Breed Specific Legislation = Discrimination

When has discrimination and genocide been right, regardless of the species?  It wasn’t right when Hitler declared Jews to be a sub-species of the human race and sought to exterminate them.  It wasn’t right when, in one of our less than shining moments as a nation, we sent American citizens of Japanese descent to Interment camps.  It wasn’t right when we had Jim Crow laws on the books and allowed people to be segregated by the color of their skin.  Is banning a breed of dog any different?  Especially, since most people can not actually point out a pit bull to save their life.  They can only identify what they think a pit bull looks like. 

Until the 1950’s, the American Pit Bull Terrier was THE family dog.  It was the dog in the Coppertone advertisement and other wholesome images.  In the last 30 years there has been a smear campaign against this breed. 

You only hear about dog attacks if there is a pit bull involved, because that is the dog that the media wants to victimize.  Nobody wants to hear about the Labrador Retriever that attacked or bit its owners children.  The reality is that if a dog is in a bad environment and mistreated, it will act accordingly.  When that happens, we automatically give the dog a death sentence and never look at the true perpetrators of the problems, the owners.  

Very seldom are the dogs given a second chance to be rehabilitated.  Fear is what drives the uneducated in animal ownership to kill the dogs.  One of the most visible examples has been the Michael Vick case.  If PETA had their way everyone of those dogs would had been euthanized.  But dedicated organizations and individuals showed us what mercy, compassion and a positive environment can do to rehabilitate a traumatized dog.  These dogs have gone on to homes, they have become therapy dogs, and those too tramatized by events are in a safe environment where they are learning to trust humans.

The very acts of compassion and mercy give us a glimpse of hope.  If these simple principles can work on dogs, what wonders could they work on mankind.  What would happen if we looked at the world through the eyes of compassion and mercy, if we treated everyone and everything with kindness?

The more we try to legislate behavior, the less we expect people to do the right thing naturally.  When we do not expect people to step up and do right, bad things happen and our children have to clean up the mess.

Do not let discrimination or genocide of any sort take root in our communities. 

Alcohol, the Legal Drug

So college presidents don’t want to be held responsible for upholding the law.  Well, they can get in line with rest of the people who don’t want to be law abiding citizens.  Alcohol as a legalized drug, that has a social acceptance, is unfathomable to me.  The legal drinking age does not need to be lowered; the penalty for under-age drinking and providing a minor with alcohol needs to be enforced.  More importantly, there needs to be a visible and severe impact on those who choose to not drink responsibly.  

Before people start labeling me as a rabid teetotaler, let me disclose a few things.  While it is true that I do not partake in any form of alcoholic beverage, I do not necessarily hold my friends to those same standards.  I do, however, expect those around me to drink responsibly and not put myself or anyone around me in peril.  I have seen the results of irresponsible drinking in the form of tragic accidents, fatal alcohol poisoning, alcohol related sexual assaults, and other common-sense inhibiting behaviors. 

Families that have an alcohol-centric cultures make drinking a coming of age behavior and build a mystic around it that fosters the need to imbibe as soon as they can.  When tragedy strikes, it is never their fault or the culture of drinking, rather always something else.

Let us also point out the romanticizing of alcohol in the media.  The popularity of the spring break programming where everyone is expected to travel to some beach destination and be inebriated for the entire stay.  The search for the perfect cocktail to unwind; as if that is the only way to blow off stress.  My personal favorite, suffer a personal tragedy?  Get drunk.

Look, whether or not the legal drinking age is lowered I can’t control.  I can insist that the penalties be enforced for under-aged drinkers, for people who provide alcohol to under-age drinkers, and to those who choose to drink and drive.  

People are dying by means of a legal substance and no one seems to see that a problem exists.

 

 

 

 

 

Life, Kaos & Stuff

Well, I've decided to blog. This is a grand experiment for me. My life tends to be chaotic and full of humor. Life without humor is definitely Hell. I believe that inorder for a person to truly live up to their potential in life, that they need to be a full participant. I have to admit that I've not been doing that. My fortieth birthday is coming up in October. A new decade, a new opportunity to seize life.

Stay tuned and I'll share my view on Life, Kaos and all the stuff that comes with it.