A commercial came on just now from the ASPCA. Now, I have seen some stuff in my life that I've been able to deal with just fine: Child birth. Cups of diarrhea or mucus for microbiology culture. I found a leg from the thigh down on 9/11 while doing Search and Rescue. Pictures of my own knee surgery, with pins, screws, etc. But dammit, don't let me see commercials of animals suffering. Don't let me read articles about it. In fact, I have two things I can't stand: Abuse of animals and abuse of children. People who abuse animals or children should be put on a fucking rack and tortured. In regards to the Alt-focus, I could probably handle doing the torture of those people. They fucking suck. FOCUS: What are your limits? Alt-FOCUS: What are you ok with that other people just can't handle?
One way that I've changed since becoming a dad (and lets face it, as cliche as it is and no matter how much people may argue against this, it really does change you- more on this later) is that I find that I am really emotionally affected by stories in the news of suffering, mistreated, and murdered children/babies. I never really gave it any thought before- dead baby jokes didn't bother me, and news stories (unless I knew the people involved personally) were just met with a shoulder shrug and a "Meh, that sucks. Poor people. Anyway, give me the Goddamn clicker or put Gorden Ramsey back on!". I'm pretty much impervious to offense, and I like to think that my sense of humor is broad enough to were I can separate jest from serious intent. But a few weeks ago, I saw a link on Fark.com describing some sick fuck who killed his baby by sticking it in the microwave and nuking it. I found myself sick to my stomach. I was almost as surprised at my emotional reaction as I was disgusted by this dude's actions. I immediately thought of my own son, so small and helpless and sweet and innocent and completely and utterly dependent on ME for everything he experiences in this life. The thought that someone could do that to something so pure and innocent completely filled me with rage and disgust, and there are very few things in my life that have brought about this reaction so severely before. So while I don't begrudge people who joke about stuff like that that, and I do still know how to take a joke, I just don't find that subject amusing anymore. Oh, and blood and guts and stuff. I can't look at it on TV or real life. Gross.
I can't stand people who abuse animals. In fact, I told my manager at the bar I fill in at from time to time that if Michael Vick walked in, I would refuse to serve him. My manager's response: "I wouldn't serve him either." I wish I had saved the e-mail, but I basically wrote to the Eagles organization and told them that after having been a fan all my life, I no longer would be because they signed Vick. I also will not buy Nike anymore, due to the endorsement deal. Edit: Added 'stand' - Thanks Dcc.
I'm basically just going to copy the rep I gave this when it was in the Suggestions Thread from memory, but +1 for my limits being abused animals. Or, just when an animal dies in a movie or book. My limits for watching people dying or being abused on screen or in a book is fairly high, at least compared to how high my emotional reaction can be to, like, the happy ending of a cartoon or something. Say a movie started out with a brutal war scene, and then ended with a heavy tale about the hero soldier's dog when he returned home, I'd be perfectly fine with watching the first part, but as soon as the beloved pet dies, and especially if there is any scene where there is any abuse of an animal, all I can think is WHAT SICK FUCK CAME UP WITH THIS SHIT? That being said, I cannot handle stories about people getting hurt - or seeing it in real life - whatsoever. I can feel whatever they're describing and freak out, and if I actually see it I just fall apart. My tolerance for it is a lot lower than most people. As for the alt-focus, I really can't think of anything. I'm a baby.
I was watching one of those sarah maclaughlin depress-o-mercials and it just goes from abused animal to abused animal... and then a dog that's just bored. He's fat, healthy, and the expression on his face is the one you see on the family pet when no one's throwing a ball for him to chase. How the hell did he get in there?
Like Blue Dog, news stories where babies/ children are harmed make me want to throw up and even feel depressed for a couple of days. I always relate to my children, this makes it too personal. Animal Abuse is always a sensitive topic for me. I can't watch movies based on real horrors anymore. Hotel Rwanda, Tears of the Sun, etc.,that kind of cruelty and helplessness combined breaks my heart. The directors want it to be graphic to make you "aware" and it works. I am aware that I will avoid those flicks in the future, despite the quality of the movies. I've stitched a few gashes over the years, on people and animals. I think threading flesh is fucking awesome. Mr P calls me Buffalo Bill, after watching me clean up a neighbors wound to the back of his head. (how he came to have this 3" insult belongs in another thread) The best was during a blizzard, over a decade ago, my appaloosa decided to impale himself on a t post. I had to stitch three layers of muscle. He stood patiently, I had nothing to help him with the pain. Vet later proclaimed that I should be veterinary surgeon. I probably should have...
I know I'm not really adding to this thread, but that being said I have to agree with Bluedog and the others that the abuse of children and animals are my limits. My wife loves shows like Law and Order: SVU, and before we had kids I didn't really think much about it. It was just a way for us to waste an hour together on the couch after I got home from work. Now I can't stomach it. It seems like every show there is a child being abused or killed, and even the shows that don't deal with kids directly there is usually one on the periphery whos' life is irreparably damaged. When I see this, I automatically related it to my two daughters. There have been times that I have mentally put myself in to that fathers position and, frankly, I don't think I could show any restraint if someone hurt one of my daughters. God help that person if that day ever comes, because I sure won't.
I loved SVU when I was a teenager, and there were a lot of episodes where my dad would say "Nope, I'm outta here" and walk off without saying another word. He just couldn't stand it.
What the fuck is wrong with some of you? You're ok with watching people get mangled and maimed but the second someone kicks a dog it's too much? Really? Here's the deal. I own a dog and I fucking love the thing. That being said, fuck her. There is no way in hell I'd put her life before that of a human being. Even a stranger. It really bothers me when people have the mentality that it's ok to be nicer to animals than people. I have a ton of friends (mostly women) who get all misty eyed when that Abused animal commercial comes on, this would be fine, except the just fucking change the channel or ignore the one with all the starving kids. You're telling me that the sight of an abused animal (and don't get me wrong i completely disagree with animal abuse and think it's horrid) gets more emotions out of you than that of a starving child? That's not normal. Like I said, I love my dog and I take good care of her, but I'm willing to bet if my neighbour or someone started feeding her more than I do her loyalties will change pretty drastically. I know a lot of you will disagree with me but guys, they are animals, they run on mostly instinct. The reason they like you is because it's in their best interest. Again, the point I want to make is that animals should not be higher on the list of things we care for than people. Anyway this kind of ties in with what I can take that others can't. The sight of blood and gore. My grandfather owned several farms and slaughterhouses back in the old country. I've been on the inside and seen cattle and swine being butchered. I'm pretty immune to that stuff now. I know someone people who get lightheaded if they cut themselves, but it just doesn't bother me anymore.
Focus: I can't stand anything with broken bones. Cuts, blood, even guts - they don't bother me. But the second there's some bone splinter or a knee bending the wrong way... Nope, I'm done.
Any abuse, not just children and animals, like elder and spousal abuse makes me angry. But the thing that really, really pisses me off is discrimination of women. Not the "wah-wah-wah, out of the 5 science articles we had to read none were written by womyn...off with the mens' heads". I'm talking about female genital mutilation, raping of women when their brother does something wrong, splashing their faces with acid if their nails are painted, throwing them into the fire if their husband dies, burning down schools with the little girls still inside... I have and will not visit any of the countries where they treat women like this, because I just want to choke every single one of those motherfuckers. Even as a tourist, I would not be able to handle "just" being felt up and spat on just because I am a woman. Sorry, just typing this made me angry. Also, being in the medical profession, I can handle trauma surgeries, standing in a pool of blood with the patient open from the neck down to the pubic bone. Very cool actually. But during Obstetrics, I had to leave the OR in a quarter of the C-sections. Something about blue baby feet sticking up from the middle of the sterile field, and down I go...
abuse of any kind, cruelty, unfairness, any kind of animal yuckiness. ANYTHING where I have to listen to those Jersey Shore women (and their ilk) talk. Several years ago I could get into the crime thrillers and enjoy it as an escape to a sanitized reality. Not anymore. That shit gives me nightmares now.
Forgot about this, but thanks to Shimmered bringing up Jersey Shore... Any movie / show where someone does something awkward or embarrassing for a prolonged period of time. I feel like screaming "WHAT ARE YOU DOING STOP THAT IT'S NOT RIGHT." Movies that get comedy from this (Dude Where's My Car) are completely unwatchable for me; they make me so uncomfortable.
Human trafficking. I can take a joke about anything, watch people get their spines ripped out with no problem, but watching anything with human trafficking in it makes me sick to my stomach. The movie Taken had me on the edge of tears the whole time. Just the thought of going from a regular person to a piece of property where no one cares about your life, future or even your name. It is an utterly hopeless situation that at best has you rescued and traumatized for the rest of your life, at worst has you being raped to death. And they drug you, so you don't have any of your senses available to plan an escape or think about rebelling in any way. It is the worst fate I can think of and every time I see anything about it, I want to simultaneously throw up and murder everyone who thinks it is okay.
Eye injuries, or even eye CONTACT. That scene in A Clockwork Orange where his eyes are pryed open? Can't fucking do it Might have to do with my history of eye surgery and how it wasnt always done.. competently. [combined with waking up from real "knife" eye surgery in a room with goddamn skylights. Seriously?]
Same here with kids. Kids are the sweetest fucking little things. You play with them for a few minutes and they're your best buds. They love their parents so much. Seeing someone hit their child makes me want to kick their ass. Hell half the reason I hate going to the mall or the grocery store is because I hate seeing parents drag around their kids without giving a shit about they want while buying themselves all sorts of crap. Then when their kids act up, they'll immediately hit them. It's so sickening.
Alt-Focus: I can handle any kind of gore. Working in a doctor's office, I've seen some really disgusting things. One girl threw a full can of beer into a bonfire and it shot out and hit her in the face, fusing with her skin. Another guy got his hand pulled into a wood chipper. He still technically had all his fingers, but they were hanging on by threads. Boobs without nipples, which doesn't sound all that bad, but the first time you see it, you are just horribly uncomfortable. After seeing all this, I am no longer affected by horror movie gore. I couldn't watch "Hostel" because, if the gross stuff doesn't gross you out and it doesn't seem that cool anymore, that movie is just horrible. Focus: I can't think of anything besides what has already been said. I turn off any commercial involving a suffering animal or a little kid who needs my help. I even have to skip over the scene in "American Psycho" when he kills the homeless guy, because he kicks the dog.
I'll throw in my hat with hurting animals. I can't watch those shows like Animal Cops and shit because I either want to cry or crash through my TV trying to kill the abusing assholes. For a different thing - I can handle almost any type of horror movie gore. I can see someone get their throat slit, disemboweled, etc. and it doesn't really bother me, but I get really uneasy when it involves hands and feet. Broken fingers or fingernails getting pulled off make me shudder, and hands and feet getting smashed get me as well. Here's an example: The only time that I got seriously twitchy during Hostel was when the guy's Achilles tendons get sliced and he tries to walk (don't like the movie but that was the only part that made be go "oh god" and look away). I had the same reaction when they did it in Kill Bill. I don't know why those get me so much more than things that should be more disturbing ...
This isn't particularly gross, but I can handle hearing other people have sex. Living in an apartment with thin walls, this is an advantage. For whatever reason it just doesn't bug me, and yet, lots of people I know are grossed out by it. It's better than listening to the neighbours argue with their boyfriend, or cry about math problems, or have their computer speakers on full blast so you can hear every mouse click and annoying song played until 3 in the morning. At least they're having a good time, right?