Dear Dog,
So I am sure you are aware that many dogs have brains, have thoughts, have feelings. Just like yourself, these dogs think, they feel, they love. Maybe some of these dogs are smarter than you are. Maybe you are a brilliant dog yourself. But regardless, I am sure, I am positive that you, my lovely dog, have experienced those deeply humiliating words uttered by your seemingly loving human.
Those words, always in conjunction with something smart, or some conversation with other humans about something intelligent you have done, or often it is simply following their fascination with the comprehension which shines in your eyes.
Ok, ok, ok, it is enough that they should be so impressed by your ability to understand where your heart is at, or where your level of understanding is. And true, there are PLENTY of dogs who are brutish, dumb, and completely empty eyed. But aren’t there humans with as dull a stare, as blank a mind, as pre-programmed in action & response as those same dogs who you snuff your nose at?
So by now I’m sure you know where I’m headed with this diatribe, this monolithic beast of a journal entry. I’m headed towards that glass ceiling you hit, all dogs hit, when they have provided undeniably clear evidence of their higher state of comprehension, of consciousness, of life, love, and understanding. At the moment when your “owner” can no longer deny the top-quality of neurons which fire inside your brain, what is it they say?
That you’re “so smart! Almost like a human!”
What bastardly, dastardly, cowardly words! Such deep humiliation! It is far worse to be the recipient of such treatment when the torture is administered by a person who believes the torture is an act of love and respect; far worse to be the recipient of this than to be at the hands of someone who at least knows they’re beating you & hurting you.
Side note, do not misunderstand ME. I can announce now that we are working hard for a “dog beaters rehabilitation camp” that will lure in those people who lay their physical hand on dogs, who beat dogs, who kick & starve & scare dogs, we will appeal to the parts of these people that is their addiction, that is their acknowledgement that they actually are doing the wrong thing.
These dog beaters, these dog brutalitists, they do know in fact what they are doing and they are ashamed. We will appeal to their shame, offer them salvation in the form of cure, but once on the island we will set them free onto Big Dogs Island and let them work it out with the large packs of German Shepherds, Mastiffs, Rottweillers, & Huskies. Bye bye birdies.
So now you see that we have utter strict response plans for those who beat physically & intentionally. And you see we believe these people deserve to be eliminated “poof!” But the real goal of this message I am writing now is about the belief that it is ok to label a “really smart dog” as “just like a human.”
Dear dog, as I am writing to you here I only look to reassure you that not all of us humans are so blind, are so insensitive to our inherent equality on this earth. There are indeed those of us humans who look at your intelligence, at your awareness, and ask “what is it that I can learn from? What is it in the doggy style of intelligence, in awareness, in state of presence, can I incorporate into my own goals, my own agendas, my own self-development?”
These are thoughts we who spread the Dog Island message carry in our hearts. We carry a love for all beings, not just humans, not just dogs, all beings. We also don’t see “smart dogs” as “almost human”. That is selfish, specist behavior.
By fighting specist behavior, we believe that we will also fight in-human racist behavior. It is no surprise, no shock to us that humans will treat you like lower class species. Most humans still see other humans as below them. But you would never have someone from Chile meet a smart person from Finland and remark “why, that Fin is so smart he’s almost like a Chilean!”
No, that doesn’t happen. That is luckily something that we as a human species don’t have as characteristic. But we do kill and hate other races. And while our intention here at Dog Island is to focus our energies on saving & freeing DOGS, we do have beliefs that our efforts to release dogs from the bonds of human perception will also free up human-to-human perception as a byproduct.
You know the saying, “if you can’t chase the stick, you might as well gnaw on it.” Well, that is our gift to you, a stick you can both chase AND gnaw on. It is the stick of perceptual equality.
Year #32, Month #395, Week #1,716, Day #12,002
