Blaming the Victim...

So I read a story the other day about how you shouldn't blame the victim (in regards to rape).  Yes, people should be able to go wherever they want, whenever they want, wearing whatever they want, and imbibing in whatever they want without the threat of being raped.  But, it's not just rape that people should be free from the fear of.

I'm thinking about Aspergers at the moment and social conformation.  Nobody should have to change who they are to please the mainstream and avoid being downtrodden (and teased).  Rather than telling "weirdos" to act normal if they want to be treated well, blame the people who don't treat "weirdos" well.

People say that respect has to be earned, but that is absurd.  It makes way more sense to assume that someone isn't a dickhead/dummy/asshole until proven otherwise (ala innocent until proven guilty).

It's not just Aspergers and such, but any interaction between people of different cultures (basically any two people).

Yeah, of course, people are going to look down on you if you do non-mainstream things (like wearing the same clothes every day), but if someone acts differently towards you because of that, THAT PERSON is at fault (and is a dick-head).

This is probably self-evident, but I don't think this is something people think about.

Bully Breeds

So, I know a bunch of people who like to talk about how nice bully breeds (dogs like pit bulls or bull terriers) can be.

Which is totally true.  And there is a reason that pit bulls are also called "nannie dogs".  So whatever.

But, it has me wondering how this breed came to have both the traits of "likes kids" and "huge jaws."  So what is the "point" of a pit bull?  According to Wikipedia pit bull "type" dogs are crosses between terriers and english bulldogs.  They were used in the US for catching animals, hunting, driving livestock, and as family pets.  I guess the idea is that they are "all-purpose" dogs.  And then they started to be used in dog fighting (ugh).

So, generally speaking, does it make sense to have an "all-purpose" dog?  There are groups of breeds that have specific qualities (companions, herders, terriers, etc.) that are generally good at one or two things.  And of course there are mixed breeds which could have any mix of skills etc.

Rat terriers are similar to pit bulls in their "all around usefullness".  They hunt, catch vermin, and are very human oriented.  They were farm dogs.  (Gloria is .5 rat terrier).  So, I'm going to think of pit bulls as "giant rat terriers" (even though this doesn't quite make sense) in regards to their appeal.

I would think that most pit bull owners keep them primarily as pets, and don't do much catching or hunting with them.  So next question is what makes a pit bull different from other  people-oriented dogs?

1.  They are "large" dogs
2.  They have a distinct appearance
3.  Athletic
4.  Short fur
5.  not hyperactive?

What are other dogs with some similar traits?
1.  Labs
2.  Retrievers
4.  Rat terriers (deckers)
5.  Dalmations

Okay, so we can get rid of labs and dalmations as being too hyperactive.  So what is the difference (in a pet) between pit bulls and retrievers and decker rat terriers?

Types of retrievers

1.  Labarodor
2.  Nova Scotia Duck Tolling
3.

OOH, Animal Planet made it easy!  There is a breed "matching" quiz and I tried to get a pit bull, and these are some of  the breeds it came up with (besides Staffordshire terrier (pit bull-type)):

1.  American Water Spaniel
2.  Chesapeke Bay Retriever
3.  Curly Coated Retriever
4.  Plott Hound
5.  Italian Spinone

Wow, the Italian Spinone sounds like a pretty awesome dog.  Reading more about pit-bull dogs on that site, it sounds like they are very protective.  I'm not sure why that would be regarded as positive in a family dog though...

Okay, so now I want to give some love to the rat terrier...

Okay, I love ratties, and I think that any pit bull lover would also love a decker rat terrier (large rat terrier).  Here is info about deckers;  http://deckerratterrier.nrta.com/index.shtml

Quality 1. A capable utility/hunting dog. 
Quality 2. A wonderful family companion. 
Quality 3. A watch dog with keen alert senses picking up intruders very quickly.

Deckers have all the qualities people like in pit bulls except the face isn't smooshy and the ears aren't floppy.  As far as I know, they don't have the capability of biting as hard as a pit bull, but

In conclusion: Rat terriers are awesome.  Nothing wrong with pit bulls, but I don't know that there is much of anything particularly special about them either.

Are boxers considered "bully-breed"?  They seem to be pretty similar and have the strong bite.  eh....

Oh yeah.  Global warming was another thing on my mind today.

Okay, so there are good reasons to try to preserve the environment from human forces.  But why is climate change the big boogey man?  Even in the direst projections don't show life on Earth disappearing.  Heck, humans will most likely survive too.  From a non-human perspective, climate change isn't any bigger of a problem than habitat loss, or maybe a couple of catastrophic events.

The reasons humans care about climate change is because it could screw up our lifestyles.  If people barely care about habitat loss, why would the additional ecological problems (extinctions etc.) associated with climate change matter?  People don't want the world to change very much.

Which makes sense if your lifestyle is okay.  But if I lived in a really crappy place where there is no economic development or not much water or whatever, climate change isn't a big deal.  Yeah you are rolling the dice, but if you already rolled a low number, chances are reasonable that you might end up with something better or at least not worse.

~Tea Break~

Meh.  I'm off this kick at the moment.  I probably shouldn't post it unfinished, cause it might give an incorrect perception of my view, but I don't really care so I'm posting it.

I keep thinking about things I want to write about, but I forget what they are when I get to the computer.  However, a theme lately has been what are other peoples' lives like.  I was in the woods today thinking about how the way people relate to being out doors may have to do with their level of introversion (or extroversion).  Which seems like a reasonable thing to be thinking about.  But how many people think about that ever?  When other people are in the woods what is going on in their minds?

I like music okay, but the idea of just listening to music doesn't make sense to me.  I guess because it's primarily about experiencing a sensation and not about integrating information.  Or maybe it's hard for me because it doesn't involve feeling stressed.

Which is another thought I've had recently.  If you don't suffer from anxiety or depression, what do you do with your time?  What does it feel like to be doing nothing and feeling positive about life?  Sometimes I will be feeling good about life, the universe, and everything (Thanks Doug Adams), and not thinking much.  Maybe lying on the beach or first thing in the morning before my brain turns on.

If you have a thought like "hmm, I wonder when the first 5 story building was built", how does one not try to find the answer (if there is an available means before you forget).  If it is something interesting enough for you to have thought of, how is it not interesting enough to type a few words into Google or at least speculate on for a few seconds.

Basically, what is it like to not be me?

And why do I feel like I am so much more awesome than people who aren't constantly barraged with thoughts and feelings, but simply enjoy being.  (Which is different than meditation because meditation is purposeful and is different from zoning out because there is no inherent fun in zoning out).

It's pretty stupid how much I keep thinking about guns and stuff as related to law, but it's all over the place at the moment, so I can't help it.

Reasonable measures make sense right?  Sure let's do it.

(Segue into the bit)

There ARE good reasons to allow (some) civilians high power weapons.  What is the wording of the second amendment?  Something like, "A well formed militia being important, the right to bear arms shall not be infringed".  Right?  Well, what groups fought the British during the Revolutionary War?  Oh yeah, militias were involved.  

Wanting big guns so that you have the ability to take on the government if necessary is not crazy.  (okay it CAN be crazy, but isn't necessarily).  The British weren't even really tyrannical  yet here we are a separate country.  Rebels in countries where the regime really is horrid (as in commits genocide) have a hard time getting anywhere without big guns (and tanks).  Right?

And it is folly to assume that the United States could not become tyrannical.  The country is only like 300 years old.  Crazy shit happens.  Sure we consider ourselves modern, civilized, fair, and the "good guys".  But I am sure a lot of countries/empires thought they were awesome.  Everyone has stinky shit.

I can understand the perspective that the US military is so freakin crazy powerful, that an overthrow would be impossible even with every civilian armed with a rocket launcher, so why bother (especially when rocket launchers are scary dangerous).  I don't think I go for it, but it might be a valid point.  But like I said things change.

I don't know.  I'm blathering on here about stuff I don't really know much about.  And it's fine with me if guns (especially high power guns) are wicked hard to get.  I just don't like how people judge things by who said them and how weird it sounds rather than taking a minute to think whether or not the nutter over there MIGHT have a point.

Bah!

Okay, cranky fibromyalgia post.  HAH!  the stupid eblogger dictionary doesn't even recognize the word!  Pfft!

So yeah, fibromyalgia sucks a whole heck of a lot.  What I find super annoying though is that all these people talk about how fibromyalgia is "real" and not imagined or caused by somatization or depression.  Really?  So what if it is caused by something that has to do with mental health?  Doesn't change a damned thing.  The best way to treat it is still the best way to treat it.  Don't delegitimize people who have pain and such that is in fact related to depression or whatever.  Those people still hurt like wow and don't need people making them feel bad.

Oooh.... my syndrome is "real".  Seriously, it's a stupid syndrome!  Syndromes are things that don't make sense.  Throw a bunch of symptoms together and that is a syndrome.  It is not discrete.  Depression is a disorder.  Basically the same thing as a syndrome but it sounds more legitimate.  Though fibromyagia is sometimes called a disorder too.  Just goes to show you THIS STUFF DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING!

Blah, blah, blah.  I am grumpy and this post isn't a logical progression.  Duh.