Westminster Postponed

 "Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show postponed due to Covid."

Saddens me. I enjoy viewing the various breeds, and while some really don't look, to me, like a dog, I enjoy seeing the familiar and beloved.

Having nothing to distract in the morning television, my mind took to wandering — and pondering.

Why, I wondered, should a particular dog, of a particular breed, be judged as superior to another? Are they not of the same species? And thereby entitled to equality of assessment?

My personal dislike for the toy dogs should not prejudice me in any respect. And yet it does. The pointers, which are my favorites, have marginal superiority in my view over other hunting species.  But some other varieties are relegated to positions of disdain, or outright disgust. Purely on the basis of their appearance.

Seems unfair. If this were to be submitted to judicial review, methinks 'twould be decided in favor of a principal of absolute equality – at least of opportunity. To be judged on the content of their charac — that is, based on their capability to provide their owner with the affection that all crave.

copied from the Internet:

The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest, by Felix Salten, in its new translation by Jack Zipes, will be published on 18 January by Princeton Press

By writing a story about animals and wildlife, Salten could get past the negative preconceptions and prejudices many of his readers held about Jews and other minorities: “It enabled him to talk about the persecution of the Jews as freely as he wanted to.” Without being didactic, he could encourage the reader to feel more empathy towards oppressed groups – and Bambi could openly question the cruelty of their oppressors. “Many other writers, like George Orwell, chose animals too because you’re freer to tackle problems that might make your readers bristle. And you don’t want them to bristle, you want them to say, at the end: this is a tragedy.”