(no subject)
Dogs, and their role in society.
Yo , Dawg.
The media is just going crazy over this chinese dog contreversy. We live in a country where dogs have equal status to humans. Thousands of dollars each year go into dog training, dog medicine, dog clothing, dog vet, etc. Now I love dogs, they have to be my favorite domestic animal. They're great, and I wish I had had one when growing up. But the point is, they're not human, and we treat them as if they were in this country. When I think what could be done with the superfulous money wasted on dogs, it could make a difference in so many people's lives. Dogs have many uses. They can lead the blind, provide consolation and friendship or they can provide another source of food for the masses.
Of course, this is an issue of culture. The English proud themselves in their pure bred english races of dogs, many being famous around the world. Some for being the queen's or king's favorite or whatever. Most likely, this high regard for dogs carried over into American culture, where there are such things as dog cafes and dog "shows" .
In my travels this summer I stayed mostly in a small, rural town of 10,000. The amount of stray dogs I saw there was something I've never seen before. These dogs were not skinny or diseased. Most of them were dirty , yes. None of them had a recognizable breed to me. They were all 'viralatas', mutts, of all colors and shapes. The community seemed to feed them as they roamed around idly and alone all day . My aunt did have a dog however, they called her lassie, which I thought was funny, she didn't look a thing like lassie , she was black and not too big, a midsized dog of no particular breed. They kept her outside, and never inside, between their general store and the house behind it. She was fed leftovers and dogfood from the store. She wasn't part of the family, but something to pet before going to work (which was a few steps away). She didn't go to the vet from what I saw, but was never sick. No one walked her or let her out into the street because they didn't want her to breed. The point is that dogs there were not a luxury or a highly prized animal. Neither were horses, which were commonly seen trotting down the brick streets of the town.
In China, the world's marvel in production and growth, the population is tremendous. You can not feed a billion + people on steak and chicken wings. If I were the government, I'd liberate anything to eat. Cockroaches, rats anything that walks and breathes and has a bit of meat on it. Except humans, the chinese wouldn't do that. Dogs are valued in Chinese society too, just in a different way. Many people see communism as an evil, destructive method of oppressing the people, but actually the government's job is to protect the people. And in communism, to keep the people as equal and together as possible. A huge task, that has been carried out rather successfully by the Chinese. Now when PETA screams about the "unethical" values of killing dogs because they might be a danger to HUMANS I can only find that insulting. Are they serious to say that a dog who lives to the max maybe 16-20 years is more than a human life? At least that's what is implied. It is the People's Republic of China. And anything other than a positive to the people is cut or restrained for the good of all. A concept that maybe should be followed by more nations. There are 1 million dogs in Beijing, out of the 13 million humans. All you need is a few thousand dogs infected for it to be a quick, huge pandemic of rabies on humans and other animals. Dogs are man's best friend...but man should be his own friend too. And that's the word.
Please, eat me!