It's What's Outside...
Jan. 4th, 2018 09:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanThat counts...
Recently, we've been dogsitting our favourite Staffordshire Terrier, while his owners are away gallivanting around the world over Christmas & New Year. We've looked after Pirate (so named, because he has one eye) quite a few times over the last four years & he's become a recognised semi-regular at both the local park & nearby dog-friendly beach. A friendlier, less-aggressive dog would be nigh-on impossible to find & he just wants to love everything & everyone in the world... right now! (unless you're a cat - working on that part!!)
But he's been well trained & is well-behaved, comes when you call him, gets totally focussed when playing 'fetch' & seldom barks, even when other dogs get over-friendly, or try to take his Frisbee away
Doesn't stop the owners of precious little toy dogs, or precocious little toy children, from gathering them safely up in their arms & hurrying away from the nasty brutish dog they assume will tear their beloved limb from limb. Staffordshires look like Pit Bulls & Pit Bulls get a bad rap... & rep (What has four legs & one arm? A Pit Bull in a playground). It probably doesn't help that, while Pirate seldom barks, he does grunt a lot, especially after ten minutes chasing a Frisbee around the park. But as we all know - appearances can be deceiving & you can't judge a book etc...
Wrong, as it turns out - or at least, nobody actually thinks that any more. Everything is judged on appearance & your book better have a cover that's pleasing to the eye, or no sale. As much for my own amusement as anything else, I've been conducting a little social experiment over the last couple of days... On our early morning walks at the park, I've always greeted everyone & made small talk if required & everyone's pretty friendly, asks about Pirate & his eye, wishes us a good day & so on, so far, so pleasant. Yesterday & today, I wore a t-shirt I bought at Judd Auto in Arizona, which has 'LOTTO, GUNS, AMMO, BEER' emblazoned unsubtly large across the back. I'm wearing it 'ironically' of course - I don't gamble, won't own a gun & prefer scotch & wines to 99% of beers - but enjoy dressing up (down!?) as a redneck occasionally
And boy oh boy, have the friendly waves, conversations &, in fact, all acknowledgement & communication dried up & gone - even from people who've spoken with me a few times. The cover of my book, it seems, no longer has the title of a highbrow literary classic & has been replaced with something like 'Terrorist Nuns In Bondage'
Hell... I'd read that book!!
Pirate doesn't care, of course, as long as I still throw the Frisbee around until he collapses at the communal waterbowl, which is miraculously free of other dogs when we arrive - especially lately
So, dear Reader... Have I committed a massive social error? Should I care about setting the record straight &/or making some sort of amends? Or should I not give an airborne act of intercourse about what people like that think of me - whether I'm a redneck bogan or just a smartarse...?
And what should I think of them?
Recently, we've been dogsitting our favourite Staffordshire Terrier, while his owners are away gallivanting around the world over Christmas & New Year. We've looked after Pirate (so named, because he has one eye) quite a few times over the last four years & he's become a recognised semi-regular at both the local park & nearby dog-friendly beach. A friendlier, less-aggressive dog would be nigh-on impossible to find & he just wants to love everything & everyone in the world... right now! (unless you're a cat - working on that part!!)
But he's been well trained & is well-behaved, comes when you call him, gets totally focussed when playing 'fetch' & seldom barks, even when other dogs get over-friendly, or try to take his Frisbee away
Doesn't stop the owners of precious little toy dogs, or precocious little toy children, from gathering them safely up in their arms & hurrying away from the nasty brutish dog they assume will tear their beloved limb from limb. Staffordshires look like Pit Bulls & Pit Bulls get a bad rap... & rep (What has four legs & one arm? A Pit Bull in a playground). It probably doesn't help that, while Pirate seldom barks, he does grunt a lot, especially after ten minutes chasing a Frisbee around the park. But as we all know - appearances can be deceiving & you can't judge a book etc...
Wrong, as it turns out - or at least, nobody actually thinks that any more. Everything is judged on appearance & your book better have a cover that's pleasing to the eye, or no sale. As much for my own amusement as anything else, I've been conducting a little social experiment over the last couple of days... On our early morning walks at the park, I've always greeted everyone & made small talk if required & everyone's pretty friendly, asks about Pirate & his eye, wishes us a good day & so on, so far, so pleasant. Yesterday & today, I wore a t-shirt I bought at Judd Auto in Arizona, which has 'LOTTO, GUNS, AMMO, BEER' emblazoned unsubtly large across the back. I'm wearing it 'ironically' of course - I don't gamble, won't own a gun & prefer scotch & wines to 99% of beers - but enjoy dressing up (down!?) as a redneck occasionally
And boy oh boy, have the friendly waves, conversations &, in fact, all acknowledgement & communication dried up & gone - even from people who've spoken with me a few times. The cover of my book, it seems, no longer has the title of a highbrow literary classic & has been replaced with something like 'Terrorist Nuns In Bondage'
Hell... I'd read that book!!
Pirate doesn't care, of course, as long as I still throw the Frisbee around until he collapses at the communal waterbowl, which is miraculously free of other dogs when we arrive - especially lately
So, dear Reader... Have I committed a massive social error? Should I care about setting the record straight &/or making some sort of amends? Or should I not give an airborne act of intercourse about what people like that think of me - whether I'm a redneck bogan or just a smartarse...?
And what should I think of them?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-01-06 02:51 am (UTC)At least you weren't wearing a Trump tee shirt!