Here are some hints if you want to write a mindless dog blog that will get lots of attention within one’s chosen clique.
- Make sure you know who the bad guys are.
- Make sure you know the good guys are.
- Maintain a Manichaean woldview.
- Continually smear the bad guys.
- Continually praise the good guys.
- Do not deviate from the party line: The AKC is either all evil or all good. Same goes with pit bulls.
- Make sure get outraged in the same way at exactly the same story as all the people in your clique.
- Oh. And make sure you cover only the stories of the day. Otherwise, you might have to do some analysis and actually think through what you’re writing.
- Because you’re on the side of good, it is morally justified to be the biggest asshole possible to people on the side of evil.
- Make sure you know how to stay as outraged as possible in your writing. Make outrage your entire voice and focus.
- The only two dog experts who matter are Raymond Coppinger and Cesar Millan. Choose one or the other. Quote them regularly.
If you follow these steps, you’ll have a blog that will make all you will-respected in the community of dog bloggers.
Well, it will definitely make you well-respected in your clique.
Until you accidentally deviate from the party line.
Then you’re the effing enemy!
Traitor!!!!!!!
LMBO!!! And this is one of many reasons why everyone looks forward to your postings!!!! Or rantings…whatever, it’s either really great information, or just freaken funny!!!
Well, crap, that explains why I have no traffic. I don’t have a clique. I need to get a clique.
You do….
I have people that comment. They aren’t like groupies.
I link your blog to mine as I think it’s interesting and informative. Mine certainly isn’t a dog blog but I write about things that concern me and this has recently included the case of poor Lennox.
I’m increasingly concerned about your comments because I’m wondering if you consider me unworthy too.
Please don’t be offended because I have decided to stay out of the pit bull wars.
I am opposed to BSL, but I am much more worried about the anti-pit bull people than I am about the pro-pit bull people, although some of them do say things that are quite wrong or can’t be known.
There are whole blogs devoted to pit bull love or pit bull hate. It’s almost like a religious war, and I don’t have time to deal with fanatics who want to see them banned or people who deny any genetic contribution to dog behavior.
I am not making this an attack on anyone who wants to discuss this issue. It’s just a minefield.
I like to argue, but this debate gets nowhere fast.
Please don’t take it as an insult. I was asked several times when I was going to write about Lennox or some other BSL issue.
And i just have to say, I’m opposed to BSL, but the actual things people say about pit bulls, well, I just don’t know enough to make a convincing argument.
If you go through the dog blogosphere, you’ll find that there is a lot of groupthink, and if someone deviates just a little from the party line, they get in big trouble.
Chris has a good post on this: http://www.astraean.com/borderwars/2008/02/8-signs-of-groupthink.html
Thanks so much for your reply. I’m certainly not offended at all. I think your position is wise and rare and perfectly understandable in the circumstances.
I am often prompted to comment on your interesting blog, if only to thank you for it, but sometimes your understandable position on moronic trolls makes me wonder if I am worthy of commenting at all. This is more my problem than yours, however.
Do keep up the good work and know that your thoughts are fascinating.
I like your blog very much; it’s great to communicate with people who don’t just chew and regurgitate the same pap over and over again.
I haven’t been online in awhile – had hip replacement surgery a couple of weeks ago and I’m just now beginning to be able to get around a bit.
Your comments about the pit bull wars are right on the mark, especially concerning the anti pit-bull people. There’s one called dogsbite.org that is especially over-the-top, but somehow they have accumulated a lot of influence. Their specialty appears to be calling people names like “pit-bull nutters”, etc., and stridently trying to convince the world at large that all pit bulls are monsters from Hell. Because I do not “tow their party line”, and because I commented that I am strongly opposed to BSL, I was immediately and publicly BANNED (good riddance).
From many years, decades really, of personal experience in working with and caring for all kinds of dogs, I do believe that breeds that were traditionally bred and used for dogfighting are inherently more dangerous in some ways than most other breeds. They may not as apt to bite as many other breeds or types of dogs, but often when pit-bulls or other “fighting” dogs do bite, they don’t just snap-snap-snap and quit like most dogs do. Many of them will not quit an attack. They will get a “grip” and go for the kill, and it can be very, very difficult to pull them off.
But. But. I think that the answer is education, not legislation. The owners of these dogs need to realize how powerful they are, and to know what kind of damage they can do when they are out of control. Every dog owner has a responsibility to maintain their dogs in such a way as to try to ensure that they will not harm people or their pets.
It shouldn’t surprise me by now, I guess, but I find myself frequently astonished and appalled by the vast depth of people’s … well, IGNORANCE, when it comes to dogs. The anti pit-bull people have developed their fever-pitch phobias almost to a religion, and the pro pit-bull people, some of them, anyway, would have you believe that all pit-bulls, even those that have killed people, are misunderstood sweeties. Of the two, I am much more concerned about the strong-arm tactics of the anti-pits than by the sometimes sappy over-sentimentalization of the pro-pits.
Thanks for the great blog. I don’t always agree with you, but I do always enjoy your posts. And they keep getting better and better :-).
Sounds a lot like Glen Beck!
Actually sounds like the entire Republican playbook
The only difference is that the Republicans would propose something, and then at some point in the future, the Democrats would be for it, so now they have to be against it.
I loled, for real.
Hmmmm…not sure where I fit in, but then, does it really matter? I enjoy reading your blog and a variety of others and I enjoy writing about the things I care about, if people disagree with me then so be it.