cruelty
An act of cruelty is an act done with intent to cause pain (physical, emotional, or spiritual) to another living thing. Cruelty provides the perpetrator an illusion of power over another with the intent to humiliate, exploit, maim, or kill. The perpetrators of cruelty have suffered themselves, and in a fruitless act to recover from their own pain and feelings of weakness/powerlessness, they project their damage onto others. This can create a chain of horrors. Break the chain. Heal yourself. Refrain from cruelty at all costs. There is always a better way.