Desmond Hague, A CEO in Vancouver, British Columbia, has resigned after a video surfaced of him kicking a dog in an elevator. Once the video surfaced on the internet, a public outcry against Hague resulted in an investigation by his company which eventually resulted in him losing his job.

Hague was filmed by a security camera kicking a dog, a Doberman Pincher puppy, and lifting it up by the leash so that it was hanging by its neck in the elevator of a condo building in Vancouver, British Columbia. The B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals became involved in the case once the video surfaced.

A petition on Change.org’s Web site gathered nearly 193,000 signatures.

“I hope Sade the dog is safe and will find a home where she will be able to live in peace,” wrote Erica Perry, the woman who posted the petition. “Animal abuse has no place in our society, and I hope this helps deter future acts of cruelty because there are many terrible acts which are not caught on camera.”

I think this whole thing is a bit hypocritical, to be honest. Don’t get me wrong. I believe that cruelty to animals is reprehensible, and when a person is cruel to animals it usually says something about his general character. But I find it ridiculous that our culture gets more upset about kicking a dog than it does about killing or harming innocent humans.

Think about it. Our right to terminate human babies is upheld as a fundamental human right, but kicking a dog in an elevator is enough to call down the collective ire of the whole society. That definitely calls our moral consistency into question.

You should read some of the comments on this story: “He got what he deserved.” “Serves him right.” “Justice.” All of these comments might be right in their own way. But I doubt many of these commenters are as upset about dead civilians in the Middle East, the abortion holocaust, or the dire conditions of the poor. We really need to get our priorities straight.