spintheblackestcircles.org

Okay. I'm not normally an angry guy but on another forum I visit someone started a thread about how their dog ate their sandwich when they left the room to take a phone call.

They then proceeded to describe how to teach the dog a lesson they baited a mouse trap with a piece of hotdog and put it on the same plate as the sandwich and left the room.

Guess what? The dog set the trap and got snapped. I called it animal cruelty. Another person agreed with me and then a number of other folks blew it off as some kind of obedience training.

I'm sorry but if you purposely hurt an animal to "teach it a lesson" you're a piece of shit. End of story. And that is fucking animal cruelty.

Even as I find myself caving to society's "norms" more and more with each passing year, I still think people are generally far too sensitive about most things, passive aggressive about their own shortcomings, and foster, nay thrive, in a culture of outrage, especially on the World Wide Web. However, deliberately snapping a dog's snout in a mousetrap is nothing less than abhorrent. It is the play of a weaker person, one who abuses others for what they are loathe to see in themselves.

TL/DR: Fuck that guy with a curling iron.

I know who I believe is in need of obedience training in that scenario.

Some people should just NOT be allowed to steward other critters. Sadly, too often they seem to be exactly the type who go out of their way to do so.

But it's tough in today's climate to tell people what to do. The internet will eat you alive if you get into this kind of moral reasoning - it only wants to make a stand, take a position, berate you for yours or back you up full-heartedly.

Empty extremes. When what's really needed in this scenario is for a friend of the perpetrator hearing the story in the pub to calmly point out that their are many better, less vindictive ways to attempt to curtail a dog's natural instincts. (Like, ummm...figuring out places that they can't reach? Surely page one, line one for anyone who has a child or a pet.)

ScoJo wrote:I know who I believe is in need of obedience training in that scenario.

Some people should just NOT be allowed to steward other critters. Sadly, too often they seem to be exactly the type who go out of their way to do so.

But it's tough in today's climate to tell people what to do. The internet will eat you alive if you get into this kind of moral reasoning - it only wants to make a stand, take a position, berate you for yours or back you up full-heartedly.

Empty extremes. When what's really needed in this scenario is for a friend of the perpetrator hearing the story in the pub to calmly point out that their are many better, less vindictive ways to attempt to curtail a dog's natural instincts. (Like, ummm...figuring out places that they can't reach? Surely page one, line one for anyone who has a child or a pet.)

Dammit, Scott. You are always so even-handed. How am I supposed to know who to outrage on?! I'll check Twitter trending; that never let's me down.

@mateo -

Calling me 'even-handed'...? Now THAT'S an outrage! Have you ever listened to my opinionated twaddle on the DFC, sir?? ;)