Animal “Cruelty”

September 11, 2007 D. H. McKee

Off

I got a web feedback email from a fan. Apparently, I linked to something showing animal cruelty:

Do you check the stuff you link to?
Just saw what I would I describe as cruelty to animals displayed as a link through your site.
Hope you actually review and censor the stuff you link to.
Would really hate to think, after seeing your photo, that you approve of such stuff.

Wow. I would hate to be considered cruel to animals. I’m what I think is a nice person (or if not nice, then likeable), and I don’t remember linking to anything glorifying animal cruelty, except perhaps Cat Prin and the 8 Reasons to Hate Cats cartoon. I mean, abusing animals is an early warning sign of potential axe murderers.
Oh, he was talking about this:

BTW, the link I refer to was the cat/packing tape vid.

Aha, another weird Japanese video, which, like Cat Prin, at most inconveniences cats, or gives them minor discomfort. I have two big problems with this argument:
1. Talk about hyperbole … when simple harmless tricks with your own pets amount to animal cruelty, I’ve got to wonder what happens if this guy accidentally steps on a bug. Is training your pet animal cruelty? Is feeding them weight-loss food animal cruelty? Stop over-exaggerating. If I were yanking its tail or shaving it, then maybe. Besides, packing tape is an excellent grooming material, much much more comfortable than the wire grooming brush. Trust me, I’ve used both on myself.
2. Hey, just because I link to something does not mean I necessarily endorse it. I’ve also posted a link to the PETA pamphlet “Your Mommy Kills Animals“. Go look at it. Kind of funny on the one hand, and kind of horrific on the other. Detailed photos of skinned animals. PETA suggests this be shown to children. Seriously, pick something a little bigger than “cats with packing tape on them” if you want to criticize this site’s content. Like the weird fundie that commented:

shit fucking athiest [sic] bitch! You’ll burn in Hell

… because I linked to a Scientific American article.

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As a guy who occasionally curates art shows and wrangles artists together, I often have to edit and post artist bios, profile pictures, and artwork images. This can be a problem, since many artists and writers aren’t used to selling themselves. Artists rarely know how to present their art for display in a brochure, and writers aren’t used to writing about themselves.

Writers often treat the bio like it’s an interview or something. Maybe like they’re having a conversation with you, the reader. While it may work sometimes, the most common way to write a bio is to write in the 3rd person.

I’m like those writers, and I’m talking to you directly, unlike the common way to do a bio. You should see my About page. It makes sense to me, since this is a bit which describes my blog’s website. When I get famous enough that I don’t have time to talk to you, I’ll have an intern write everything in 3rd person. Until then, you get to talk to me.

Like blogs of old, this one is a personal document of the comings and goings of me. Articles I’ve written, links I’ve posted, videos I liked, etc. Here, a first-person perspective is the way to go, at least for now. So, this is my site. I’m D. H. McKee, a sometimes artist, sometimes writer. Mostly just a guy on the internet.