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I haven't really posted much on Facebook today. People have been pissing me off.
Item I: Furkids.
There seem to be a growing number of people who take exception to people like me calling their pets "kids" or "furkids" or whatever. Or especially, referring to themselves as a "pet parent." Because I like Jackson Galaxy, and because the term "cat daddy" has been working its way into the lexicon, perhaps to refer to the male counterpart of "cat lady," I'm okay with being a "cat daddy." Rocky, you'll note, refers to me on his page as "hoomin." I don't think of him as my "son." But he is like a kid for me. I'm not likely to have kids of my own at this point (hell, I'm not likely to ever get married, and I'll be lucky if I ever even get another date, so, yeah), and so, yeah, Rocky (and Minerva and Yoda and Riffy) gives me someone to dote on, be proud of, look forward to seeing, play kiddie games with, and so on.
Some people say that the purpose of a parent is to guide their offspring into a self-sufficient adulthood. Since we're getting pissy about nomenclature, then are parents who have children with disabilities such as severe down syndrome or a handicap that prevents them from self-sufficiency then not really parents? Normally, I'd agree with the general definition of parenthood, but, again, people are taking offense to people not being happy with referring to their pets as mere property.
Aside: People who say, "I love my pets, but I'd get rid of them in a heartbeat, they're not my kids," and so on... Once the qualifier "but" is in there, then I mentally read/hear, "I love my car, but I'd get rid of it in a heartbeat if I had financial difficulties and couldn't support it" and so on. Here's the thing: the car doesn't feel pain, can't suffer, doesn't feel abandoned, and so on. Trust me: I've had Cammie for awhile now, with a cracked windshield for a little over a year now and a rusted out hole on the passenger side for a few years now. Considering the BMWs I dust routinely, Cammie's not suffering.
But the difficulties we had with Rocky initially were because he did feel abandoned. Minerva's shyness issues are because she did feel abandoned. Yoda's couple of years of terror were because he did suffer loss. Pets are not just idle curiosities to be acquired and then discarded when they get old or fail to entertain or become an actual responsibility. I can't adopt every single homeless cat, dog, bird, or whatever out there and clean up the mess that this mindset has created.
I also know several people who have service animals, be they seeing eye dogs or for people who are paraplegics and so on. These are trained, intelligent animals who have more compassion and sense of purpose than the average person I trip over when I leave the house anymore. The only reason they haven't taken over the world and treated us as shitty as we've treated them is because (1) they're too nice and (2) opposable thumbs.
Now, I'll do one better than these people so upset at us "pet parents." Let's come to a compromise, which has been unheard of in these circles: pet guardian. It doesn't have that ownership concept some of us object to, since we know were owned, or even pwned, by our pets, and it's not a perceived belittling of human parents.
Yes, I know I don't have to send Rocky to college or prepare him to survive in the world on his own. I also can't put him on my insurance or deduct him on my taxes. Hell, I can't even get paperwork designating him as a service animal, though his diligence on getting me up in time for work has saved my job and thus allowed me a degree of self-sufficiency and "normalcy." In addition, I have to put up with people who can't or refuse to acknowledge that there just might be an ineffable bond between me and him.
Item II: Military people overseas not able to be home with their families.
I had someone actually state that they didn't feel any sympathy for servicemen and servicewomen overseas unable to be with their families for the holidays because they signed up for that job. And a lot of people commented in support of them with obvious disdain for the military. Now, leaving aside political slants that America has become an invading country and such, fact is, yeah, these people volunteered for the job. But it's a job that needs doing. Leaving out Afghanistan and other hot spots, we still have bases and embassies around the world. Why? Because a successful military needs military readiness. And not just readiness for war. One of the main reasons our military is spread so thin is because, like an idiot, America engages in humanitarian aid throughout the world, no matter how much other people hate us. We're dropping food and medicines all over the place because it's the right thing to do. We're usually the first on scene to help out after a major earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, and so on. And think before you say something stupid like, "We shouldn't be throwing our resources to help other countries" or some variant thereof. This is about helping people in need.
Now, leaving aside all that... I wonder if this person, these people, also have no sympathy for fire fighters on call, EMS personnel, emergency room doctors and nurses, power plant operators and engineers, and so on, who can't be home with their families for the holidays. I mean, they also signed up for those jobs. Fact is, we don't live in a bubble where everything is magically taken care of. We live on a planet and because we want to light up our Christmas trees and watch the new years ball on TV and want our beverages chilled and our food cooked and not have someone loot our house, then people have to work on holidays. Military and civilian. Doesn't mean they don't miss their family and loved ones, as is human nature most of the time. Get over yourself and have a heart and be damn thankful there are people willing to make that sacrifice to make sure the world doesn't just...collapse.
All of this is probably less eloquent and detailed than I would like. I'm just...disappointed in the people making these statements. And in other statements, but, I'm still under the weather, so, I'm trying to keep this all short. Too late, I know. As a lonely person, I know what it's like to not have anyone to spend the holidays with, other than my cat, and to hear people saying they don't have sympathy for those who might be lonely because they're in the military or to piss on me for valuing my cat so highly because he's one of the few things I have... Yeah, bite me.
Item I: Furkids.
There seem to be a growing number of people who take exception to people like me calling their pets "kids" or "furkids" or whatever. Or especially, referring to themselves as a "pet parent." Because I like Jackson Galaxy, and because the term "cat daddy" has been working its way into the lexicon, perhaps to refer to the male counterpart of "cat lady," I'm okay with being a "cat daddy." Rocky, you'll note, refers to me on his page as "hoomin." I don't think of him as my "son." But he is like a kid for me. I'm not likely to have kids of my own at this point (hell, I'm not likely to ever get married, and I'll be lucky if I ever even get another date, so, yeah), and so, yeah, Rocky (and Minerva and Yoda and Riffy) gives me someone to dote on, be proud of, look forward to seeing, play kiddie games with, and so on.
Some people say that the purpose of a parent is to guide their offspring into a self-sufficient adulthood. Since we're getting pissy about nomenclature, then are parents who have children with disabilities such as severe down syndrome or a handicap that prevents them from self-sufficiency then not really parents? Normally, I'd agree with the general definition of parenthood, but, again, people are taking offense to people not being happy with referring to their pets as mere property.
Aside: People who say, "I love my pets, but I'd get rid of them in a heartbeat, they're not my kids," and so on... Once the qualifier "but" is in there, then I mentally read/hear, "I love my car, but I'd get rid of it in a heartbeat if I had financial difficulties and couldn't support it" and so on. Here's the thing: the car doesn't feel pain, can't suffer, doesn't feel abandoned, and so on. Trust me: I've had Cammie for awhile now, with a cracked windshield for a little over a year now and a rusted out hole on the passenger side for a few years now. Considering the BMWs I dust routinely, Cammie's not suffering.
But the difficulties we had with Rocky initially were because he did feel abandoned. Minerva's shyness issues are because she did feel abandoned. Yoda's couple of years of terror were because he did suffer loss. Pets are not just idle curiosities to be acquired and then discarded when they get old or fail to entertain or become an actual responsibility. I can't adopt every single homeless cat, dog, bird, or whatever out there and clean up the mess that this mindset has created.
I also know several people who have service animals, be they seeing eye dogs or for people who are paraplegics and so on. These are trained, intelligent animals who have more compassion and sense of purpose than the average person I trip over when I leave the house anymore. The only reason they haven't taken over the world and treated us as shitty as we've treated them is because (1) they're too nice and (2) opposable thumbs.
Now, I'll do one better than these people so upset at us "pet parents." Let's come to a compromise, which has been unheard of in these circles: pet guardian. It doesn't have that ownership concept some of us object to, since we know were owned, or even pwned, by our pets, and it's not a perceived belittling of human parents.
Yes, I know I don't have to send Rocky to college or prepare him to survive in the world on his own. I also can't put him on my insurance or deduct him on my taxes. Hell, I can't even get paperwork designating him as a service animal, though his diligence on getting me up in time for work has saved my job and thus allowed me a degree of self-sufficiency and "normalcy." In addition, I have to put up with people who can't or refuse to acknowledge that there just might be an ineffable bond between me and him.
Item II: Military people overseas not able to be home with their families.
I had someone actually state that they didn't feel any sympathy for servicemen and servicewomen overseas unable to be with their families for the holidays because they signed up for that job. And a lot of people commented in support of them with obvious disdain for the military. Now, leaving aside political slants that America has become an invading country and such, fact is, yeah, these people volunteered for the job. But it's a job that needs doing. Leaving out Afghanistan and other hot spots, we still have bases and embassies around the world. Why? Because a successful military needs military readiness. And not just readiness for war. One of the main reasons our military is spread so thin is because, like an idiot, America engages in humanitarian aid throughout the world, no matter how much other people hate us. We're dropping food and medicines all over the place because it's the right thing to do. We're usually the first on scene to help out after a major earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, and so on. And think before you say something stupid like, "We shouldn't be throwing our resources to help other countries" or some variant thereof. This is about helping people in need.
Now, leaving aside all that... I wonder if this person, these people, also have no sympathy for fire fighters on call, EMS personnel, emergency room doctors and nurses, power plant operators and engineers, and so on, who can't be home with their families for the holidays. I mean, they also signed up for those jobs. Fact is, we don't live in a bubble where everything is magically taken care of. We live on a planet and because we want to light up our Christmas trees and watch the new years ball on TV and want our beverages chilled and our food cooked and not have someone loot our house, then people have to work on holidays. Military and civilian. Doesn't mean they don't miss their family and loved ones, as is human nature most of the time. Get over yourself and have a heart and be damn thankful there are people willing to make that sacrifice to make sure the world doesn't just...collapse.
All of this is probably less eloquent and detailed than I would like. I'm just...disappointed in the people making these statements. And in other statements, but, I'm still under the weather, so, I'm trying to keep this all short. Too late, I know. As a lonely person, I know what it's like to not have anyone to spend the holidays with, other than my cat, and to hear people saying they don't have sympathy for those who might be lonely because they're in the military or to piss on me for valuing my cat so highly because he's one of the few things I have... Yeah, bite me.
