this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
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[For those who don't know, Cenobites are the sadomasochistic torturers in the Hellraiser movies]

Most animals, absent contact with humans, would never know the feeling of having their ears deep cleaned or their bellies full all day every day. They'd never feel scritches and pets once they grow into adults. They'd never have a big fat human belly to sleep on in complete contentment and security, inside a warm and secure house, a house filled with soft furnishings they'd never otherwise feel. They don't even know that many sensations and psychological states are possible until we give them to them.

Ever seen videos of a cow playing with a yoga ball? They have the capacity for joy and play that they almost never get to express or feel. But we can do that for them if we want. Yet they seem to not know such things without kind humans showing them.

We suck when it comes to mistreating animals, of course. But those of us who love the hairy bastards must be like gods to them. My wee dog would surely never in his entire life know the pleasure of having that part of his back where his tail joins with his spine scratched if not for being around me, because he has no way to reach it himself, and dogs don't scratch each other. Cats being played like bongos would never get that experience anywhere else.

Well-treated pets must talk about us like "they're explorers in the further regions of experience; angels to some, even bigger angels to others".

All of this is true for wild animals especially, although I'd never advocate interfering with their lives in that way. But if you gained the trust of a bear and got to the point where you could scratch its back and maybe even relieve pain from a wound or something, it'd be like an entirely new lobe of its brain was born and activated. It would wander off thinking "what the fuck just happened??" in a good way. The fact that it's a bad idea to socialise large wild animals actually makes me a bit sad, because they'll never really experience any of the things our pets and domesticated animals will experience, and will go their entire lives without even knowing that their minds and bodies can reach such plateaus. They have all of this neural wiring that just never gets lit up.

It gives us a lot of power that can do a lot of good at no cost to ourselves (in fact, it benefits us as much as it does the animal in question). Pretty nice state of affairs, really. I believe it was Nietzsche who said "scritch the pet, and the pet scritches you".

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[–] Libb@piefed.social 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

[For those who don’t know, Cenobites are the sadomasochistic torturers in the Hellraiser movies]

Before being a fictional notion, the word also simply means to be a member of a monastery, or a community. It comes from old Greek: 'who share life together' or something along that line.

Not sure to understand what you're saying (edit: I think I do understand, but English is not my native language and I'm simply not sure) but:

We suck when it comes to mistreating animals, of course. But those of us who love the hairy bastards must be like gods to them. My wee dog would surely never in his entire life know the pleasure of having that part of his back where his tail joins with his spine scratched if not for being around me, because he has no way to reach it himself, and dogs don’t scratch each other. Cats being played like bongos would never get that experience anywhere else.

The fact that it’s a bad idea to socialise large wild animals actually makes me a bit sad, because they’ll never really experience any of the things our pets and domesticated animals will experience, and will go their entire lives without even knowing that their minds and bodies can reach such plateaus. They have all of this neural wiring that just never gets lit up.

I would be cautious regarding those affirmations. Because:

  • God, any form of religion/spirituality is a very human-centric notion. That may mean absolutely nothing to animals.
  • Many naturalists will tell you we have been witnessing wild animals having fun together, showing empathy and care for one another, even adults playing together in the wild (edit: and petting one another). I can only recall one specific example of that but there are others: wolves, wild wolves, in the Yosemite natural park playing together and, well, gently caring for one another within their own pack.
[–] NachBarcelona@piefed.social 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

And then there's the animals foe which we are Pinhead, Chatterer, Female Cenobite and that bloated dude in personal union.

[–] ageedizzle@piefed.ca 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This might be true for a small minority of the animals that humans have relations to (i.e. pets). But the main way we relate to animals is to eat them or their secretions (eggs and milk). And for those animals we are cenobites.

Ever seen videos of a cow playing with a yoga ball?

No, but have you seen a video of a cow getting slaughtered? It's an entirely different vibe altogether