Up The Middle

mood: irritated

music: "Down in a Hole" AIC

American society as a whole lives too cush of a lifestyle, we have too much and we take it for granted. Because of the luxury in which we live the majority of us no longer have to worry about where food is going to come from, where to find shelter, how to survive etc. Even most of our poor are "rich" by the standards of many other places in the world. So what this has led to are groups of people with so little to do, so few real concerns in their lives that they attack false "problems" in the name of being activists.

The latest, an activist group wants to ban horse drawn carriages in new york city! I'm dumbfounded and baffled- their whole argument centers around the animals are mistreated which to me is very thin and in reality is not the case anymore than "you own a dog, you must be mistreating it." Lets look at the facts here: horses are draft animals by design, they were bred from wild species specifically for that purpose, so pulling carriages does not affect their "self esteem" these aren't rickshaws! Evidence says these animals are not mistreated because mistreated horses tend to be in poor health due to stress and less able to perform work- mistreatment would be a disincentive for a carriage operator. Some of the carriage operators profits go into caring for the horse(s)- ie stables, feed, vet bills, etc. And banning carriages puts 400 people out of work in New York- which is always the humanitarian thing to do in an economic crisis.

This seems a clear cut case of someone has their panties in a twist without any grounding in facts or any research, possibly b/c they got their mercedes stuck behind a slow moving carriage in traffic. So instead of focusing on real problems like unemployment, or global warming, or some area where animals are truly being mistreated we want to put hardworking people out. Millions upon millions of cars in New York alone pumping out billions of gallons of smog but lets focus on the low pollution carriages. We get those banned and all of new yorks problems are solved! *eyeroll* The other side of the coin that no one ever seems to consider when it comes to animal legislation (although i'll give it to mass. for tacking a solution to said issue on their dog racing ban ( a ban i may add with a legitmate argument) horses like most other domestic animals aren't wild, you don't find horses galloping free through the country side of new york state. As such they require money to be fed, housed, and cared for, i'm sure the majority of carriage owners aren't rich so where do u think that money comes from- ooh ooh carriage rides! So what happens to the horses when they no longer have a job to perform, you can't just release them, they could be sold if there is a willing buyer, but they may also have to be put down. When was the last time *you* went shopping for a horse?

And there may be an owner or two who mistreat their animals, if your that concerned then call the appropriate authorities, think this is pandemic amongst carriage owners petition to have an inspection board. I have never understood why its the human being kneejerk reaction to everything we don't approve of to ban it, I've said it before and i'll say it again "If someone says there should be a ban, there probably shouldn't." The real issue- banning something is easy, improving it or changing the status quo actually requires forethough and understanding.

They're tag is "horse drawn carriages should be a thing of the past like gas lanterns." Yeah becaus there no reasons to preserve history, lets tear down all the historic structures, crush all the antique cars and machinery, ban any handmade clothes, and prohibit the use of any technology not inviented in the last 50 years. You know because all that stuff needs to fade into the past- we don't need a sense of history- we've got cellphones, and airplanes, and prefab houses, and mass produced goods. Extreme perhaps- but thats where that mentality harkens to, that its old so it can't possibly have any merit.

This whole idea is conjured up by idiots armed with little to no information and an agenda. "Beware of stupid people, they're more dangerous than you think" Lets hope the city realizes this.