Post a controversial opinion

otm

lol I can't remember why but I said to my wife a couple of days ago "there are no cats in UKIP"

my mum had a black lab, he made it to 15 but died a couple of years ago. he was a good boy.

btw the RSPB says there's no evidence that cats have any impact on UK bird populations

this doesn't seem to be the case in Australia mind - I guess because they are not native animals and bugger up the ecosystem, like most animals introduced there

They caused most of these mass avian extinctions in pre-civilisation history, I read somewhere years ago - it might have been that Elizabeth Kilbert book.

Kolbert*

I like to think my black Labrador, Dogsby, is an unconditional pal for life.

Ahh, the cat's out of the bag: you're a dog person who hates cats! :) I don't want an "unconditional pal" in a pet. Cats can indeed be sinister, egoistic, and infinitely prefer it over a dog who will obediently return whatever you throw, running after a stinkin' stick as if it's a complete, mindless idiot, doing "tricks" to please people, ugh. I'd much prefer it if a dog would sometimes signal "go fetch your fucking stick yourself", but they're not wired that way. It's the obedient nature I detest.

Cats are too stupid to be obedient. I actually don't really mind cats at all so much as the nonsense people talk about them. It's like Bob Dylan fans being worse than Bob Dylan.

A crow, now there's a clever animal.

I think we can all agree on that.

Dogs are smelly, noisy, annoying and potentially dangerous but the obedience thing is actually quite novel and interesting.

I also have it good authority from Doctor of Zoolology, Paulie G from The Sopranos, that cats are snakes with fur, steal breath from children and sometimes can be conduits for vengeful spirits.

^^ what's not to love?

http://www.sharegif.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/animals-being-jerks-8.gif

i'd just like to say for the record that dogsby is an awesome name for a dog, good work cal

Ahh, the cat's out of the bag: you're a dog person who hates cats! :) I don't want an "unconditional pal" in a pet. Cats can indeed be sinister, egoistic, and infinitely prefer it over a dog who will obediently return whatever you throw, running after a stinkin' stick as if it's a complete, mindless idiot, doing "tricks" to please people, ugh. I'd much prefer it if a dog would sometimes signal "go fetch your fucking stick yourself", but they're not wired that way. It's the obedient nature I detest.

anecdata time: my cat chilli will return stuff you throw for her probably 80% of the time

meanwhile, i occasionally walk a friend's springer spaniel who, 20% of the time, will refuse to chase a tennis ball, offering instead a haughty glance at the thrower

and they're both dumb as a bag of hammers

The O.G. Dogsby was a character in The Shiny Show on Cbeebies, it was my son who christened him Dogsby. But I think it is a splendid name as well, so much so I used it twice in one sentence.

BG you've shattered my worldview damnit.

Agreed that Dogsby is an ace name.

i'm an animal behaviour centrist i guess

don't have time to argue this one, but i will put it out here anyway:

"Freedom of the press" is, both foundationally and by its nature, indistinguishable from "Freedom of propaganda", and can only be defended at the expense of truth.

I think I've finally come to the conclusion that I like cats better in theory (inasmuch as they have a broader range of moods and you often have to work harder to win them over, which I can respect) but like dogs better in reality (inasmuch as dogs are rarely total assholes).

eh they both suck

alfred with the tru controversial opinion

incidentally i define "the press" as a method of redistribution of ideas, by which standard any given newspaper or magazine is dwarfed by, is a mere appendage to, sites like youtube, facebook, and twitter

The first part of your controp doesn't seem that controversial: surely the point is that 'freedom of propaganda' is desirable and preferable to a monopoly on propaganda.

The second part seems to assume that there is some authority who can be trusted with knowing the truth and expressing it without bias.

my cat would be horrible at bird hunting, which is why he lives indoors

someone needs to tell him that, because he thinks winter is coming and he needs double food portions to fatten up

The second part seems to assume that there is some authority who can be trusted with knowing the truth and expressing it without bias.

― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r)

no, only that there is some authority which can be trusted with knowing certain limited forms of truth and taking action against publications which redistribute information which directly contradicts those forms of truth

to your first point, the tutsis and hutus had "freedom of propaganda". was that desirable?

I'll admit to not knowing a lot about Rwanda but I feel like the biggest problems had to do with something other than freedom of propaganda.

dog owners feel a lack of control in their lives and a gnawing emptiness and feel the need to dominate something. owning a dog is ALL about domination. cat owners are independent thinkers who don't feel the need to assert control over the world. but both cat and dog owners are contributing to the destruction of the planet because more hamburger meat.

who are these monsters feeding hamburger meat to their pets

America’s 180 million or so Rovers and Fluffies gulp down about 25 percent of all the animal-derived calories consumed in the United States each year, according to Okin’s calculations. If these pets established a sovereign nation, it would rank fifth in global meat consumption.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/08/04/the-hidden-environmental-costs-of-dog-and-cat-food/?utm_term=.01d2b8247331

My uncle used to have a pet piranha, and he fed that burgers. xp

owning a dog is ALL about domination.

Thread delivers.

if you want to be needed, get a dog. if you want to make a case for being wanted, which may or may not be accepted, get a cat.

If these pets established a sovereign nation

brb gonna pitch a movie

if you want to dispose of unwanted hamburger meat, get a piranha

you need a few, those things are jerks and only eat every few days

when I was in college some guys down the hall had one and wanted to feed it as a form of entertainment but you can just keep throwing meat in there

or can't, rather. I guess you can but you end up with an aquarium full of raw meat

you're talking about frat guys, right?

my cat would be horrible at bird hunting, which is why he lives indoors

― mh

This is, ofcourse, exactly the other way around. He's horrible at it because he doesn't have to.

I've a cat and live in the country side, he takes care of most of his dinners himself (field mice etc).

shhh you're fucking with my controversial opinion

oic ;)

incidentally i define "the press" as a method of redistribution of ideas, by which standard any given newspaper or magazine is dwarfed by, is a mere appendage to, sites like youtube, facebook, and twitter

Maybe not in the US but freedom of the press can be regulated reasonably easily, at least on paper, in a lot of countries. The UK issues broadcast licenses that can be revoked. It has a weak system of press complaints that can potentially censure newspapers for bad behaviour. The threat of libel actions is an additional check, of sorts.

Reframing "the press" as any platform in which randos can share ideas makes that regulation much more difficult. "Twitter should have a legal obligation to delete anything that isn't true" would be a legit controversial opinion, though.

whoa missed it upthread but calzino's anti-cat argument is almost exactly what Jonathan Franzen sounds like, and if you've read Freedom, the behavior of a certain character at the end. I understand though, cats are cool but I'm super allergic to them & have a tough time hanging with friends at certain apartments bc my throat closes up. ouch!

re: the bird thing

which, you know, i'm obviously sympathetic to

I think the problem is that cats kill small birds, which are actually OK birds and not dickholes like pigeons

We need to train cats to only kill starlings and pigeons

+ seagulls

'sup with starlings? (xp)