This shows the level of insanity and fear that can arise. When we start doing things that are clearly inhumane, when we start making utilitarian arguments that involve sacrificing the voiceless and pretending they are rational then we have succumbed to the worst sort of irrational fear.
I first heard this story while driving to evaluate a dog for foster care. It was on one of those rabid talk radio shows that specialize in drumming up fear and confusion. The host, after seconding the notion that the dog should be treated like Joan of Arc, went on to rant that thousands, no millions, of “those people” from Third World countries like “all of Latin America” were going to be panicked into rushing for our borders because of the expanding epidemic.
This is more than an idiot bureaucrat making a bad decision. It is, a canine in the coalmine, warning us about the impending breakdown of basic human values in the face of irrational fear mongering.
This shows the level of insanity and fear that can arise. When we start doing things that are clearly inhumane, when we start making utilitarian arguments that involve sacrificing the voiceless and pretending they are rational then we have succumbed to the worst sort of irrational fear.
I first heard this story while driving to evaluate a dog for foster care. It was on one of those rabid talk radio shows that specialize in drumming up fear and confusion. The host, after seconding the notion that the dog should be treated like Joan of Arc, went on to rant that thousands, no millions, of “those people” from Third World countries like “all of Latin America” were going to be panicked into rushing for our borders because of the expanding epidemic.
This is more than an idiot bureaucrat making a bad decision. It is, a canine in the coalmine, warning us about the impending breakdown of basic human values in the face of irrational fear mongering.
Yes, quite simply, quarantine the dog.
Thanks for that comment, Mark. This is really, really troubling.
And … Go, animal-rescue folks!