Proto Nuttery

I am often fascinated about the origins and evolutions of languages, cultural norms, machines and policies.  How did this start, and how did we get here?  Sometimes, it is difficult to draw a line in the sand and say, “OK, this is where it started”.   When, exactly did they start speaking English in England, anyway?   How different was Old English from what we speak today? 

It is interesting to me to analyze exactly how the animal uncontrol problem has evolved.

Here is an interesting case that occurred in my county a little over 2 years ago.   Obviously, there were incidents decades, even centuries before this, but it’s a good proto-example of how this problem has evolved.   It would almost be like witnessing DNA molecules spontaneously form from base materials in a lab setting.  Or, perhaps, watching a couple of bicycle enthusiasts build a crude aircraft in their barn.

Here is the story:  A 5 year old boy “driving” a toy jeep was allegedly assaulted by a shih tzu dog and sustained what I would consider “moderate” injuries:  He had to be taken to the emergency room where he received 10 stitches to close a laceration on his head and there were bite marks on his arm.

Here is the initial news item, and Here and Here are a follow up items.  This was the final outcome.

If you consider the first 2 articles indicated, it is interesting to read the comments.  While not nearly as vociferous as Pit Bull aficionados, it is demonstrable that the defenders of “Cyrus” are following a similar dialog:

1)   Deny, deny, deny, DENY.  It worked for OJ Simpson, and it’ll work for US, too!  The incident could NOT have happened the way it was reported.  Such a thing could NEVER happen.  It is not even within the limit of possibility.  To even consider that there is any truth to this story is beyond absurd!

2)  Discredit, disparage, and blame the victim.  OK, if something DID happen, and it couldn’t have because it is simply impossible, then the victim MUST have done something to deserve it.   ALL dogs and their owners are by definition completely just in all of their actions, therefore the victim had it coming!  This evil little boy deserved to get bit!  Furthermore, the parents are to blame and the boy’s mother was abusing her position in the county government!   Proceed to disparage everyone else involved:  Make sure you attack the credentials and competence of ER doctors and other hospital staff, Police, AC authorities, Veterinarians, witnesses, etc… etc… ANYONE who does not follow YOUR narrative is an evil, stupid, dog hating Nazi!!!

3)  Pile logical fail on top of logical fail.   What you say does not need to make sense, as long as you say it often enough!  Make sure you follow this narrative:  “Look, my [breed of choice] never bit anyone (so I say) therefore it is a GIVEN that any [breed of choice] would NEVER bite!  Furthermore, the dog in question hasn’t bitten anyone since being taken into custody (so I say) therefore that stands as absolute proof that it NEVER has bitten anyone!”.   

4)  Distort the facts as much as possible.  If you lie enough, people will start to believe it.  In fact, in time even YOU will start to believe the lies… making you a True Believer!  Push the narrative as much as possible and tirelessly attack everyone who doesn’t agree with every word out of your mouth.  If anyone presents a counter-example or any proof that the dog or owner was involved, immediately accuse them of incompetence, evil intent, or lying and do that over and over again!  Facts and logic are for sissies and “haterZ”!   Consider #2.

5)  Spare no expense or effort in defending the dog and the dog owner.   Demand that the government take NO action to prevent a further incident.  File lawsuits, stage protests, flood internet forums with pro-dog spam and trolls, and always follow rule #2:  Embarrass, humiliate and disparage the victim, his family, experts and authorities as much as possible.  Don’t worry about telling the truth, as the truth is not relevant.  If facts are not on your side, no worries just make them up!   Just as the behavior of dogs and dog owners must have no limit, there is no limit to how far you will go or what you will do to defend this one dog and dog owner.   This is all out, total war and you are NOT to surrender an inch to the enemy!  The ONLY rule is WIN AT ALL COST!  If you persevere, you will eventually wear out your opponents!  If the enemy does squeak out a win, do whatever necessary to make sure they are so exhausted, disgusted, and broke that they will never try it again!

6)  Stay focused on the end game.   It is absolutely imperative that dogs and their owners have NO restrictions placed on their behavior whatsoever.  Overclass status must be maintained at all cost.  Victims and authorities must be completely crushed, defeated and rendered powerless until the end of time!

As per #6, it is also interesting to consider how the effectiveness of AC has evolved in my county as a result of this incident.  The consequence was, the county’s AC efforts have DE-volved from bad to a complete joke.  The government got the message.  Indeed, there is an authority higher than them, and that is the Dog Owner!  The county got OWNED.   It sends a message to other jurisdictions, too.   In cases where the victims and government “win”, the fanatics will ensure that it is a pure pyrrhic victory.  They ensure that going after them is such a painful, time consuming, and expensive proposition that few will attempt it.

The antics of the Pit Nut and other power breed aficionados are merely an evolution of the narrative indicated above.   The injuries inflicted by power dogs is likewise an evolution.  Of course, the Pit Nut takes it to a new level, as they have added death threats and a few other gimmicks to get their point across.  This makes sense since their pets are SO over the top dangerous, the owners must take their fight to a higher level. 

With that said, it is apparent that the Power Dog “problem” does not exist in a vacuum, nor did it appear out of nowhere.   The framework, or “infrastructure”, for defending Pit Bulls was already established when they came upon the scene.  This defense/offense infrastructure was built and maintained by animal rights and owners rights fanatics.  Again, a Pit Bull is a dog, a Pit Nut is a dog owner and as such their interests are of capital concern.   Therefore, the Pit Bull “problem” ITSELF was allowed to evolve, given that Pit Bulls and Pit Nuts generally enjoy the same protections as the rest of the doggy world.   Any and every excuse used to defend “Cyrus” could have been lifted from the Pit Nut dialog.

A few thoughts on “Cyrus” before I close:   WAS Cyrus “railroaded” by the county?  I’m sure that the status of the boy’s mom in the county government was a determinant.  HOWEVER, that by itself does not indicate that the county acted out of its jurisdiction:  Our law enforcement people may not take it seriously when WE are victimized, but they sure spring to action when THEY are victimized!  When THEIR kids get bit, all of a sudden the laws and the policies line up perfectly!

Did the little boy invent the incident?  Perhaps.  Why would he blame the dog if it were something else?  Perhaps he was trying to cover up some mistake of his own.  However, WHY blame the dog?  Why not blame a raccoon?  Or, another child?  Any dog CAN bite.  In spite of what the fanatics state, he DID have a bite mark on his arm.   If a dog didn’t bite him, then what did?   Was there a 2^nd biter high on a grassy knoll??  In spite of what the nutjobs say, A 14 pound dog could definitely knock over and injure a 5 year old.  True or not, the indicated scenario IS very plausible.  Perhaps the laceration on the boy’s head was not from the dog bite, but from the fall, but that would be a direct result of the dog attack in any case.   Another thing that is interesting in this case is that the animal nutters try to turn everything into some sort of massive conspiracy against them and their interests.  It’s clear that they suffer from some sort of paranoid anti-social disorder.

Of course, I was not there to witness the incident.  However, neither were any of Cyrus’ defense legion!

What is interesting here, is not necessarily the actions of the dog and dog owner, but the reactions and political fallout that occurred later.  If Cyrus is going to bite again, it’ll be outside of the county.

Out of sight, out of mind…