A COLUMN – under the heading “For ‘pet’s sake… get over it” – appeared in our sister newspaper, the Mid South Coast Mail, last week and all hell broke loose:
“Dust off the ‘Scuds’… it’s that time of year when East faces off against West over the ‘big bang’ theory.”
In a nutshell, the column was about Diwali and an annual crusade to get noisy fireworks banned as they terrified pets.
The columnist dared to suggest that: “Surely this is a problem all year round when there are violent thunderstorms as well? Then nobody moans at ‘Thor, the God of Thunder’ or whoever. Yet we always pick on Hindus who just want to celebrate their ‘Festival of Lights’ in glorious fashion.”
The bit that really irked pet lovers was: “Party poopers with touchy pets should just keep them indoors for a night or two and pamper them a bit more than usual. Other people who are just grumpy, turn up the volume when you’re watching ‘Eastenders’ or buy a pair of ear-muffs.”
Needless to say, letters from irate ‘animal activists’ flooded in and the columnist was lashed with the proverbial cat ‘o nine tails. He was accused of being “callous”, “blasphemous”, “insulting”, “offensive” and of writing a “disgusting piece of journalism”.
The next week, the columnist described the backlash as ‘dogmatic’ (very appropriate in this case) and realised there was no point in trying to defend himself.
(Dogmatic: Someone who is convinced that they are right and gives their personal opinions without looking at the evidence and without consideration that other opinions might be justified – Collins Dictionary.)
“It is probably a lost cause trying to argue the toss about fireworks, pets, animal lovers or ‘Thor, the God of Thunder’. It’s wiser to slink back into one’s kennel, tail between legs,” said the columnist.
No doubt the column would have elicited a similar reaction in our neck of the woods. Who knows? Maybe it still will?
But another valid point made was that it never ceases to amaze how man’s inhumanity to man hardly warrants putting pen to paper. The reverse when animals are mentioned.
Cruelty to animals is rightfully abhorrent to any sane thinking person and organisations like the SPCA do a great job helping our ‘speechless friends’.
But when one writes about beggars and vagrants – many of whom have hit rock bottom due to circumstances beyond their control – the sentiment is: “Go somewhere else. We don’t want you.”
Why is there no SPCH (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Humans)?
This columnist wrote about a social experiment recently where he gave R5 to every person he came across begging at an intersection. The only reply was that this was the reason for a sudden influx of undesirables.
By Zeus, it makes one mad.
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