In case you hadn’t figured it out or jumped on the train, this is where all the Worldtown folks have gone: www.thisisworldtown.com
Fancy isn’t it?
So hop on, won’t ya?
I’ve spent years trying to be friendly, or at least civil to pet pooches. A considerate house guest, I will politely pet and acknowledge the presence of your 4th child, Sparky as he slobbers my shoes with his overexcited fireworks of drool, and abrasive barks “of affection”, I’m told.
South Asians are considered caninophobes. This applies to 99% of the ones I know. Anything less than hostile is considered absurd and irrational. Theories of dogs being racist to brown skin, or the rejection of spicy cooking make it simple: dogs are a natural aversion. Whether this is or is not the case, a dog is rarely if ever a considered accessory in the household. But when our neighbours, born and raised in Canada/America/Britain/Country of the West embrace their pooches with such humanly affection, visit pet shows to show off their prizely possessions as if they bore them themselves, I can’t help but feel more than confused. I don’t get it, and as much as I pretend, I can’t really understand the psyche of the dog lover….I can pretend, for politeness sake, and for wanting to be regarded as a caring, civil, and adaptable child of the west. But pretending is where it ends. It’s not that I strongly dislike dogs, I just don’t care for them and I don’t understand where this deep embedded affection comes from.
It’s not just me, the heartless dog-disliking ethnic minority. It’s a common stereotype, not completely unfounded, for which few explanations exist. Have your dog go up and greet an aunty in a saree and you will almost certainly be met with deathly stares and cries of disgust. Even in the most calm moments, as this article in the Times Online shows quite effectively: we’re not haters, we’re just completely rational about how we dote our affection to non-humans.
This of course is challenged by my longstanding ownership of Fluffy, the cat, who passed away just over a month ago. It was still weird to have any kind of pet that can’t live in an isolated bowl or cage among the immigrant circle, but kitty litter is still a little more acceptable than doggy doo-don’t.
If I was to walk into a brown household with a dog of any kind-I don’t care how cute Mashu or Pishu might seem to you-I’d be met with screeches and yelps enough to scare the hounds off. In other words, hilarity would ensue.
