warmed-over soapboxesclever would be nice

You just can’t handle the democracy

§ March 31st, 2009 § Filed under pets, politics § 3 Comments

I thought it was exclusive to my local Craigslist, but from the Google search, I’d say it’s not: there are warring factions of animal rights activists on Craigslist everywhere: people who flag others’ posts because of some real or imagined violation of the terms of use. On one hand, it’s beautiful to see democracy in action. And on the other hand, some people are just assholes.

Craigslist doesn’t allow buying or selling of animals (or stud services), but it does allow “re-homing with a small adoption fee.” (Riiiight. Because you can exchange money and not call it a sale…. Anyway, I digress.) The following are reasons people will flag your ads:

• If your animal isn’t spayed or neutered (“you irresponsible pet owner, you!”/”could be used for stud services, which violates TOU”)
• If your animal is a purepred (“you must be a breeder, and this site isn’t for breeders”)
• If you guess but don’t know the breed of your animal (“that’s not an English bulldog, it’s an American bulldog, so this post is inaccurate”)
• If you do list a re-homing fee that is above forty bucks (“smells like a sale!”)
• If you list a re-homing fee under forty bucks (“you should care more about your pet, and asking for a larger re-homing fee ensures it goes to a better owner”)
• If you say a re-homing fee applies but don’t name the amount (“you’re probably going to ask for some exorbitant amount, which constitutes a sale”)
• If you give away your animal for free (“you should ask for a re-homing fee so it doesn’t get taken by people who fight dogs” [yes, even if it's a bunny or a goat...])
• If you don’t give away your animal for free (“people shouldn’t be in the business of animal trafficking”)
• If you’re letting go/getting rid of any animal, no matter how or why (“animals are part of your family! you should’ve thought about that before you adopted it”)

Never mind that the majority of people posting these ads are just hoping to find good homes for their animals and have no idea the shitstorm they’re walking into; no one can win.

I am tempted to draw conclusions about democracy, but think I’ll limit myself to the issue of power: some people can handle it, and some abuse it because, I think, they have so little experience with it, and because it’s much easier when you’re not being held accountable.