HIVE MENTALITY OF ANIMAL POLITICS

Barbara (BJ) Andrews, SAAB and Research Staff

What is going on in 2017? Riots, mob demonstrations, people swarming like insects, protesting basic human rights while defending animal rights!

I don’t do social media, preferring TV news and (gasp) print media. Right off the bat, that makes me different than politically active liberals who are supported by their parents and thus have time to protest against, well, everything my generation was taught to honor. I watch Berkeley students trying to destroy their campus, thereby validating political commentators like Rush Limbaugh who coined “Berkeley” into a synonym for liberal absurdity.

To old-fashioned, outdated, out-of-touch seniors like me, it is a phenomenon the media leaps to cover (for ratings, the more outrageous the better) and in so doing, they feed the hive mentality and the decline of human normality.

It was inevitable that the agenda-compulsion to be a part of something radical and attention-getting infected the sport of dogs. Enter the Do-Gooders and Animal “Rights” advocates. To understand them and their quest for attention, you have to realize how they evolved.

The Dog Fancy originated as a pastime for the socially elite, admirers of their own genetic superiority, they were drawn to the purebred dog, ownership of which symbolized their “good breeding” and station in life. It became fashionable to own a purebred dog and while to some they were only accessories, many of the ultra-wealthy found their most trusted friend was indeed, their dog. Among the most memorable socialites of the day was Mrs. Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge who founded the Morris and Essex Dog Show.

Like bees to a hive, people of all social levels were drawn to the sport of dogs. One didn’t have to be wealthy to own a purebred dog or become a successful dog breeder.

There were however, social misfits who resented the wealth and status of those who represented The Dog Fancy. Unable to break into the world of social graces, they became bitter and resentful. They took to the chat lists in swarms, buzzing about the “bad breeders” and smashing the elite who dared to breed “high class” dogs and show them off. Instead of savoring nectar, they fed on each other’s poison rantings. The more radical and potentially violent the “animal rights” advocates were, the more they were applauded. Most couldn’t recognize a quality purebred dog but that no longer mattered, they had found a calling.

I found this excerpt from the “Dilbert” blog by Scott Adams intriguing. “I would argue that the human mind has recently evolved to include the thinking process of social media as a whole. We’re connected to social media like a great hive mind. And thanks to scientific advances in datametrics, the social media companies now have almost perfect mind control technology. We connect to the hive mind, the social media giants decide who sees what messages, and they program us individually. You get different persuasion than I do.”

Although Adams was referring to today’s social media mindset, he could have been describing the Animal Rights movement which began in 1975 with the publication of Peter Singer’s “Animal Liberation” book. Characterized as a “moral philosopher” (he held a BA in Philosophy) the Australian epitomized the “nutty professor.” He taught Bioethics at Princeton University and was a master of manipulation, intentionally controversial, keeping himself in the news with such outrageous essays as “Should Adult Sibling Incest Be a Crime?”

To say he attracted a swarm of low-stationed worker bees to his outrageous beliefs, among which is that “a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy” is insulting to the human race – but given the mentality of those attracted to his rhetoric, perhaps he wasn’t too far off in his assessment!

So with equal fervor, the disenfranchised and the socially elite glommed onto his outrageous “animal rights” position. To elevate animals above the human race became fashionable and provided new talking points for those who were unable to have a coherent thought of their own.

To demonstrate against animal research became ultra-fashionable. The group mentality was perfect for those incapable of independent thought and it attracted many socially disenfranchised proponents. Like mindless worker-bees, they went forth in huge numbers, gathering needy people with the nectar of a “cause” more noble than humanity. Go figure. It worked.

It would be unfair to say that Singer was financially motivated but absolutely accurate to say that many of his followers saw a gold mine in “animal rights.” Educated, crafty animal rights advocates prey on the kindness of human nature. First with carefully planted internet rhetoric. Then with fat bankrolls and clever strategy, they advance into your living room with television appeals to support their noble venture.

With shivering dogs they challenge your morality, asking you to mentally (and financially) accept responsibility for the suffering of those helpless animals.

With the science of datametrics behind them, they know you can’t adopt all of the needy animals but they “bank” on the fact that you will feel the buzz that suggests you are a better person by having given…

Hive behavior. It works. You dial the number, credit card in hand. It did not occur to you to volunteer at your local shelter or support your breed rescue. Nah, this is quicker, easier. You just joined the hive.

Related Article; Animal Rights History and Instant Information for ii YOUR Governor, Senators, and Congressional Representatives

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