
The Deafening Silence - whack
https://outlookzen.com/2013/10/17/the-deafening-silence/
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theonething
I'm all for protecting dogs and other animals from cruelty, etc, but elevating
their rights to that of a person? Come on.

Despite the many similarities we share with animals and regardless of your
opinion of how bad and destructive humans are, we always will be qualitatively
different from animals in a way that gives us rights that animals should not
have. If we grant dogs the right of personhood, then they should be able to
vote, marry, go to school... reductio ad absurdum.

I'm a dog lover myself, but this (American) societal tendency to blur the
delineation between humans and animals is a slippery slope to absurdity.

~~~
ScottFree
> I'm all for protecting dogs and other animals from cruelty, etc, but
> elevating their rights to that of a person? Come on.

We really are mimicking the fall of the Roman Empire. Next step: animals can
vote. If they have the same rights as humans, then why not? After that comes
being able to vote them into congress. I know people who think voting for a
Beagle would be a better alternative than their local congressman.

~~~
siphon22
We already do that. Aren't there some towns in some states that have a dog as
their mayor or some shit? It's pretty amusing to me.

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PaulHoule
Not a surprise to me.

I was one of those aspie kids who couldn't run with the other kids but I did
run with a pack of dogs. Recently I realized I knew a lot about dogs and that
was how I learned it.

Since then I have worked closely with cats and horses, fought with beavers,
got passed on by a raccoon and also worked in A.I. I am completely convinced
that 90+% of human intelligence is animal intelligence and language is the
main thing we have that other animals dont.

~~~
rosser
> _language is the main thing we have that other animals dont._

There are plenty of animals with at least rudimentary forms of language. The
thing which I think sets _H. sapiens sapiens_ apart is the _fictive_ use of
language: we seem to be the only critters that knowingly, deliberate emit
falsehoods from our pie holes (whether to deceive or entertain, or whatever
else).

~~~
vageli
I think _persistence of thought_ is the thing that separates us. We are able
to look back on ideas first thought by thinkers thousands of years ago and
continue to riff off/transform ideas of old. That enables us to keep a
catalogue not only of ideas that work, but ideas that no longer work and
_why_.

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elindbe2
If we're going to worry about treatment of animals, wouldn't livestock be the
appropriate starting point? After all they are the ones living in our
concentration camps and being mass slaughtered. Dogs on the other hand mostly
tend to be treated very well and there is plenty of outrage when they are
harmed or killed.

