, because I have no desire nor need to view violence. I've already seen quite enough of it with the Olivia burning, the Noah's Ark Massacre, and more. The perpetrators of these crimes had one thing in common with the message of the BK site: They thought the torture of helpless animals was fun. However, whether in actual practice. or in the satirical presentation of torture, it just plain isn't funny to most animal lovers.
Meanwhile, neither side is backing down. Both supporters and detractors of Bonsai Kitten have resorted to the tactics of infiltrating behind enemy lines by lurking in Bulletin Boards, or using assumed "handles" and lulling the opposing forces into complacence, then springing their Banzai attacks before retreating back to their own boards to boast of their feats. Many of these attacks have been of more of a Kamikaze nature, however, in that the "enemy" posts are often deleted before the lurkers can claim their fifteen minutes of fame.
The mentality of the "Bonsaibrained" activity has been exposed for what it is on this site. The author also terms BK supporters as " Morons" (His comments in red). While written with no mercy, this author's work points out the ridiculousness of people on the same side exchanging invective.
FBI Enters the Fray
Yes, the battle of words has grown ugly, and where it leads, no one knows for sure. There are already indications on both sides that people are growing weary of fussing and fighting, but neither site is willing to give in yet. However, the latest news, which has quickly spread throughout both camps, is that the FBI is making an investigation of the Bonsai Kitten webmaster, and that the A.G.'s office has issued a Grand Jury subpoena to MIT to provide "any and all subscriber information" about the site. The foundation for this interest by the FBI is thought to be a piece of legislation passed by the 106th Congress last year. That law makes the depiction for profit of animal cruelty illegal. In my opinion, it is unlikely that the FBI investigation will conclude with an arrest or indictment, in that there seems to be no hard evidence that the site was created for financial gain. However, the taint of allegation could be carried for life by the MIT student, much as the old "bank robbery arrest" followed my schoolmate Jack.
