Why does this forum attract so many people who hate pets?

[Anonymous]

If I saw a forum labelled zebras or pluto or strappy sandals, and those were things I hated, I would never go into those forums to vent about how zebras are an affront to my senses and I am allergic to them and how dare they allow zebras in zoos, or how Pluto should never have been labelled a planet, or how I heard strappy sandals killed someone sometime.

And yet on the occasion that I pop over here because -- surprise! I love pets! -- it seems like it's all complaining and kveching by people who hate all forms of pets.

Just saying.

[Anonymous]

People are responding to topics they see on Recent Topics.

[Anonymous]

Pets are polarizing like everything else. In fact I'd say the people who love dogs are more insane than the people who don't love dogs, in terms of who posts on DCUM. Some people would rather see a child mauled to death than a dog (who has done the mauling) get euthanized.

And I say this as a dog and cat lover.

[Anonymous]

I have pets. I love pets. I hate people who don’t properly care for their pets, and don’t properly maintain control of their pets.

Keep your dog on a leash, pick up after your dog, etc. It really shouldn’t be that hard, but I see bad pet owner behavior every day.

Come on, OP, really? It’s like kids. We all love our kids, but we hate bad parents and unchecked bad behavior by kids out in public.

[Anonymous]

Just because people think pet owner should be responsible for their animal and considerate of others, does not mean they hate pates. Come on OP, can you really not see the difference?

[Anonymous]

Exhibits A, B, C.

[Anonymous]

I love dogs and I don’t know what you’re talking about which makes me think you’re hypersensitive to criticism of pets, if you think DCUMers hate them.

Like PPs I of course think dangerous pets should be euthanized.

[Anonymous]

I on the Pet forum quite a lot and 99% of posters have pets and love animals.

So perhaps you read Pet forum posts from Recent Topics when they trend *because* they're controversial, like Pitt threads. In which case, yes, you'll find posters who do not understand or care for animals.

Also, among animal lovers, we can disagree on many methods of training or different lifestyles.

[Anonymous]

For the same reason that people who don't have children (child-free!!!) post their big opinions on parenting and adoption boards. I don't get it either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I saw a forum labelled zebras or pluto or strappy sandals, and those were things I hated, I would never go into those forums to vent about how zebras are an affront to my senses and I am allergic to them and how dare they allow zebras in zoos, or how Pluto should never have been labelled a planet, or how I heard strappy sandals killed someone sometime.

And yet on the occasion that I pop over here because -- surprise! I love pets! -- it seems like it's all complaining and kveching by people who hate all forms of pets.

Just saying.

I think responses tend to run more along the lines of zebras belong in zoos, not in grocery stores or restaurants, and sandals that have killed their wearer should not be worn again, and that if multiple wearers have been killed by the same model of sandal, that model may need to be taken off the market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I on the Pet forum quite a lot and 99% of posters have pets and love animals.

So perhaps you read Pet forum posts from Recent Topics when they trend *because* they're controversial, like Pitt threads. In which case, yes, you'll find posters who do not understand or care for animals.

Also, among animal lovers, we can disagree on many methods of training or different lifestyles.

I really disagree. I actually avoid this forum (usually) because it's so hateful and ignorant, so much of the time. I can't even count how many threads there have been over the years that I've accidentally seen, of people fantasizing about kicking dogs, shooting dogs, bashing dogs with hammers. People have - apparently sincerely - talked about killing their family dogs because some idiotic DNA test tells them there's a little pit bull in that beautiful pup they've loved, and just post after post after post encouraging them to do it. It's horrifying, the things that are regular conversation here.

I think that the pets forum is like this because normal people who love animals have basically been driven out, by a culture of violence and idiocy. Now it's just the hateful people talking to each other all the time, because who else would want to get involved.

It's sort of like how the politics forum has gotten, too, to be honest - a few MAGA heads have so overwhelmed the conversation that they are driving out the regular people who just want to talk about stuff.

I wish it were more people like you and me - who love animals, and want to talk about the normal parts of owning and living with animals. I'd love this forum if so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I on the Pet forum quite a lot and 99% of posters have pets and love animals.

So perhaps you read Pet forum posts from Recent Topics when they trend *because* they're controversial, like Pitt threads. In which case, yes, you'll find posters who do not understand or care for animals.

Also, among animal lovers, we can disagree on many methods of training or different lifestyles.

I really disagree. I actually avoid this forum (usually) because it's so hateful and ignorant, so much of the time. I can't even count how many threads there have been over the years that I've accidentally seen, of people fantasizing about kicking dogs, shooting dogs, bashing dogs with hammers. People have - apparently sincerely - talked about killing their family dogs because some idiotic DNA test tells them there's a little pit bull in that beautiful pup they've loved, and just post after post after post encouraging them to do it. It's horrifying, the things that are regular conversation here.

I think that the pets forum is like this because normal people who love animals have basically been driven out, by a culture of violence and idiocy. Now it's just the hateful people talking to each other all the time, because who else would want to get involved.

It's sort of like how the politics forum has gotten, too, to be honest - a few MAGA heads have so overwhelmed the conversation that they are driving out the regular people who just want to talk about stuff.

I wish it were more people like you and me - who love animals, and want to talk about the normal parts of owning and living with animals. I'd love this forum if so.

Either you must not have a good grasp of statistics, and for you one post that mentions violence against dogs is enough to not come back for weeks, or... we're on two different DCUMs! Because 99% of the threads on here do not mention anything like the bolded. And yes, most posts in the Politics Forum are not MAGA posts. You notice them because they shock you, as they are intended to. The goal is to shut down the conversation and drive you away. Don't fall for it.

When you blow these things out of proportion, you end up with a skewed version of reality, and that's a slippery slope, my friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I on the Pet forum quite a lot and 99% of posters have pets and love animals.

So perhaps you read Pet forum posts from Recent Topics when they trend *because* they're controversial, like Pitt threads. In which case, yes, you'll find posters who do not understand or care for animals.

Also, among animal lovers, we can disagree on many methods of training or different lifestyles.

I really disagree. I actually avoid this forum (usually) because it's so hateful and ignorant, so much of the time. I can't even count how many threads there have been over the years that I've accidentally seen, of people fantasizing about kicking dogs, shooting dogs, bashing dogs with hammers. People have - apparently sincerely - talked about killing their family dogs because some idiotic DNA test tells them there's a little pit bull in that beautiful pup they've loved, and just post after post after post encouraging them to do it. It's horrifying, the things that are regular conversation here.

I think that the pets forum is like this because normal people who love animals have basically been driven out, by a culture of violence and idiocy. Now it's just the hateful people talking to each other all the time, because who else would want to get involved.

It's sort of like how the politics forum has gotten, too, to be honest - a few MAGA heads have so overwhelmed the conversation that they are driving out the regular people who just want to talk about stuff.

I wish it were more people like you and me - who love animals, and want to talk about the normal parts of owning and living with animals. I'd love this forum if so.

Either you must not have a good grasp of statistics, and for you one post that mentions violence against dogs is enough to not come back for weeks, or... we're on two different DCUMs! Because 99% of the threads on here do not mention anything like the bolded. And yes, most posts in the Politics Forum are not MAGA posts. You notice them because they shock you, as they are intended to. The goal is to shut down the conversation and drive you away. Don't fall for it.

When you blow these things out of proportion, you end up with a skewed version of reality, and that's a slippery slope, my friend.

Yes, I find it shocking - and appalling - how many anti-pet posts there are in the pets forum. I don't know what the percentage is, but they are common enough that I don't want to participate in the forum - unless I accidentally stumble into some thread (like this one). It's common enough to notice trends, like the relentless anti-pit bull nonsense, and the people fantasizing about harming dogs, and the tedious posts complaining that dogs exist in public life. We could have a whole other conversation about the people who insist that women with pets are damaged people who are harming society, but those are generally not in this forum (I don't think).

I'm glad this isn't everyone's experience of the pets. It's present enough here for me to generally bow out of being any part of this. Truly, it hurts my heart to see so many of these ignorant, violent, hateful posts. How casually people describe hating their pets, hurting other people's pets, all of it.

And I don't fault Jeff for running his website in the way he likes, that is also profitable and manageable to him. But he allows the anti-dog stuff to grow and grow and it's pretty terrible - for me. Glad it's not that way for you.

[Anonymous]

Don’t get me started on strappy sandals

[Anonymous]

You sound incredibly hypersensitive. Ultimately, it's not good, because it means you leave the public sphere of debate and let others fight your battles for you. So, not very helpful to the causes you want to support, hmm?