Introduction
As a social species, humans have a complex relationship with other species and nature in general. The human-animal relationship is particularly interesting as people develop close bonds with their pets and attachments to certain species while disregarding the well-being and importance of others. However, positive attachment to animals can be particularly harmful as these relationships can become damaging in order to preserve a specific illusion constructed around them. The concept of cruel optimism can help understand how people feel about animals and how these feelings affect those animals.
Cruel optimism
Cruel optimism is the concept first offered by the cultural theorist and author Lauren Berlant. The author states that all attachments are optimistic and should be viewed as clusters of promises that people want to be made possible for them (Berlant 23). Cruel optimism is such an attachment to an object or an idea that inhibits the conditions of the promises being fulfilled, making them unattainable (Berlant 2). It manifests as a relationship in which people are “bound to a situation of profound threat that s, at the same time, profoundly confirming” (Berlant 2). Thus, people construct specific ideas around ideas and objects of desire, and the fulfillment of these desires impairs the object.
This trend concerns anything that groups of individuals can form an attachment to, particularly animals. A desire to own certain animals or even see them once can translate into great harm to those species. For example, tourists go to see and ride elephants in Thailand, leading to the animals being captured for riding camps and owners not being able to feed them when there are no tourists (Daly). Similarly, Husky dogs are extremely popular, but few owners have the means and the time to dedicate to these highly active dogs. Therefore, the feelings that people develop toward certain animals affect how those animals are treated, with the fulfillment of the desires to possess or see the animals endangering them.
Conclusion
In summary, the notion of cruel optimism allows a better understanding of how a seemingly positive attachment can result in adverse outcomes. In order to maintain or achieve these attachments, people choose to act in a way that is threatening and harmful. Although the danger of their actions is often realized, the positive reinforcement of the desired object, idea, or promise being achieved perpetuates these actions in society.
Works Cited
Berlant, Lauren. Cruel Optimism. Duke UP Books, 2011.
Daly, Natasha. “A Year Without Tourism: Crisis for Thailand’s Captive Elephants.” National Geographic, 2021.