And I have no doubt the polls are true because I was the only one who seemed to find the torture metaphor disturbing at all.
I don't think anyone said that they didn't find those images disturbing. In fact, Ann specifically described them as "images ... that are disturbing" in
her post. I didn't say so explicitly (though I think one could infer it from what I did say), but I found the torture depictions - among the other, yes, horrific things going on - to be quite disturbing.
What people
have said that they didn't push the story into the realm of being horror, especially since they were depictions of what a character in the story desired (but didn't actually act on).
alllie, you yourself said, "I probably couldn't look even if the same thing was happening to BP management even though that would be justice." So, there's at least a tiny part of your mind - just as there is in everyone - that
wants to torture (or have torture committed) under certain circumstances (for revenge, if for no other reason).
But your reaction to the story shows that there's another part of your mind that knows that torture is wrong. And that part of you is stronger (and, happily,
right!). But in the world of this story, there would - not unlike ridiculouslee pointed out - very likely be an oil-covered BP CEO in your own behold.
In the story, Toby didn't actually torture anyone (other than himself) - he only thought about it, even wanted it. And yes, that was disturbing. But at the end, he purged himself of those desires, which is the point (or at least
a point) of the story - that we can keep ourselves from acting on things we want that we know are wrong.
(By the way, I'm not convinced that BP management enduring what the oil-soaked animals have endured would be justice. Revenge, I would buy, but I don't equate revenge and justice.)