Monday, September 10, 2012

For Whom The Bell Trolls



For when the Bell TROLLS it TROLLS for thee!  Some recent news of note:  The FaceBook page “I hate dogs” has reached nearly 2000 “Likes”!   If you enjoy provoking people, you should post something even marginally critical about dogs or their owners and you will experience an outpouring of outrage and vitriol the likes you have NEVER seen!  Also consider:  This, and This, and This.

A while back I reported on the up and coming dog hater movement that has swept the internet and is working its way into various social circles.  The intensity of the haters is exceeded only by the intense fanaticism of the hard core dog lover.   You can’t have the Yin without the Yang people!

I admit that following this phenomenon has become a vice of sorts for me.  Watching the dog nuts and the haters claw and tear at each other vastly exceeds the entertainment value (perhaps blood lust) of professional wrestling, ultimate fighting, all with the non-stop intensity of the most graphic war film.  They battle as if the future of the universe itself is at stake!

Here is my rhetorical question for the day:  Why do dog lovers take SUCH intense issue with the notion of others not liking dogs?   There are “hate” pages for cats, horses, rats, snakes, etc… but you don’t see anywhere near the outpouring of intense, foaming-at-the-mouth, apoplectic rage aimed AT those pages.  I like cats, but I am not on the “I hate cats” page making a complete fool of myself on a daily basis!   I respect the fact that not everyone likes cats and that they don’t necessarily need a reason for that.  Indeed, there is something different about the dog lover that you just don’t see anywhere else.  Of course, this makes them an easy target! 

I am not exaggerating.  Dog lovers are mounting a HUGE campaign to get the dog-disliker pages shut down.   This is true to form, given that dog nuts do not respect any of our other rights, i.e. control the noise level in our homes, have a yard free of dog crap, use our public spaces in peace and safety, etc… it is sadly predictable that they would NOT respect anyone else’s right to free speech or expression, either.   This fits neatly with the notion that they feel they are truly an entitlement overclass, and they can take our rights at whim.  Of course, they don’t care about any of the OTHER “hate” pages.  Hate is only bad when it’s directed at dogs or their owners, apparently.

I have identified several arch-types in the “counter hater” movement.  This is by no means an exhaustive list:
-          The Proselytizer.   The Proselytizer firmly believes that dogs are, by far, the most wonderful thing EVER.  Dogs are by definition GODS among us and MUST be considered and treated as such by ALL.   Not content to practice their “religion” on their own, The Proselytizer has a burning, uncontrollable need to convince every other living soul of this absolute truism.   If you do not worship dogs and dog owners with every particle of your being, they will proselytize you to the end of the earth.  Merely “liking” dogs is not good enough!  They will NOT rest until EVERYONE bows down at the altar of the dog!
-          The Thug.   The Thug is similar to the Proselytizer in that they consider dogs are gods among us that must be worshiped by all.  However, Thugs take a different tactic.  They believe that violence and intimidation are the best way to bring the rest of us non-worshipers into the fold.  Thugs will threaten violence, including rape and murder, violence aimed at family members, etc… towards anyone who does not share their POV 100%.   Essentially, they are going to beat, rape, and torture you until you love all dogs unconditionally. Note that many Thugs appear to be Pit Bull owners.
-          The Entitlement Junkie.  The Entitlement Junkie believes that the sole purpose of government, indeed the sole purpose of human civilization, is to protect and promote the interests of dogs and dog owners.  To them, this is STRICTLY a nation OF dogs, BY dogs, and FOR dogs.   Upon realizing that there are people who have priorities outside of the doggy world, they notify State Police, FBI and CIA (no kidding!) of this intolerable blasphemy.  Yes, to them, none of these organizations has anything better to do than go after those who simply do not prefer the company of dogs.  Indeed, every penny of your tax money MUST be directed towards creating a Utopia for dogs and their owners.   Everyone exists to serve THEM.

Now, I agree that any page that promotes illegal activity, such as animal abuse, SHOULD be closed as criminal conspiracies are not protected under the 1st amendment.  However, it appears that most, if not all, of the illicit activity (threats of violence, abuse of authorities, using pets as weapons, etc…) on these pages is being promoted by the dog lovers themselves.  In addition to attempting to strip the Dislikers of their 1st amendment protections, they have issued the most dire of threats against the same. 

Moreover, the “lovers” insist that the haters are promoting animal abuse.  Really?  Generally speaking, who commits the most animal abuse?  Is it “haters” who want nothing to do with dogs, and rarely own them, or is it folks who claim to love dogs who then proceed to:  Beat dogs, breed them uncontrollably, dump them in shelters, abandon them, “rescue” them and then house them in horrid conditions, put them in harms way, use them as offensive weapons against their neighbors etc…?

Indeed, 99.9% of atrocities committed against dogs are by individuals within the dog owning community, something by definition the Hater not a part of.  Here is a good question:  Who is responsible for the million Pit Bulls destroyed in USA shelters on a yearly basis… is it:  A)  Pit Bull breeders, B) Pit bull owners, C) Pit bull apologistas, D)  “Haters” or E) a, b, and c?

Correct answer is “E”.  The Million pit bulls destroyed each year are a direct result of irresponsible “line” breeders of pit bulls, idiots and thugs who adopt them and proceed to use them as a weapon, and moronic celebrity and media people who insist that the Pit bull is a “Nanny Dog”!   Dog lovers:  The biggest threat to your community is WITHIN YOUR OWN COMMUNITY. 

This isn’t to say that a Hater may or may not indulge in a little “cleanup” on their own initiative.  They may leave out a hotdog marinated in automotive antifreeze, or on rare occasion shoot a dog.  However, I am confident that, while many of these incidents may not quite meet the legal threshold for force against a dog, these incidents are in response to a dog being used as a weapon against them.  Hey dog lovers:  If you don’t your dogs poisoned, shot, and beaten with shovels YOU MUST KEEP THEM UNDER CONTROL AT ALL TIMES!  You CAN’T expect your neighbors to summarily surrender their rights to you, even when the law demands that they do so.

Back to the original theme of this essay.  If the mere thought of someone disliking dogs, and/or taking issue with your dog’s behavior drives you into a foaming at the mouth rage, you might want to consider exactly WHO is the criminal:  Is it the one who wants to live in peace, or those that want to use force and violence those who don’t share your point of view?

You may also want to consider that, it’s YOUR reaction that these people are seeking.  Why give them the satisfaction?   The "bell" TROLLS for Thee!

Think about it.

16 comments:

  1. How many spiritual words do we see in this article? As a Christian, spiritual words get my interest. I would remove the quotes from religion because anything that people worship IS their religion.

    Dogs, one way or another ARE venerated above all else. Why? Ultimately at the end of the matter, they are a front where such losers get to satisfy their ultimate goal, which is to put SELF on the throne. Dog's, folks, provide one of the best mediums to practice the religion of self.

    Great article Bill. I hope EVERY dog nutter reads this and mends their ways but I wouldnt hold my breath.
    JJ

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    1. I'm becoming convinced that many dog owners have untreated narcissism. And that the dog(s) in their lives just perpetuate the problem.

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    2. YQN the way to treat Narcissism (which is just a fancy word for full blown selfishness)is by way of a CHOICE. Stop being selfish. To do that you sure have to so some soul searching.
      JJ

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    3. Hi JJ,

      Thanks for commenting. Words are very powerful things and I choose my words very carefully. "Religion", "Worship", etc... are very powerful words and I don't use them lightly.

      That said, those are the only words to describe what I have observed. These Zealots are precisely that, and not like your rank and file church goer. Indeed, they closely resemble the Spanish Inquisition, Medieval Crusades, or the modern day Taliban. And, YES, they WILL use violence to get what they want. In the past, I have written about "dangerous owners" who not only believe that merely complaining about a dog is a capital offense, they then proceed to carry out that "execution" on their own! Again, these are not mere "keyboard cowards"... Nope, these are full blown violent nutjobs that WILL do what they say!

      Now, the above describes the "Proselytizers" and the "Thugs": They are the Inquisition and the Crusades.

      The "Entitlement Junkies" are secular fanatics. I believe that they represent a narrowly focused, communistic movement. It appears that they have paraphrased Karl Marx such that, to them "From Each according to his ability, TO each according to his dogs" is their philosophical foundation. They want to use the State to create a heaven on earth (utopia) for their dogs. Of course, similar to more mainstream communists (Stalin, Pol Pot, etc...) they are very willing to use violence to get what they want, though they want the government to do their dirty work for them.

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    4. Bill, thanks for your response. My very point in stating that so many spiritual words being used was because it IS a spiritual problem.

      Correct me if I'm wrong, (I fully admit Im NOT adept grammatically) but its my understanding quotation marks are used sometimes when something fronts as something that its not. Dont know if Im explaining it right. Its subtle. Another is quoting someone else. All my my point is in removing the quotes is that there's absolutely no doubt that religion is the right word to use. Also, it is not only specific to those who go and worship in a building.

      JJ

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  2. Excellent blog, as usual. Don't have much to add. You pretty much hit the nail square on the head. Unfortunately, the dog nutters will never be convinced, because, as far as they are concerned, nothing is ever their fault. It's all the fault of the "evil dog haters" for having the audacity to want to live their lives in peace, free of any dog nuisances/disturbances.

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  3. Dog 'lovers', pit 'lovers'...guess it all depends on how you define love. Considering what their 'love' has meant (and means) for the 'loved' objects, I hope they never decide to love me.

    YQN, Anon... It is indeed (IMO) pure narcissism. This by definition means the subject is unable to love anything but itself. This explains all the rest: why they so mistreat the 'loved' thing/s and care just as little about you (and your cat, children, etc). Narcissism also seems the best Occam-checked explanation for the foaming mouthed rage when challenged. Narcissistic rage is known to be extremely violent.

    Narcissistic personality disorder is considered untreatable. But ya know, screw treatment. I hypothesize that if you slam the lid HARD on the narcissist's nose, tolerating none of its bullshit and severely penalizing it for each and every infraction (in particular any manifestation of narc rage), the narcissist can at least be controlled. If they then live in deep self-pity, all the more joy on my side, they deserve it. Meanwhile, both the objects of their 'love' and of their hate would be relieved of much suffering.

    Dream on. We live in the age of narcissism. It looks like the growing mountain of child corpses might get politicians to do something about the genetically manufactured ambulatory grenade called the pit-type dog. This purely due to fear of voters taking away their cushy politico jobs -- which fear could make them for once ignore what their Entitled Pit Owning Daughter thinks, because you know, when it comes down to it the politico's own narcissism comes first. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

    I wonder how many of the chronic barkers are pit types, and if eradicating those might help at least some here. Anything that in any way limits how many people own dogs is welcome (IMO), even if it's not complete immediate relief.

    Thanks for letting me vent yet again.

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  4. I am a dog lover, but I can certainly understand why there are dog haters. There are many things that my fellow dog lovers/owners do that make my blood boil too, and, my husband is a mailman. He's been bitten twice.

    I want to thank you, Animal Uncontrol, for opening up the anonymous comment choice. I don't have any of those other accounts and I would, with your permission, like to say afew things to my fellow dog lovers/owners.

    Many years ago (back in the 70's) Purina published booklets on dog topics. One of the booklets was entitled, "On Being a Good Dog Neighbor." It was a little gem of a booklet and I wish it were still around. It covered a lot of the things you mention that turns people into dog haters.

    I would like to say afew things about a topic that really irks me. It's about the dog crap in the streets, and the habits of dog owners when they walk their dogs.

    First of all, when you walk your dog, please always have him on a leash, whether there is a leash law or not. No dog, and I mean no dog, is so well trained that he can be 100 percent trusted. No human is perfect and no dog either. Some people are afraid of dogs and if they see one off the leash, no matter how well trained, they may be intimidated, so keep him on the leash at all times so everyone feels secure.

    Now, when I walk my dog, I don't let him go up on the grass, ever. I walk him in the streets. There are reasons for this:

    (1) Although the first six feet technically belong to the town, the homeowner still has to maintain this property by mowing, seeding, whatever. So, don't let your dog walk or poop there. People don't like it when you do that.
    (2) Your dog is more likely to pick up and bring home fleas and ticks from grass than from pavement.
    (3) Homeowners often use pesticides and herbicides on the grass, so why would you want to expose your dog to these chemicals?

    Next, when I walk my dog, I always bring MORE bags than are necessary so I don't get caught short. For instance, my dog usually "goes" 2 or 3 times first thing in the morning, so I carry 5 or 6 bags. One of these bags is held in my hand in the open, ready position. As we walk, and when the dog gets into "position," I just slide the open bag under him and he poops right into the bag! I then tie the bag, open up another one and off we go. When I get home I properly dispose of it.

    People don't mind it when I walk down their block or in front of their homes because they've seen what I do and, after the first initial shock of watching a dog bag his own poop, I've actually been told by neighbors that we are welcome down their block anytime. I don't think they feel that way about every dog and owner, though. They also appreciate the fact that my dog's paws NEVER touch their lawns and that my dog's poop never touches the pavement in front of their homes.

    This concludes today's "being a good dog neighbor" lesson. In the future I, with your permission, would like to post some more ways we dog lovers/owners can be more considerate to those around us.

    Thank you.



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    1. Hello Anon,

      Thanks for posting. Responsible, level headed, dog owners such as yourself are welcome to participate. I feel that dog owners such as yourself are ultimately going to be hurt the worst by the Zealots.

      Regards,

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    2. Unfortunately, you are probably right.

      And, this brings up another topic that really riles me. Every day certain breeds of dog are in the news mauling and killing. I don't have to mention which ones. We both know which ones I'm talking about.

      The politicians are too afraid to do the right thing and tackle the problem head on, so when they do attempt to do something, they aim their legislation at every breed of dog.

      If Petey is ripping off children's faces, why does Lassie need a muzzle? Because it's politically correct, that's why.

      I've actually been told by a Senator's Aide (who probably wasn't supposed to tell me this) that everyday they get complaints about two breeds of dog, but they can't just aim restrictions at those breeds, so they aim it at all breeds.

      The advocates for these troublesome breeds try to encourage all dog owners to get on board with them because, as they say, "first they'll ban our breed and tomorrow it will be YOUR breed." This is a load of poo-poo. These troublesome breeds are the reason we owners of gentle breeds are getting more and more legislated against. These troublesome breeds are also killing our gentle breeds on a daily basis, and they want US to side with them??? I say, remove the cancer, not the healthy tissue.

      Thanks again for letting me vent.

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    3. Hello Anon,

      I agree that we need prior restrictions on the breeds we are contemplating. That said, I believe that we need restrictions, at least after the fact, on ALL pet owners. While there is a lot of proverbial low hanging fruit in a pit bull restriction, pit bull owners are not the only breed owners that use their pets to create problems: Dog at large, dog crap everywhere, destruction of property, and disturbance of the peace are indicated outside of the pit bull community.

      So, I agree that your collie does not need to wear a muzzle UNLESS it has demonstrated dangerous behavior. You may also be called to task on any minor offenses involving your pet.

      Read my "hoist by your own petard" essay to get my full analysis of the dangerous dog problem and how it has been allowed to explode the way it has.

      Thanks,

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    4. I absolutely agree with this Bill. Excellent post. It goes a long way to cement the point that different dog breeds have different tendencies but there is an overlapping, a dovetailing and a grey area...meaning for example.... It is NOT clear cut that a labrador wont bite. However ALL dogs poop.

      Anon....if ALL dog owners did what you say you do
      JJthe world would be a MUCH better place.

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    5. Thank you. I try to be considerate to the people around me, whether it involves the way I handle my dog, a Golden Retriever, (not a collie, although I love that breed, too,) or the way I drive my car, or the way I dispose of my garbage, etc.

      I am not a Spring Chicken, and back in the "day" we were taught to be respectful of one another. I, for example, would NEVER dream of tossing even a gum wrapper onto the ground. I would put it in my pocket and carry it home to dispose of it properly.

      Every day I shake my head as I walk my dog, at the garbage I see on the public streets, or when I'm driving my car, and I see how some people all seem so angry and inconsiderate.

      But, I try to do my part and, again, thank you for the kind words.

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  5. I signed up to those sites as I really do dislike dogs and they( do haters) are less than sweet about it which is fine with me. The problem with all the sites and blogs is zero organization to get anything worthwhile accomplished. Plenty of yakking but not much else.

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  6. Hi John, thanks for stopping by! I don't share the "haters" POV but I do respect it. The actions of the dog worshipers to remove the dis-likers freedom of speech IS disgusting to me.

    Discussing an issue is fine, even essential *in the beginning* but ultimately direct action in the real world is whats going to solve these problems.

    RE: Organization. The Pit Nuts and other animal fanatics are out there working day and night to take our rights away and ensure that we never get them back. They are petitioning the government, flooding town hall meetings, organizing protests, etc... even writing legislation in some places!

    Ultimately, this is people vs. people.

    Whats needed is an organization with a *people first* agenda. I'll write more about that later.

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