I run across some truly appalling human beings on Twitter on an almost daily basis. So I got to thinking: Why not share some of the most terrible tweets from these unsung antiheroes of the internet with you, my readers, and ruin your day the way these tweets have ruined mine?
So let’s start off this new intermittent Worst of Twitter series with a fellow calling himself “World Jew Watch.” Here are a few of the nuggets of, er, wisdom he has chosen to share with the world in recent days, some of which hearken back to anti-Semitic myths so ancient there were already a bit hackneyed back in Henry Ford’s day.
https://twitter.com/WorldJewWatch/status/856612701539368960
https://twitter.com/WorldJewWatch/status/856538193075859456
https://twitter.com/WorldJewWatch/status/856596376406417408
https://twitter.com/WorldJewWatch/status/856153908137390082
https://twitter.com/WorldJewWatch/status/856543887829192705
https://twitter.com/WorldJewWatch/status/856186447828856842
https://twitter.com/WorldJewWatch/status/856181606935134211
https://twitter.com/WorldJewWatch/status/855166755261603843
https://twitter.com/WorldJewWatch/status/853991975023988737
https://twitter.com/WorldJewWatch/status/850712573297270785
Yep, World Jew Watch is definitely kicking it old school.
@wwth – thanks. For the record, I don’t think they’re evil or selfish. Irresponsible, yeah, kinda. I was talking about people I know.
@Hambeast – I think we’re pretty safe in thinking that our relationships with our pets are mostly mutually beneficial, at least in the way most of us practice pet ownership.
As for if a cat is happy/happier living indoors vs. living outside hunting, etc., well, when my cat gets outside all he does is lay in the sun. When he gets tired of that, he yowls to come back inside. He doesn’t try to escape and go hunting, ever, so I think he likes lounging around and getting his commercially-prepared canned cat food twice a day, and forcing me and my son to give him affection at his whim.
I’ve also seen the theory proposed (although I believe only about dogs, not cats) that, rather than people having domesticated dogs, dogs may have gone a long way toward domesticating themselves as scavenger wolves hanging around at the edges of camp. It’s been proposed that wolves with lower fear drives (higher friendliness) might have been more successful scavenging human camp trash. It’s a sort of symbiotic relationship between humans and dogs, we get protection and they get food and security. Cats have been useful at least since agriculture was invented, and may have evolved in a similar way, to fill a niche very close to humans.
All just theory of course. But the thing is, we can’t really know, it might be that this IS the most ethical way to treat pets.
Every now and then I am sad that my most-beloved first cat never had kittens, simply because I wish I had one of those kittens right now. I would have something of her in her offspring.
But she was spayed as a kitten herself and so that didn’t happen. My feelings are selfish and the way things happened were better for her and for everyone.
It’s okay to have selfish feelings sometimes. If we’re good people we don’t act on them, but we shouldn’t beat ourselves up (or be beaten up by others) for having them. A wistful what-if is not a terrible thing to feel.
@dreemr
I don’t see an exploded thread, I see someone attacking you who had no call to do so. Maybe I have a high standard for thread-asplosion but I’m not seeing it here and you didn’t do anything wrong.
@ dreemr
I’ve always found that theory very convincing. Now I do recognise my own tendencies to anthropomorphise animals generally and especially dogs. However it does seem to me completely plausible that the interface between wolves and humans would lead to a build up of trust.
I do often wonder what early humans thought about wolves. Were they just regarded as scary predators? Or did people in the neolithic (or before) find them as appealing as we do today. Contrary to certain films (I’m looking at you Liam Neeson!) wolves generally don’t attack humans so would we have even been wary of them? I can especially imagine people finding wolf cubs as cute as we do and adopting orphaned ones.
I’m sure you’re familiar with all the experiments that show even wild canines domesticate very easily (and undergo physical changes, like floppy ears, within only two or three generations).
Sorry, rambling a bit. But this is a subject close to my heart.
Tl;dr – if I was a caveman I’d definitely be feeding any wolf who hung around the periphery of my campfire.
@PoM – thank you for your reassurance.
@Alan – I do think it’s an intriguing theory, but of course there’s really no way to know. I believe there’s another (or maybe its a corollary to the same theory) that posits dogs as a kind of advanced parasite of sorts, which, while an unflattering way to put it, did have some interesting points.
I tend to believe we would have been quit wary of wild wolves back in the day because they *are* an apex predator and we do have a long tradition of being afraid of them. If you’ve ever seen one, they’re quite large. Certainly I’d think if you were part of a more nomadic community, you wouldn’t want to go out beyond the campfire alone during a time when you knew wolves to be hungry. I would treat it with the same respect I’d treat a bear or wildcat.
@Imaginary Petal
Have you considered fostering kittens? That way you could see your kitty being a Mama Kitty without her having to go through pregnancy/kitting. I don’t know where you live, or if there’s a fostering program in your area, but it might be worth looking into.
Re: free pet food
Some Humane Societies do have programs that provide food to low income people with pets. The Humane Society in Tacoma, Washington does.
Some shelters/rescues spay/neuter all of their animals before putting them up for adoption.
The troll is officially banned.
@Alan Robertshaw
You can domesticate them easily in 2-3 generations once you know how. If you don’t, then it is pretty hard and potentially dangerous work.
This isn’t always a bad idea, but there’s no shortage of stories about hazardous animals that have got used to humans and their offerings of food and then gone on to cause problems which can include killing and injuring people. I suspect that stone age hunter-gatherers who actually had to worry about dangerous animals on a daily basis would be less stupid than modern humans, but even so.
@ pie
Heh, I suspect I’m the lineal descendant of that one caveman who went “Aww, that sabre-tooth cat probably just wants a belly rub”; but somehow managed to reproduce.
Apparently dogs were just fine until feminists got to them…
http://i.imgur.com/HqX9upI.jpg
I do believe that dogs did a lot of domesticating of themselves. Cats, too, but not to the same extent (I think) since they’re more solitary by habit.
But the fact is, all of us were born into cultures that have domesticated animals. Without them, we would be a drastically different species. I believe that because of that, all humans owe it to domestic animals to treat them as well as we can. I guess we can differ as to what that entails, but I still fail to see how not spaying/neutering works to any domestic species’ favor. (Hexum7 perplexes me!)
Now I have to go and medicate Catbeast.
Hope this link works…
http://mestreacasa.gva.es/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=500010784853&name=DLFE-516800.pdf
Kurt Vonnegut’s “Thomas Edison’s Shaggy Dog”
@Hambeast
It seems we have very a very similar outlook on pet ownership! Whether or not pet domestication is beneficial to the animals, the fact is that they have been domesticated, and we have a responsibility to hold up our end of the “bargain.” (And, also, you know, treat them like living creatures that deserve happiness and comfort).
Of course! Did you think the matriarchy would be content to just have cats on our side?
Seriously though, given that the woman said her dog barked like she’d never barked before, it seems pretty clear that she doesn’t see all men as threats. She just saw that particular man as a threat and probably had good reason.
Not that minor things like reading comprehension have ever stopped anti-feminists from being aggrieved.
dlouwe – Yep. I even went without a pet for a good, long, while because of my uncertainty (and witnessing people who had pets and shouldn’t.) I succumbed when a friend with four cats had two of them escalate agression toward poor Catbeast (who doesn’t seem to have an aggressive bone in his body*) begged Husbeast and I to take him. I have never regretted it. Catbeast is a feline gentleman with exceptional manners and a damn fine nursemaid!
But humans who don’t share those sentiments should (please!) refrain from keeping animals. If they did, the ASPCA and Humane Societies would have a much easier time.
*cat toys and insects excepted and woe betide them!
To quote a friend:
Seriously though that’s good advice. Dogs often pick up on their owner’s suspicions; but unlike women they’re not socialised to put manners before safety.
For real though, don’t date a guy who doesn’t like your dog (or cat), either. Believe me, it matters.
According to that manosphere dude, my dog thinks any delivery person is evil. I always thought Dog vs. Mail Carrier was a cliche, but she really does lose her head when the mail truck, the UPS truck, or the FedEx trucks come down the street. Any other panel van = A-OK. One of those = Deadly Enemy That Must Be Destroyed.
@ dreemr
The postman/woman is someone who calls to your door but is never let in the house. So your dog perceives them as an unwanted attempted intruder; hence the hostility.
Weirdly, the number of assaults on posties by dogs remains pretty constant year on year. How do the dogs know? Are they operating some sort of rota?
@Alan
Well, that would definitely make sense, except that the way our tiny rural town is set up, we don’t get mail/package delivery at the door of our home, we have mailboxes set up down the block all together, and I have packages delivered to me at work (since that’s where I am during the daytime).
And she doesn’t bark at the mail carrier or package deliverer him- or herself, since she never sees them, it’s just the trucks! But not the cable truck, or the electrician’s truck, or the Schwann’s truck, or the plumbers, which are all very similar to the delivery vans. Weird, huh?
đŸ˜€
@ dreemr
Ah, maybe it’s because the Posties have allied themselves with cats?
(Argh, now got the annoyingly catchy theme tune stuck in my head)
LOL I’m sure there’s some link that we puny humans just don’t have the ability to catch on to. I wouldn’t put it past our slinky cat to be in cahoots with the mail carrier for the sole purpose of antagonizing the dog and making her look bad!
Do not click play unless you want to be singing this for the next three days!
@Alan
*hums tune*
Damnit, I didn’t even need to play the video!
One of my favorite innocent pleasures, as I’m walking through the neighborhood, is complimenting dogwalkers on their dogs.
On the uncommon occasions when the dog barks or lunges at me, I can compliment them on having a stalwart defender.
If either of our sons had turned out to be the kind of boy (or girl) whose life is incomplete without a dog or cat, we would have taught them how to care for a pet. As it is, they were satisfied with Sea Monkeys and triopses.
I worked for the local postal service for some years. They had adopted the policy of issuing dog biscuits to all workers, to stay on good terms with the dogs.
It worked really well. There were dogs who recognized the uniform from across the street and struggled to come say hello (and get a treat).