Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Could lil' Rex or Sparky be racist?

Ya'll know I wouldn't normally reference stories from the wretched Detroit News, but this article was hilarious. It brings up an interesting question: can dogs be racist?

I did a little research and googled the phrase "racist dogs." This funny, yet thoughtful, piece a couple of years ago in Slate was interesting (peep the hilarous illustration).

I also happened to watch the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode mentioned in the Detroit News piece. It was hilarious, especially since Ghetto-ass Wanda Sykes was the one who thought Larry David's dog was racist.

From an intellictual standpoint, it's fascinating. Personally, I don't think dogs can be racist per se. Clearly they can't process information on the same level. However, I do think they react to noticable differences. Sometimes the differences can be skin tone. Sometimes, as the woman in the Slate piece pointed out, it can be a person's height, handicap, weight or whatever.

Food for thought.

3 comments:

Not Your Average Chimichanga said...

all i know is...lil' fido BETTA remember who fills his water and food bowls.

i WISH an ANIMAL WOULD. me, human. you, animal. i win.

Rodney said...

Year ago I had a white friend whose family had a Jack Russell terrier. That little bastard loved everyone, but as soon as I came around he began to bark and growl. I was the only black person that ever came to the house. We determined that the dog just didn't like black people. Everytime I went over I would mess with him. For me it was like teasing a redneck. I eventually stopped visiting. There were too many two-legged rednecks to tease.

Anonymous said...

It was a GREAT story! And yes they can!!
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