edit: i didn't read the previous post before posting this....
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by dar512
You lost me. Try again.
|
K. What is it about this image that's so much more appalling than any number of other practices which are just as foreign to western sensibilities (e.g., cannibalism, live sacrifice)?
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by dar512
Smaller braincase. Not really self-aware.
|
You're taking someone's word for that. Grab one and try to ride it and see how aware it is.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by dar512
Don't know about other folks, but I think dogs make better companions than cows. I suspect dogs don't taste as good as cows.
|
I had a bull that would put its head in my lap from calfhood upwards. I fell asleep while leaning against him more than once. Freaked the city cousins out to have a 1000-lb red bull walk up when called, sit and lay his head in my lap on command.
Didn't eat him, but his offspring tasted great.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by dar512
Ok. This one actually made me think. Assuming that the dogs came from shelters, could not be adopted, and had to be disposed of anyway, then maybe.
|
You think any of this matters to the dog? I say that people find this picture more distasteful because we've elevated dogs to a higher status than other animals, and that we've done it for kind of selfish reasons.
My mom says that in her part of the world, there was no such thing as dogs in the house. They were considered outside animals, just like horses. The first time she ever saw a dog indoors was on
My Three Sons,
and everyone thought it was disgusting to have something that eats its own shit walking around on nice clean carpet. She claims that television is what has brought dogs inside -- that kids who had never considered it before suddenly HAD TO HAVE a house dog because they saw it on TV. I dunno.
Fast forward to today, and watch people eat food with their animals, sleep with them as though they were in a den, walk around with their hair all over their clothes. The same tongue that was licking an asshole 5 seconds ago is slobbering all over your face. We put sweaters on them, name them people names, project human thoughts onto them. Why? Because we want companions to take care of that we can pretend are just little fur-covered people who "love" us as much as we love them. It's a harmless delusion, but a delusion nonetheless. They are affectionate, but they're trained to be so. You can train them to kill also, but they don't feel "hate" when they're doing it.
They're dogs. With dog emotions. We interpret their actions and motives as human, but they're not. Even the Dog Whisperer will tell you that. It's just an animal.
So, that whole rant didn't really have a point, other than this: Just because we've decided that dogs are more special than other animals doesn't make it so. If it's evil to treat a dog that way, it's evil to treat a fish that way.
But if it's not evil to treat a fish that way, then it's not evil to treat a dog that way -- we've just taught ourselves to believe otherwise.
I prefer to live with my delusions, personally. I love dogs (cats, not so much), and I'd rather make a dog happy than a person, most times. But I don't mind calling my delusion what it is, and if an entire subculture was raised to not share my views about dogs, that doesn't make them bad people.