American dogs are more valuable than other Americans
This story has been under my skin for the two days that it has been running in Houston. Two days are spent maligning a low paid Centerpoint contractor for defending himself against two dogs that charged him.
The tone of the reporter’s narrative dictates how many interpret the video. “A Centerpoint worker caught on camera hitting two dogs won’t be visiting any customer’s homes for a while,” said the reporter. “The owner of the contract company Star Corp. tells us the worker is suspended.”
I guess the contractor should have waited for the two dogs to bite him and then defend himself. It is ironic that Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice were not afforded the compassion that was afforded these two dogs.
The TV news story further implied that the contractor did something wrong by not first knocking the customer’s door for going into the yard to disconnect the utilities. Later Centerpoint would confirm that the protocol did not require the contractor to first knock on the door in order to get to go to the meter.
In effect, an underpaid contractor was suspended for following company protocol and defending himself from two dogs that charged him and could potentially harm him. The contractor likely feared getting injured by the charging dogs. Does he not have a right to defend himself from that harm?
Empathize with the worker for one second. How would you react to two charging dogs? Would your reaction be any different than the reaction of this contractor?
Until we start examining our own worth and the worth of others in the context of basic humanity, we will continue to misplace our priorities. Misplaced priorities harm society as a whole and allow demagogues the opening to rule. The narrative promoted by a few many times dictate the direction of the mental prose of those watching and listening. But that is for another day.
