Following the American president’s shameful remarks about immigrants not being humans, about them being animals, I’m left goggling as Americans justify his vile statement by explaining what (they think) he really meant.
“He meant the gang members,” they say, as if that makes it okay.
Besides, we heard what Trump said. He made himself crystal clear.
What sort of mental gymnastics does it take to allow oneself to believe, much less say out loud, that some individual or group of human beings are not human? that they are animals? Who is okay with being that cruel? Now? All these years after the Holocaust when we know exactly what it means to dehumanize a group and why a “leader” like the president would seek to do exactly that? Who does this? It turns out there are a lot of them. They are all around us. And they’re too stupid and selfish to be ashamed.
I find myself standing up for these immigrants, and make no mistake if you are in any way confused, people are people. I have to remind people, supposed adults, that even people who’ve done bad things are people with rights that we all recognize. It’s why I speak up after comments about doing some disfiguring/dehumanizing thing to rapists or pedophiles or when they say “lock him/her up” (not referring to the political jokes, I mean the serious ones) about people who haven’t been charged with anything, much less found guilty of an offense that would land them in jail. They are protected just like all other people. And aren’t these commenters glad these rights are recognized if they find themselves in trouble?
But then I remember that every day I follow back fools who mention in their profiles that they believe in/fight for “animal rights.” Seriously. And many of these idiots are women. Knowing human women’s rights aren’t even recognized, yet, they want dogs to have power over their own bodies and for cockroaches to have to be evicted (rather than exterminated).
In order to begin this cockroach eviction procedure, how do I collect each individual’s name for the court? If they don’t vacate when their time is up, will the police do the evictions for me? How much will it cost for each insect, I mean individual, to be evicted? What if they lay eggs during the waiting period? Do I have to keep filing for every single individual every single time?
That’s how it goes for people so I would assume it is the same. The police are going to be very busy on evictions alone for spiders, ants, termites, roaches, silverfish. . .
These “animal rights” people are generally the same humans who have loads of pictures of animals on their profiles that are obviously pets. A person who believes that animals have rights just like humans would never keep them as pets. Would you keep a human as a pet? Eewww, right? That’s slavery and/or kidnapping, right? Then why keep an animal that way if you believe they are entitled to rights?
Maybe their argument is that animals should have a 3/5 compromise?
When field mice have the rights people do, we’ll have to make provisions for them to enroll their children in school, provide adequate funding and teachers for all these new students. What happens if they choose not to enroll their pups? Are the mice somehow punished for their pups being truant?
There are going to be segregation issues, too. Consider a mouse pup and an owlet and a kitten in a classroom? I foresee issues even if the parents haven’t taught bigotry. Animals haven’t made the progress people have in overcoming their instinctual urges. As far as I can tell, few are even trying.
What happens if I accidentally step on an anthill that is hidden in the grass? I’m a mass murderer, but maybe I can keep the witnesses from talking. Even so, I have a conscience. This one will be tricky. I’ll be afraid to leave my home, afraid of committing manslaughter and not even knowing it.
How does Social Security work for all of these members of the animal kingdom? What if they don’t get jobs? What if they never apply for a job? How do we arrange to get them their Social Security? What happens if they don’t ever even get a Social Security number? What if they don’t pay taxes? Do we jail all these tax-evading cats? How will their court-appointed lawyers be able to defend them if they aren’t even sure the animal is competent to stand trial?
How does jury duty work for a fresh water turtle?
Spaying and neutering procedures will go down pretty much immediately. I have never known of an animal consenting to the procedure. Have you? How would they pay for it? Credit card? How old does a ferret have to be to be considered of age to enter into and be legally bound to a credit contract?
When do rats become eligible for Medicare?
This all comes down to agency, the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. Animals don’t have it. Perhaps they never will. “So long, and thanks for all the fish” comes to mind so never say “never.”
This is an important concept in sociology and in law. It matters.
Humans have agency, they’re human beings, no matter where they are born, the United States, Norway, Venezuela, Niger, or Japan. Even women, who are human beings and identical to men other than their genitals, have agency. America doesn’t recognize human women as deserving of the same rights as human men, but that is a matter of time. It is ignorant and bigoted to pretend that some groups of humans are not human just so that you can feel better about treating them poorly, discriminating, or injuring these humans.
And it’s stupid to claim that animals should have rights like people when they clearly aren’t even similar to people.
Animals do deserve our protection. After all, we have a responsibility to them since we taught so many (over generations, through domestication) to depend on us for survival. I’m all for protecting animals and working with animal welfare groups to care for them, but to pretend they are deserving of rights and protections like men – not women, yet, though the USA is getting closer – is silly and stupid.
It’s also stupid for any human to have trouble understanding the difference between animals and humans. If you can’t tell the difference, perhaps you should consider whether you are intelligent and mature enough to act on your own behalf, let alone sharing your ignorant and bigoted opinions and irrational fears about “others” in public. Keep in mind that people who can’t differentiate between humans and animals would likely be found to have other issues. See your doctor/school counselor so they can check for a developmental disability.
For the rest, remember how Trump and his followers feel about disabled humans, women, non-white people, immigrants, the elderly, the poor. . . Listen to how they demean them and blame them for all the problems of this country. This is Nazi-style propaganda, and it doesn’t end with insults. Know the difference between people and animals, and do not let anyone else make the mistake. Stand for all people as you would stand for yourself.
(As always, thanks for your time, for reading my post. hugs)
Link: “The ERA Is Back” – by Dahlia Lithwick at Slate
Link: “When Misogynists Become Terrorists” – by Jessica Valenti at The New York Times (opinion, technically, but good article)
Link: “The Redistribution Of Human Flesh, By Ross Douthbag” – by Robyn Pennacchia at Wonkette (opinion)
Link: “‘Less Than Human’: The Psychology Of Cruelty” – by David Livingstone Smith for NPR
Link: “Why Animal Rights?” – vague and mixes up welfare and rights in more than one place, but if you can make sense of it, good for you
Full video of Trump’s comments from the roundtable on “sanctuary cities” and immigration laws on C-Span.
Link to a Tweet from Tracee Ellis Ross for a TED talk “A Woman’s Fury Holds Lifetimes of Wisdom.” This is powerful and important. Watch it when you’re free to feel and to listen for understanding.
#WelfareVsRights #Equality