Last week I posted on Yoda and the Babes instagram about Yoda peeing on my favourite throw after I left him for 14hours to go to London. Instantly I was dived on by the crazies, piously informing me that it was cruel to leave a dog alone for 14hrs, wicked to leave a dog for such a time and no wonder he peed, I didn’t deserve to be a dog owner.
In that post I never once said that I had left Yoda foe 14 hours ALONE. In fact, anyone following the account would know that I never leave Yoda alone because there is always someone in the house. Always.
Here’s the thing, my mum is retired and lives with Adam and I, I’ve written before about being a multigenerational home and I’ve mentioned it on IG and on the Yoda and the Babes IG feed. Adam has recently left employment in order to be at home and, more recently, has set up his own instagram in a gentle foray into blogging and influencing. This means that he is at home 24/7 unless he’s picking up the kids or running errands. Yoda also has furry friends, our beautiful chihuahua, FIVE, yes FIVE, cats and two guinea pigs, not to mention the three small humans that live in this humble abode.
As you can imagine, reading a barrage of angry comments on an otherwise lovely and stress free account was pretty frustrating. It got me thinking, when the fuck did we get so judgemental and why does the Internet, with its cloak of anonymity, bring out that judgemental side like a baby poonami of hatred, anger and venom? What is up with that?
I edited the post, far more sassily than I normally would, genuinely livid that people who knew nothing about me or my circumstances would sit in judgement for absolutely no reason. There wasn’t even a “Oh no, was he on his own? That might explain the accident.” It was just pure ANGER. Pure judgement. “I have decided you did this so I’m going to make you feel as shit as possible because I HAVE DECIDED!”
What really annoys me is that this is something you see frequently online, snap judgments and a swift issuing of venom and bitchiness. I’ve had a few apologies once my edited went up and other followers jumped in to inform the anger hoards that they were being unfair, but by and large it was it was dressed up with a half apology and a “well, we’re just concerned dog owners.” Well, how about no? A concerned dog owner would be someone who saw something like a dog being kicked and intervened. A concerned dog owner would be someone who decided to break a window because they saw a limp and lifeless dog in a hot car. It’s not being a concerned owner to insert yourself for no reason with something you aren’t sure on.
To add finally, dogs shouldn’t be left consistently for hours and hours and hours but guess what? People have to work. If you are leaving your dog for 8-10hrs to go to work and you make sure that they are loved, given exercise and care, you aren’t doing anything wrong. If anyone else thinks you are, I’d love to know how they pay their way and walk their pooch without an income.
A word to the wise: don’t use the Internet to be a judgement asswipe. No one likes it and it’s so bad for your character. Be kind, always.
H 🙂
