Earlier this month, I announced that I would not be blogging about dogs on this site for the foreseeable future.
I think that I owe you guys an explanation of why.
The world of dogs is a reflection of human society. Our species is obsessed with the concept of group. We define ourselves by which groups we belong, and sometimes, being part of that group means being overtly hostile to another group. Group membership is what matters. The results of the hostility, be they simple closed-mindedness or some sort of criminal activity, have very little to do with whether one is right or not.
We can talk about the facts about dogs until we’re blue in the face, but we’re never going to get people cross over and say that a group’s shibboleths are wrong. It doesn’t matter if it’s dog training practices or the closed registry system.
Those things will be beaten, largely through generational attrition. It does not one bit of good to discuss these things anymore.
I’ve also come to the conclusion that it’s very unlikely that I will ever be in a situation where I can breed dogs, and if that is the case, I’m going to keep my mouth shut from now on.
The dog world does not present itself well online. The only reason why people would be drawn to this sort of thing is because dogs themselves are advertisement enough.
I just don’t feel right about writing about this stuff anymore.
I feel sick even arguing about it.
I feel very stupid for having tried.
Why quit though why not write about dogs because you like dogs and writing about them reflects that. Its very hard to put a passion for something into words I thought your care for dogs shone through.
Your choice just wish it was a different one
Scottie! Some of us find groupthink repugnant. Your thoughtful blog about canine evolution, Miley and your perspectives on the dog dilemma are valuable to many of us. You are eloquent and your words are spent wisely.
I’m sad that you will be leaving us. I don’t respond to every one of your entries, but most of them are read and thought about. Thank you for your time.
I’m still going to blog about other animals.
At least you have tried and in my opinion you have been extremely successful. Be sad, if you didn’t give it a go and then, to look back on your life full of ‘would’ve, should’ve and could’ve’. As I have mentioned in the past, I have learnt so much from your blogs, and always looked forward to seeing a new post. I am so sorry that you are feeling so down about this, hopefully you can soon look back and be proud of your work and maybe in the near future you might feel up to posting again. Good luck
Stupid?
You were a light in the darkness!