Saving Those Who Walk On Twos And Fours
I received an email this evening from someone very active in animal rescue, which included a Link to a Delaware television news item about a young chow-chow who had been abandoned, in sad but easily cureable condition, in a trash dumpster.
My response:
A shining but sadly rare instance in which television can be a force for good, rather than a switchblade that slices and dices society.
Perhaps those on your list should watch the video, and keep it in mind the next time they find a local dog in need. I think it safe to assume that the dog in the video will have several offers of a good home, which probably would NOT be the case if her sad story were just emailed to people who have too many pets as it is.
Television, of course, is certainly not the only avenue when we come upon our fellow sentient beings in need--there are many other ways that should be explored, such as church groups, civic groups, social groups, schools, businesses, newspapers, and so on. So long as people continue to think they are "taking action" by emailing pictures and sad stories to you and leaving it at that, it is akin to putting one's finger in the Hoover Dam after it has already burst.
Somehow, we need to get people to thinking about alternative solutions, as well as "the big picture":
--Free spay/neuter facilities, with no income requirements, no requirement of an appointment made in advance--too many in "rescue" like to power trip by insisting that people barely existing on the margins schedule appointments in advance.
--Getting people outside of rescue to start coming to understand the fact that these cats and dogs, who are killed by the millions because they are "inconvenient", also live, love, breathe, hurt, and have all of the other feelings and emotions that humans do. Enlightenment, raising consciousness, whatever you want to call it. Because when we live in a society that dehumanizes and then kills sentient beings, we live in a society in which a Hitler can likewise dehumanize Jews, a George Wallace can dehumanize people of color, and a Karl Rove can dehumanize Muslims.
TLC
My response:
A shining but sadly rare instance in which television can be a force for good, rather than a switchblade that slices and dices society.
Perhaps those on your list should watch the video, and keep it in mind the next time they find a local dog in need. I think it safe to assume that the dog in the video will have several offers of a good home, which probably would NOT be the case if her sad story were just emailed to people who have too many pets as it is.
Television, of course, is certainly not the only avenue when we come upon our fellow sentient beings in need--there are many other ways that should be explored, such as church groups, civic groups, social groups, schools, businesses, newspapers, and so on. So long as people continue to think they are "taking action" by emailing pictures and sad stories to you and leaving it at that, it is akin to putting one's finger in the Hoover Dam after it has already burst.
Somehow, we need to get people to thinking about alternative solutions, as well as "the big picture":
--Free spay/neuter facilities, with no income requirements, no requirement of an appointment made in advance--too many in "rescue" like to power trip by insisting that people barely existing on the margins schedule appointments in advance.
--Getting people outside of rescue to start coming to understand the fact that these cats and dogs, who are killed by the millions because they are "inconvenient", also live, love, breathe, hurt, and have all of the other feelings and emotions that humans do. Enlightenment, raising consciousness, whatever you want to call it. Because when we live in a society that dehumanizes and then kills sentient beings, we live in a society in which a Hitler can likewise dehumanize Jews, a George Wallace can dehumanize people of color, and a Karl Rove can dehumanize Muslims.
TLC
posted by TLC's Place at 8:46 PM
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