killing puppies vs drinking alcohol, a BYU student perspective

There's a video going viral of some guy asking BYU students if they'd rather take a sip of alcohol or kill a puppy. And lots of students say they'd rather kill a puppy. 

This video drives me insane. That hypothetical is so ridiculous. Nobody will ever be in a situation where they have to take a sip of alcohol or kill a puppy. This is not a good faith question. Like, does the interviewer have any respect for the BYU students he interviews? No he doesn't. It's a manipulative question to try to make Mormons look like idiots. And of course the video doesn't allow any discussion of why they'd rather kill a puppy. Which would add some compassion and open-mindedness to the conversation.

This question assumes two moral claims: killing puppies is bad and keeping your religious health code is stupid. Those two things shouldn't ever be compared, they're just two totally different things. This hypothetical question is so stupid.

This question puts the Mormon kids on the defensive and now they have to solidify in their mind that's it's better to kill a puppy than take a sip of alcohol. They dig their heels in and say "yes kill the puppy." And they don't have to think about it too hard because they'll never be in that situation. 

And they've picked up by that point that they're being made a spectacle. They now feel ostracized, feared, looked down on, laughed at. Why do that to someone on a viral video. It makes me so sad. And now they're going to have to soothe themselves with people who affirm their faith. They're going to find other people who would kill a puppy too, and create a social circle where they can be safe in their puppy killing ways.

There might be some students that will question what their religion asks them to do and come to the conclusion that their morals are mixed up because of Mormonism. And this I can respect, I think this is a good thing. The viral video doesn't invite anyone to re-evaluate their moral code though. It invites people to point and laugh at the Mormons. And it shames the poor students in the video. I just don't love seeing 18-year-olds being shamed on the internet.

For the record, I'd rather kill a puppy than drink alcohol. I don't want alcohol in my system. I've killed fish, ground squirrels, snakes and chickens. All of those killings served me though, it was to feed myself or prevent harm to other livestock. In this hypothetical it would serve me to kill the puppy to preserve my health code. I'm guessing the kids answered they'd kill the puppy because it serves them, killing that puppy would make their life easier. This video doesn't invite us to have compassion or understanding for their reasoning. It just says Mormons would rather kill puppies than drink alcohol, and frames it as horrific.

A friend said "this video says more about the adults who raised these students" and like, I see that point. But everyone has to take responsibility for their own word. These kids have an obligation think for themselves. Everyone should question the value system of their parents. Shaming the kids on TikTok is not inviting them to think for themselves. At worst, it's saying you must think like me or else endure social rejection. It's bullying.

If you're asking a question about someone's value system, you have to have an open mind and be willing to see things from their point of view. If you're not willing to change your mind about your moral claim, how can you expect others to change theirs? If you're asking a kid to have empathy for the hypothetical puppy, but you refuse to have empathy for the real-life student in front of you, that's just mean. I don't have any patience for that.

Love you all