Gone to the dawgs....
I will preface this by saying that Calamity and I are co-owned by two of the most pampered, spoiled, antisocial little examples of canis domesticus you have ever seen. We have been honored to have been owned by some of the finest of the species over the years. One, Lefty, is now looking down on us from doggy Valhalla as we breathe. I would shoot someone over my dog at my home.
That being said: I am fixing to vent on this whole Michael Vick thing.Dogs are possessions. They exist at the pleasure of the human. Originally they were hunting animals and were charged with guarding kith and kin as well as other livestock. In some cultures they are considered food. As human civilization (not sure that really exists, but for the sake of argument, say it does) developed, dogs were used in war. As some got richer, some hunting breeds such as poodles were sissied up and used as accessories for the royals. In other words, dogs were bred for certain purposes to suit their owners.
Since dogs are descended from the wolf and the fox, they are predators and scavengers. They eat meat. Since most meat, in its original form, resists being eaten, dogs have the ability to catch and dispatch prey. They have the predisposition to attack and kill. They also, as pack animals are prone to protect what they consider their area and their associates. Now, folks with big ideas of their manhood and little brains decided that it would be great fun to take these naturally aggressive creatures and pit them against one another and against all sorts of other animals such as bear and lions for sport. Whoever had the baddest dog also had the biggest dick. Sorry to be blunt, but that is the way it is.
Fast forward to the twenty first century. Folks in this country have money, cars, TV's and all they could ever want to eat. Some however, haven't developed much beyond the Roman spectator, though. Dog fights still happen. Chicken fights still happen. Bull fights still happen. As is real in nature, one critter, sometimes both expire as a result of said contest. The owners of said contestants get to vicariously experience life and death conflict with little or no possibility of injury. As a bonus the folks that are watching can add to the fun by wagering on the outcomes. There is nothing new under the sun.
Those of us higher human can look down our noses at the cretins that indulge in these animal fights. We can look down our noses while we watch grown men slam into one another on the gridiron or beat each other senseless in the ring.Perhaps we should be a bit introspective in our opinions of those who fight animals. Could it be that there is a little of us in those folks we hate? I think so.
We tend to dislike in others what we dislike in ourselves.And, what do you think of national leaders that send other folk's kids to fight and die in foreign lands? Are they better than Michael Vick who sends his dogs into combat? Is the human progeny of this land worth less than the life of the beasts?
Michael Vick is a product of a gangster lifestyle that is glorified in song and picture. Our culture has relapsed into a quagmire of incongruence. We glorify the bad guys and then condemn their behavior. We are importing an entire culture of blood conflict from Mexico and points south. Do we really think we can preserve our pure and lily white culture while importing the folks that fight chickens, dogs and bulls in every town square?
Michael Vick is, in my opinion, a cretin that should be horsewhipped for abusing dogs. Does that make him a criminal? No. It makes him a cretin using his possessions in a way I strongly disagree with. Can one be convicted of conspiracy to commit a non-crime? Not in a rational world. Perhaps if we stopped worshiping our own gladiators, they would not act as poorly as they do. Perhaps if we put our money where our mouths are and lived the way we tell others to, we would not spawn such behavior we say we abhor.
I think we need to mind our own business and vote with our wallets. If someone behaves in a way we really don't like, we don't have to buy their album or a ticket to their game. We could even, if we really felt strongly about it, write a letter to their label or team and let the money men know why we aren't patronizing their product.
Damn a man that would needlessly hurt an animal. He is not big nor strong. He is a bum. In like fashion, damn a man (or woman) who would send other's children to die so as to make their legacy. Violence is real and has been throughout the known existence of humans. I think it is time we decide to use it only in defense or as a matter of last resort.
Well, That is what I am thinking today.
That being said: I am fixing to vent on this whole Michael Vick thing.Dogs are possessions. They exist at the pleasure of the human. Originally they were hunting animals and were charged with guarding kith and kin as well as other livestock. In some cultures they are considered food. As human civilization (not sure that really exists, but for the sake of argument, say it does) developed, dogs were used in war. As some got richer, some hunting breeds such as poodles were sissied up and used as accessories for the royals. In other words, dogs were bred for certain purposes to suit their owners.
Since dogs are descended from the wolf and the fox, they are predators and scavengers. They eat meat. Since most meat, in its original form, resists being eaten, dogs have the ability to catch and dispatch prey. They have the predisposition to attack and kill. They also, as pack animals are prone to protect what they consider their area and their associates. Now, folks with big ideas of their manhood and little brains decided that it would be great fun to take these naturally aggressive creatures and pit them against one another and against all sorts of other animals such as bear and lions for sport. Whoever had the baddest dog also had the biggest dick. Sorry to be blunt, but that is the way it is.
Fast forward to the twenty first century. Folks in this country have money, cars, TV's and all they could ever want to eat. Some however, haven't developed much beyond the Roman spectator, though. Dog fights still happen. Chicken fights still happen. Bull fights still happen. As is real in nature, one critter, sometimes both expire as a result of said contest. The owners of said contestants get to vicariously experience life and death conflict with little or no possibility of injury. As a bonus the folks that are watching can add to the fun by wagering on the outcomes. There is nothing new under the sun.
Those of us higher human can look down our noses at the cretins that indulge in these animal fights. We can look down our noses while we watch grown men slam into one another on the gridiron or beat each other senseless in the ring.Perhaps we should be a bit introspective in our opinions of those who fight animals. Could it be that there is a little of us in those folks we hate? I think so.
We tend to dislike in others what we dislike in ourselves.And, what do you think of national leaders that send other folk's kids to fight and die in foreign lands? Are they better than Michael Vick who sends his dogs into combat? Is the human progeny of this land worth less than the life of the beasts?
Michael Vick is a product of a gangster lifestyle that is glorified in song and picture. Our culture has relapsed into a quagmire of incongruence. We glorify the bad guys and then condemn their behavior. We are importing an entire culture of blood conflict from Mexico and points south. Do we really think we can preserve our pure and lily white culture while importing the folks that fight chickens, dogs and bulls in every town square?
Michael Vick is, in my opinion, a cretin that should be horsewhipped for abusing dogs. Does that make him a criminal? No. It makes him a cretin using his possessions in a way I strongly disagree with. Can one be convicted of conspiracy to commit a non-crime? Not in a rational world. Perhaps if we stopped worshiping our own gladiators, they would not act as poorly as they do. Perhaps if we put our money where our mouths are and lived the way we tell others to, we would not spawn such behavior we say we abhor.
I think we need to mind our own business and vote with our wallets. If someone behaves in a way we really don't like, we don't have to buy their album or a ticket to their game. We could even, if we really felt strongly about it, write a letter to their label or team and let the money men know why we aren't patronizing their product.
Damn a man that would needlessly hurt an animal. He is not big nor strong. He is a bum. In like fashion, damn a man (or woman) who would send other's children to die so as to make their legacy. Violence is real and has been throughout the known existence of humans. I think it is time we decide to use it only in defense or as a matter of last resort.
Well, That is what I am thinking today.
posted by nappy at 3:10 PM
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