Quote:
Originally Posted by Goldfields
I think you are taking that article entirely the wrong way. It's hilarious, as he meant it to be. I laughed right through it. The way he spoke about himself is so funny, scared of a big smiley dog while two ladies weren't. LOL. What a chicken. And the slobbery tongue hanging out from between parted, slobbery teeth .... come on, he could have said much worse if he was having a shot at the breed.
Lovely smile by the way, our cattle dogs often have the muscling that enables them to smile too.
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Dawg knows I tried to see it that way GF...and thank you for bringing a different perspective.
I would like to live in a province ~ a world ~ where we can one day mock absurdities such as that which you point out. But, I cannot because we live in a province where dogs are legally removed from their families and killed simply because of the way they look. Perpetuating stereotypes with media hype and moronic politicians looking for a "if it bleeds it leads" headline and the knee-jerk reactionaries who vote for them have brought us Breed Specific Legislation.
What I read in this blog is tabloid schlock. The author is meant to be covering the campaign trail. Do you know anymore about Olivia or the NDP's platform since reading this other than she likes dogs? I don't. So where's the news? Where's the investigative journalism?
When I read this, I tried to step out of my anti-BSL mindset and my pro-pitbull bias. I also tried to step out of my "dog smarts" for a moment and read it as a casual reader. The *real truth* of the casual reader is to step into the shoes of someone who isn't knowledgeable about dogs, perhaps even fearful of dogs.
Pitbulls in particular, rarely get "good news" stories printed. If we read something negative often enough and it is reiterated by the people we elect to govern us, who then make law which reinforce both our unspoken and recognized fears ~ we will believe something like Breed Specific legislation to be valid and just and good. The media bias against pitbulls has been well studied and proven.
We should be able to laugh at ourselves I agree but, t's not as if this was an obviously tongue-in-cheek "cartoon".If he had interjected at some point or ended the article along the lines of "Boy, am I an idiot for being fearful of such a sweet dog" the story could have been funny and self-mocking. And until the laws are changed, I am unable to laugh at/with prejudice and discrimination, particularly when it leads to the death of an innocent who cannot speak for themselves.
A quick and dirty poll of my dog/ non-dog friends found it was received as neither funny nor self-mocking. I conclude that It was a sly, underhanded attempt to further denigrate pitbulls and their owners with a slap-dash of "sarcasm" thrown on as disguise.
Perhaps the Australian experience with Breed Specific Legislation is different given it's lengthy history in your country. All I know is, I don't want it in mine now or ever.