Is karma real?

Dear Karma, I’ve Got a List of People You Missed

This is the short one — I’ll flesh out the longer list later

Warning advisory. This is a rant. It’s not entertainment. It’s about the desire for justice and prayers for consequences to be visited upon the asshole who shot our cat with an air rifle last Thursday.

It’s about real and karmic equity.

If you’re not in the mood for a rant, keep scrolling for more cheerful stories. I’m not even in the mood for a rant, but that’s beside the point.

Why do some people seem to get away with just about everything while others get the book thrown at them for the tiniest infraction? Does anybody know?

We want to believe good triumphs over evil. We’re practically taught from the cradle good guys eventually win and bad guys will suffer their comeuppance.

These fairy tales are propped up in movies, plays, books, and television.

We love to imagine karma — lurking in the shadows, licking its lips, sharpening its knives, waiting to pounce.

We love believing in karma — this notion of a phantasmagorical, cosmic super power pummeling asshats for actions gone unpunished by traditional means.

It’s because we want to feel there’s justice in this world. You know, what comes around goes around.

Bullshit!

It’s a crock. A bedtime story — a sedative for our frayed nerves and our fear that whatever went unpunished will be worse next time.

Reality bears this out. Too often it’s like “the system” is rigged to reward dickheads, rule breakers, the entitled rich, cheaters, and liars. If not “reward,” then at least give them a pass.

It’s the everyday jerk who gives you the finger while pulling their Hummer into the last available handicapped space in front of Fresh Market.

“I’ll park wherever the fuck I want!” — quote from Asshole

They won’t get the ticket. In fact, the jerk will be the one who looks down and pockets a $50 bill on the ground next to his vehicle.

It’ll be you who gets pulled over and ticketed ten minutes later for not coming to a complete stop at the stop sign down where there were no drivers in sight in four directions.

Yay, karma!

It’s like karma doesn’t have time to bother with people who flaunt social norms or unwritten rules that make life easier for everyone.

Or worse, the corner cutters who throw up a shabbily built apartment complex that collapses ten years later killing a hundred people. Did karma even notice?

So, is karma real or not?

Here I am this afternoon wondering if such a thing exists. If it does, is it going to get involved with the recent shooting of Buddy, our yellow cat who was just minding his own business on that beautiful, spring-scented day last week?

After we found him painfully dragging his leg in our back yard — just having seen him intact a short while earlier — there’s little doubt in my mind the perp is the reportedly volitile neighbor living directly behind us.

Our homes are separated by the brick and cedar fence that surrounds our home and that of our neighbors on both sides. Given the time frame and simple logic, it stands to reason it was someone from the house behind us.

Buddy was probably shot while traipsing along the fence-line. Logic would dictate he then fell into our yard.

I don’t want to hear any nonsense about him possibly being shot down the street or in another yard.

He would not have been able to drag that leg very far, and he certainly wouldn’t have been able to leap six feet or climb any trees.

We rushed him to the vet where an x-ray told the story of how he was injured. We saw the pellet or BB lodged in his shattered back leg.

The fracture was painful to view. Our vet put his leg into a splint, and within six weeks we’ll know whether his small bones are knitting back together.

If not, his leg must be amputated.

When we brought him home from his overnight stay at the vet’s, he was still dazed and drug addled. While there Michael prepared an area dedicated to his recovery.

This included a quiet area in the spare bedroom away from the other cats. He created a super-cozy bed, a nearby feeding station, and a specially made litter box with low sides. There’s a soft light, a radio tuned to jazz and classical music, and some catnip toys.

Since Thursday Buddy has been the center of our activities throughout the day — and night. Michael has been the one getting up and down, placing him into the little box, and refilling the water bowl he keeps knocking with his oversized cast.

To date, we’ve had little luck stirring any action from the police precinct. We’re still working it through.

Although everyone is sympathetic, no one seems to know what to do.

We’ve called the attorney general’s office regarding laws and penalties for animal abuse. We’ve consulted with people about the firing of air rifles inside the city.

We pointed out this person could have easily missed and shot a kid — or one of us. These guns can also shatter car windshields and windows in nearby homes.

Air rifles are a public safety hazard and they can damage personal property. Forget animal abuse for a moment — aren’t these issues also important?

Frankly, pleading the public safety and personal property issues is a better tactic to take when trying to present this case to some quarters of the community.

Way too many Tennesseans are gun-humping, firearm worshipping, stand-your-ground “patriots” who don’t want to hear negative stories about guns unless the perpetrators are minorities.

We’re still in the early stages of mounting our campaign for Buddy’s justice. Fliers will be mailed early this week announcing a reward for info leading to the positive ID of the shooter.

The flier also states this particular neighborhood cove has a “cat shooter in its midst.” This should get the attention of the cove’s residents. And, it should shake up the perpetrator. He’ll see it too.

Leaders in our neighborhood association have been very helpful regarding the deployment of these communications. No fliers in mailboxes — against the law!

I’m preparing an op-ed piece for our daily newspaper, and I’ve got several other plans that I’m not yet ready to publicly announce.

The great thing is we’ve gotten lots of support from friends near and far. People who told us they’ll drive in from another city to come help search for the perp.

No need, I told her. But, I’ll keep you posted just in case!

A few neighbors are cruising the area daily talking to residents about the incident. There’s a couple who’ve offered to do surveillance if we need them. The positive support has been greatly appreciated.

Even on Medium numerous people have expressed their outrage publicly and privately.

Defenseless animal abuse victims claw at our hearts and souls. It strikes a nerve that’s reserved for its sister crime — child abuse. And of course, many have repeated what most of us already know about animal abusers.

Anyone who deliberately harms animals are just as likely to hurt children, and later adults. It’s reported that around 75% of domestic violence offenders “started out” abusing family pets.

A large percentage of serial killers and mass shooters were also cited for injuring or killing small animals.

Or, neighborhood pets, like Buddy.

I do NOT want this individual to get away with what he did. He has no idea the havoc he’s caused. The main victim is Buddy, who’s doing well so far, but we still don’t know what the weeks ahead will bring.

This has totally upended our days, as it will continue to do until he’s back on his paws. Everything right now revolves around Buddy’s recovery.

I’m worried about Michael’s health and the emotional impact it’s had on him. He insists on taking care of Buddy throughout the night, and he’s had little sleep these last few days.

This unexpected trauma has also hit the wallet. Although we’re less concerned about the considerable expenses, it’s just one more thing that’s been negatively impacted by this moronic, low-life piece-of shit MoFo.

Karma, where are you?

If you’re real, I need you to come out of hiding and do your thing. Make this knuckle-dragger trip up and reveal himself. I want him to be punished and publicly humiliated.

Maybe he’ll lose his job and be forced out of the neighborhood. I’d go for that.

I hope Anil Sinha is right when he wrote this about karma:

“Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This is the law of the universe and spares none. Wrong done and injustice inflicted is paid back in the same coin. No one has escaped justice of the universe. It’s only a matter of time.”

I hope he’s right. Karma, please get those wheels spinning.

To find out more about Buddy’s shooting, read below.

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