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marymartin
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Jeffrey Masson: Dogs Have Greater Sense of Friendship than People
@wildsyrinx
I'm new to commenting here, and I thought the exchange would be a little less, dare I say, rude.
Perhaps if you read the book you would be less defensive. I don't disagree that we domesticate other animals for our benefit. I don't think Masson would disagree either. He's exploring *that* we have done so, and other authors before him have also explored the idea that dogs chose us, to their benefit, as well.
There's no argument for treating dogs any differently than cows in the book. It is part memoir--an homage to one dog in particular--and part creative nonfiction in that it discusses the reality that dogs have played a unique role in our lives. I'm not sure what all of the anger is about.
Jeffrey Masson: Dogs Have Greater Sense of Friendship than People
I have read Gary Francione (and Best and Dunayer and Regan and Adams and Hall) and I am an abolitionist, although I am not in the Francione-style abolitionist group. I have blogged since 2006 at Animal Person (and daily for over 3 of those years), often about speciesism, human exceptionalism and property. Also I spent way too much time mired in the welfare versus rights debate.
This is tiresome. I can only recommend you read the book, as I don't think you and Masson, from what I've seen thus far, would disagree on much.
Remember that non-vegans read these comments and, fair or not, make judgments about vegans (and abolitionists) based on the comments. This is exactly why I rarely comment anymore. I'd rather spend my time speaking with omnivores and vegetarians than being rude to other vegans.
Good day.
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I think that in order to completely understand what Masson is saying about dogs, it's necessary to read the book. He is not the first person to write about our coevolution and mutual domestication, which are indeed unique. He presents a vegan message and doesn't think any sentient nonhuman is on this planet for our use and his recent books make that clear. And though I don't believe the cats in his home are vegan (and I have no problem with that), the other animals are.
With that said, it is true that the average individual in our culture values dogs more than chickens, and this book could very well appear to be just another "why dogs are different and more valuable" book. It's simply not the case that we--humans--have evolved to have the relationship with cows that we have with dogs, though. He does address the stories (like sanctuary and other rescue stories) that may indeed reflect the love he's talking about with humans and dogs (I've had my own, with Muscovy ducks). He's not saying they don't exist. But those are individual exceptions, and he's not talking about exceptions in this book. He's talking about tens of thousands of years (and perhaps more) of evolution, and his theory (which you might disagree with in the end) that dogs make us human.
I hope that helps.