RIP Kobe Bryant; you were a legend, truly one of the all-time greats.
It’s strange to look back and realize how much we all complained about that excessive grace he showed during his final season. Was it perhaps an intuition, as if he already knew?
There are so few athletes of his caliber who could achieve such greatness at such an early stage of their journey.
Ashley Bailey6 said:Maybe if we opened a restaurant based on how many cats get hit on the road, we’d actually make some money.
A cat darted out right in front of me today. He was coming from the opposite side of the street and decided at the absolute last second to test his luck by sprinting directly into my path while I was driving in the other lane. Luckily, I managed to slam on the brakes just in time. It was a serious close call.
That was probably the closest I've ever come to hitting an animal.
So, Paul Martinez73 has kindly seen fit to let us know how much he disagrees with some anonymous comment on a trivial news story from an irrelevant site, and apparently, he’s just sitting there waiting for the anonymous author to answer for that mess once they finally set foot in the States.
I don't know about you all, but I have a feeling I won't be getting any more significant information before the day is out, so I might as well just head home.
Jessica Gonzalez said:Maybe they should go save some pigs or veal. Or a lamb—though I guess our savior is actually called the Lamb. Pretty wild.
It’s almost as if you landed on Mars just yesterday. Your entire life is dictated by inherited cultural patterns, yet you persist, with such stubborn intensity, in wondering why those very same patterns govern everyone around you.
I’d wager you don't even use toilet paper, but rather a bidet, because honestly, why wouldn't you? It feels much more in tune with human nature and the environment we inhabit.
Paul Martinez73 said:Why is a dog or a cat considered different from a penguin, a snake, or a fish? I honestly want penguins to be taken out on walks, dressed up in little winter coats, and given actual rights. We should ban keeping them in cages, and for goodness' sake, let's stop keeping fish in aquariums smaller than 500 liters...
Oh, and I also want the lions and all those other animals at the local zoo to be dressed in winter gear too.
And I want some show on a major network where someone rescues penguins that nobody else cared about, or maybe even a place where someone opens a sanctuary for turtles.
Well, go ahead and dress the lions, rescue the porcupines, and walk them through the park—who’s actually going to stop you?
Good grief. 😂
There is absolutely nothing to fear for the future of this society as long as we have such vigilant guardians, thinkers, and critics watching over us. ☕
Jessica Gonzalez said:We basically romanticize the way life functioned on Earth for almost its entire existence, excluding just the last 15,000 years. Out of two billion years of life on this planet, 1.999999 billion of those were spent in the wild—but I guess that doesn't matter because animals get cold and scared now. For 1.999999 billion years, they were apparently just waiting around for you to come along and buy them treats from a pet store. It’s a pretty incredible level of self-absorption, honestly. Congratulations. 🙏
We could basically set up a little cell for you—complete with a couch, a ball, a TV with a Premier League subscription, and fast internet. Every day at the cafeteria, there’d be meat on the menu, and we’d probably have to neuter you since you wouldn't stand a chance out there anyway. You'd have plenty of clothes, all your meals, heat, and a bathroom. Plus, you could head out to the yard to play a few times a day. We’d even provide security with long pipes just to make sure you don't try any funny business. Would you volunteer for that? Out here, you have to work, pay bills and taxes, cover the heating, and hunt for women while dealing with all sorts of nonsense. I guess it might actually be better for you to just stay in that cell.
Let’s look at a different scenario. Suppose those sci-fi prophecies actually come true and an advanced alien civilization arrives—predators from some far-off world—and they take a liking to us, much like hunters viewed wolves 15,000 years ago. If they said, "Come to our planet; you can be our livestock and our pets," what would you do? Would you push your friends and family to be first in line for "domestication"? Would you tell them that life on Earth is just too primitive and dangerous, and that on their planet, they’d enjoy a cozy life as pets, being sent after a ball and filmed for some alien YouTube channel? I guess if you think chasing mice is crazy, just imagine that level of madness.
It’s easy to philosophize and play the relativist when you’re looking down from a position of power. That Cat you have at home is actually a descendant of wild animals that never needed anything from a pet store; they didn't need to come back to your house because they just used what evolution gave them, living and dying as free beings. Wild animals don't really understand the concept of "dangerous" the way we do. What you call "dangerous," they just see as "reality." What you perceive as "fair" or "unfair," they simply see as "reality." Any wild animal is infinitely more alive and present in the moment than we are. They truly use every physical and mental ability they have just to survive in nature. If they don't, they die. Honestly, most people wouldn't last more than a few days in the wilderness without clothes and food. So, I guess it's worth asking why anyone thinks they have the right to be a master over another animal. If your Cat suddenly lost its mind and started attacking people around the house, what would you do? You’d probably do everything in your power to handle it, acting as the one in charge, without much thought for the animal's perspective. We usually sedate aggressive dogs because we hold that power over them. I think Peter Thompson4 might have a better grasp on this, since he seems to realize that people often act the way they do simply because they have the strength to do so. I tend to respect that kind of view more, because it admits that we aren't perfect. This whole self-important idea that "it's cold in the wild anyway" feels a bit much to me.
Where do I sign?
Jessica Gonzalez said:We basically romanticize the way life functioned on Earth for almost its entire existence, excluding just the last 15,000 years. Out of two billion years of life on this planet, 1.999999 billion of those were spent in the wild—but I guess that doesn't matter because animals get cold and scared now. For 1.999999 billion years, they were apparently just waiting around for you to come along and buy them treats from a pet store. It’s a pretty incredible level of self-absorption, honestly. Congratulations. 🙏
We could basically set up a little cell for you—complete with a couch, a ball, a TV with a Premier League subscription, and fast internet. Every day at the cafeteria, there’d be meat on the menu, and we’d probably have to neuter you since you wouldn't stand a chance out there anyway. You'd have plenty of clothes, all your meals, heat, and a bathroom. Plus, you could head out to the yard to play a few times a day. We’d even provide security with long pipes just to make sure you don't try any funny business. Would you volunteer for that? Out here, you have to work, pay bills and taxes, cover the heating, and hunt for women while dealing with all sorts of nonsense. I guess it might actually be better for you to just stay in that cell.
Let’s look at a different scenario. Suppose those sci-fi prophecies actually come true and an advanced alien civilization arrives—predators from some far-off world—and they take a liking to us, much like hunters viewed wolves 15,000 years ago. If they said, "Come to our planet; you can be our livestock and our pets," what would you do? Would you push your friends and family to be first in line for "domestication"? Would you tell them that life on Earth is just too primitive and dangerous, and that on their planet, they’d enjoy a cozy life as pets, being sent after a ball and filmed for some alien YouTube channel? I guess if you think chasing mice is crazy, just imagine that level of madness.
It’s easy to philosophize and play the relativist when you’re looking down from a position of power. That Cat you have at home is actually a descendant of wild animals that never needed anything from a pet store; they didn't need to come back to your house because they just used what evolution gave them, living and dying as free beings. Wild animals don't really understand the concept of "dangerous" the way we do. What you call "dangerous," they just see as "reality." What you perceive as "fair" or "unfair," they simply see as "reality." Any wild animal is infinitely more alive and present in the moment than we are. They truly use every physical and mental ability they have just to survive in nature. If they don't, they die. Honestly, most people wouldn't last more than a few days in the wilderness without clothes and food. So, I guess it's worth asking why anyone thinks they have the right to be a master over another animal. If your Cat suddenly lost its mind and started attacking people around the house, what would you do? You’d probably do everything in your power to handle it, acting as the one in charge, without much thought for the animal's perspective. We usually sedate aggressive dogs because we hold that power over them. I think Peter Thompson4 might have a better grasp on this, since he seems to realize that people often act the way they do simply because they have the strength to do so. I tend to respect that kind of view more, because it admits that we aren't perfect. This whole self-important idea that "it's cold in the wild anyway" feels a bit much to me.
If the Barca fans managed to survive our descent into the depths of this forum, surely humanity can handle an advanced civilization.
Jessica Gonzalez said:If we’re talking about the food industry and the mass farming and slaughtering of animals just to feed billions of people and other livestock, then yeah, I agree—it's pretty hard to stop that today. It feels almost impossible given how many people there are and how many hungry mouths need feeding. But pets aren't really a necessity; they're more like a modern craze. Some ancient civilizations kept dogs and cats too, but usually, those were wealthy societies that could afford that kind of leisure. At the end of the day, pets are essentially just for human entertainment. Playing with a dog or a cat is, in principle, no different from playing video games or listening to music. It's just a way for humans to kill time. If it went out of style tomorrow or got banned, I guess nothing much would change for human civilization. Most of these dogs and cats don't really have a role anymore other than being a companion for people. For some, a dog provides calm; for others, it's just having someone to walk with; some just like watching a cat lounge around the house. But all of that is just satisfying human emotional needs that could probably be met in other ways. That dog doesn't actually know who you are or realize it's calming you down; if it has certain traits, it's likely because that breed was specifically engineered to be that way. There are petitions all over the world to ban circuses and zoos, so why should pets be treated any differently? Turtles in tanks, fish in bowls, snakes, lizards, parrots, rodents, rabbits, dogs, cats, hamsters—they all deal with restricted movement, limited or forbidden contact with other animals, restricted diets, and limited mating options. They're basically captives. There's this current push to ban fireworks because of the stress they cause pets in cities. Personally, I don't mind the fireworks—let them ban them if they want. What nobody seems to ask is why those animals are in the city in the first place, or why they were brought there to live as captives for our own amusement.
I've had pets myself, so I'm certainly not an authority here to judge anyone for owning a dog or a cat. My wife and kid will probably bring a dog back into the house eventually anyway. I guess I'm just trying to provoke a little thought by looking at the story from a different angle. It's not exactly a black-and-white issue.
I can't say I agree with you there. Pure "entertainment" is arguably the least common argument used when discussing pet ownership.
And if we look at it from the biological perspective, there are thousands of studies measuring serotonin levels and other physiological markers in mammals that point toward states of happiness and contentment. So, we actually have a fairly reliable understanding of what makes today's cats and dogs happy. In the case of dogs specifically, it almost always comes down to their interaction with their owners.
Therefore, at least regarding dogs, the argument that we don't know whether they are happier or less happy with or without us simply doesn't hold much water.
Amanda Evans2 said:Since we're already on a roll here, I have another Netflix recommendation for you all Unbelievable. If anyone actually felt moved by When They See Us, you'll probably find this one just as impactful
👍
Yesterday I told myself I’d just take a quick look, and before I knew it, I was still watching at 4 in the morning.
It really is an excellent series.
However, one might need to warn the "real men" on this forum that this perhaps isn't their usual style of show, given there is a bit too much female prominence for them.☕
Fair enough, as a philosophical stance. However, it feels nearly impossible to achieve, given how deeply we've been intertwined with animals over hundreds of thousands of years; we have shaped and conditioned one another so profoundly that to pull away would mean we wouldn't even be human anymore.
Matthew Young35 said:They’re different because they come from different backgrounds. Dogs are pack animals; they listen to a "master." Cats don't give a damn about having an "owner"—they just force you to adapt to them, rather than adapting themselves to you.
It’s like you're getting the absolute worst parts of a marriage ☕