General » General Discussion

Site Notices

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - P.C. has gone to a new height. Can't say the word "PET" now (Page 1 of 2)

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:05:43 PM EDT

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/29/animal-academics-using-the-word-pet-insults-your-pet-er-companion/

Animal Academics: Using the Word 'Pet' Insults Your Pet, er, Companion

Here's a frightening thought: The cat ladies are right. Kitties (and their doggie counterparts) are companions, not pets, and calling them otherwise is just plain offensive.

According to a report published in the Journal of Animal Ethics, using "derogatory" terms such as "critters," "beasts," and — you guessed it — "pets" when referring to animals of any kind can affect the way they are treated.

(More on TIME.com: See pictures of surfing dogs)

In other words, a note for animal caretakers (don't even mutter the word "owners" — that's even worse than "pets") everywhere: You're doing it wrong.

We know what you're thinking: What kind of far-out piece of academic research are you alluding to here? But in all seriousness, researchers from the Oxford Center for Animal Ethics, along with the University of Illinois and Penn State University, suggest that using these words to describe animals degrades the relationship that exists between humans and these... friends. (Is that term allowed? We just don't know anymore!). Instead of referring to animals as "wild" and "vermin," which dates back to times when animals were treated unkindly, we should be cultivating a language that shows mutually respectful relationships between humans and the animals that live among us.

(More on TIME.com: See pictures of the world's ugliest dog show)

"Our existing language about animals is the language of past thought – and the crucial point is that the past is littered with derogatory terminology," the report states. "We shall not be able to think clearly unless we discipline ourselves to use less than partial adjectives in our exploration of animals and our moral relations with them."

So there you have it. Your cat or dog is now your companion, the rats you see on the subway are "free-living" and those pesky pigeons? You know, they're just free-roaming, ready to fly at your face at any moment.

But for what it's worth, we're pretty sure that you dog doesn't mind being called a "pet" just as long as you keep up with the tasty food, belly scratches and long walks around the neighborhood.

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:08:31 PM EDT

[#1]

Do I need to smack a female companion animal?

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:08:33 PM EDT

[#2]

The fuck?

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:17:30 PM EDT

[#3]

Really? These people have nothing else better to worry about?

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:17:40 PM EDT

[#4]

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:20:18 PM EDT

[#5]

<––––––-shit faced mother fucker.

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:21:59 PM EDT

[#6]

Animals are considered property. And I am 100% sure that my dog does not know or give a shit when I lovingly refer to her by pet names like "critter" or "beast" or "little shithead" or anything else, as long as I scratch her ears and feed her.

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:23:04 PM EDT

[#7]

Does this mean I'm going to start shopping at CompanionSmart now?

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:23:15 PM EDT

[#8]

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:24:28 PM EDT

[#9]

If I feed it, care for it, I wash it, etc. pretty sure I OWN that mutt of mine. Do I think he gets offended when I call him a pet? well I just did and he licked his own ass then licked my other dogs ass, so if that means "I'm offended" in dog terms then I guess I did. O well

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:24:43 PM EDT

[#10]

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:28:17 PM EDT

[#11]

I agree. Positron Emission Tomography doesn't measure positron emission but rather positron reaction with electrons and the resultant emission of gamma twins which are the quantified and localized emission.

I propose the new term to be Positron Reaction Gamma Emission to describe the medical imaging modality. PET is out. PRGE is the new accepted acronym.

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:29:01 PM EDT

[#12]

PC has come to PET?

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:30:59 PM EDT

[#13]

That's cool, as long as I can call these two socialist, marxist MONGRELS.

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:31:04 PM EDT

[#14]

My dog eats his own shit....

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:32:37 PM EDT

[#15]

As a veterinarian for the past 24 years, the article is full of shit.

I use the term "pet", my clients use the word "pet". I sometimes even pet the "pets".

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:32:55 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
My dog eats his own shit....

Good point.

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:37:48 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
I agree. Positron Emission Tomography doesn't measure positron emission but rather positron reaction with electrons and the resultant emission of gamma twins which are the quantified and localized emission.

I propose the new term to be Positron Reaction Gamma Emission to describe the medical imaging modality. PET is out. PRGE is the new accepted acronym.

This! Wait, wut?

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:39:08 PM EDT

[#18]

The entity in question is a companion if the two of us can talk about hockey, 80s hardcore bands and the relative merits of double maduros, Irish whiskeys and Penelope Cruz vs Salma Hayek. If the entity would prefer to lick its own ass and chase a green dot from a laser pointer around the room, it's a pet.

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:39:20 PM EDT

[#19]

fucking libtards

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:42:13 PM EDT

[#20]

Well some cultures call pets "dinner". How PC is that?

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:42:57 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
My dog eats his own shit....

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:45:43 PM EDT

[#22]

So they are all crazy? Check.

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:48:01 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
The fuck?

I have the right to free speech, and they have the right not to fucking listen if they don't like what the fuck I'm saying...

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:48:40 PM EDT

[#24]

My cat doesn't care what you call her as long as you feed her and clean her litter box.

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:49:58 PM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
The entity in question is a companion if the two of us can talk about hockey, 80s hardcore bands and the relative merits of double maduros, Irish whiskeys and Penelope Cruz vs Salma Hayek. If the entity would prefer to lick its own ass and chase a green dot from a laser pointer around the room, it's a pet.

As funny as this is, it's the core of the whole issue.. sentience vs. sapience.

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:50:05 PM EDT

[#26]

Journal of Animal Ethics
University of Illinois

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:51:13 PM EDT

[#27]

Did someone say "companion"?

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:54:47 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:

We're not gonna get banned for it in 5 years, are we?

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:55:24 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
Did someone say "companion"?

http://majesticoaklrp.co.uk/firefly/images/costume/inara1.jpg

She can be my pet anytime!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:55:35 PM EDT

[#30]

Wait a minute.

Are we at war with Eastasia or Eurasia?

Posted: 4/29/2011 12:59:59 PM EDT

[#31]

"The Journal of Animal Ethics"?

A reputable monthly, I'm certain.

I picture a librarian-type woman, hair in a tight bun, typing with Miss FurryBoots laying on her lap.

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:01:27 PM EDT

[#32]

Quoted:

Do I need to smack a female companion animal?

that shit right there is funny.

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:03:14 PM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
The entity in question is a companion if the two of us can talk about hockey, 80s hardcore bands and the relative merits of double maduros, Irish whiskeys and Penelope Cruz vs Salma Hayek. If the entity would prefer to lick its own ass and chase a green dot from a laser pointer around the room, it's a pet.

Salma Hayek: companion
Penelope Cruz: pet

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:04:24 PM EDT

[#34]

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:04:47 PM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:

Do I need to smack a female companion animal?

What you did there, I see it.

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:08:20 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:

I agree. Positron Emission Tomography doesn't measure positron emission but rather positron reaction with electrons and the resultant emission of gamma twins which are the quantified and localized emission.

I propose the new term to be Positron Reaction Gamma Emission to describe the medical imaging modality. PET is out. PRGE is the new accepted acronym.

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:09:11 PM EDT

[#37]

What did they say about "Petting"?

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:10:30 PM EDT

[#38]

"We shall not be able to think clearly unless we discipline ourselves to use less than partial adjectives in our exploration of animals and our moral relations with them."

How's this for an absolute adjective? "Animate Property" or how about "Chattel?"

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:11:49 PM EDT

[#39]

What bunch of fucking twatwaffles produced that shit?

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:12:51 PM EDT

[#40]

I call mine "stinkbutt". I call everyone and everything I love stinkbutt.

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:13:10 PM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:
Do I need to smack a female companion animal?

Good one.

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:13:17 PM EDT

[#42]

oh good grief.

Posted: 4/29/2011 1:14:14 PM EDT

[#43]

Well, when you hate yourself and your own kind so much that you consider the whole human race to be nothing more than an infestation of the planet, all that unused "love" has gotta be redirected at something else I guess. I remember a time when crap like that would have been considered a sign of mental illness.