Trigger warning for severe animal abuse.

From the Arkansas Times (via Feministe)

Jacob Burris, who has served as Aden’s campaign manager since late October, arrived home with his family Sunday evening, and his four children discovered the gruesome scene as they exited the family vehicle to enter their home.

The family pet, an adult, mixed-breed Siamese cat, had one side of its head bashed in to the point the cat’s eyeball was barely hanging from its socket. The perpetrators scrawled “liberal” across the cat’s body and left it on the doorstep of Burris’ house.

“To kill a child’s pet is just unconscionable,” Aden said Monday morning. “As a former combat soldier, I’ve seen the best of humanity and the worst of humanity. Whoever did this is definitely part of the worst of humanity,” he said.

The worst of humanity indeed. When animals are unnecessarily killed, abused, tortured, or harassed it is an egregious display of the most despicable characteristics. At least with human-on-human violence, though most times entirely senseless, there is some probability of reason or motivation.

Attacking the inarguably innocent is the difference between human and sub-human.