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Dec. 6th, 2007 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
furyofvissarionThe Vampire Tapestry - Suzy McKee Charnas. I tend to like my vampire novels fluffy, & I also find it hard to get into books where I don't like the protagonist, so this one was a slow read. It did have a more unusual take on vampires, which I appreciated--Dr. Weyland, a university professor, is the only vampire he's ever encountered. He doesn't have fangs, but feeds by a needle-like proboscis. Periodically--every few decades, I think--he goes into hiberation; when he wakes up, he doesn't remember his previous existences. The trouble is, Weyland is a cold person. What's interesting is that you're not quite sure if he's "evil" or not, or just amoral. But because he's not sympathetic as someone who interacts with humans, my interest was hard to maintain.
Rebolusyon! A Generation of Struggle in the Philippines - Benjamin Pimentel. This is a biography of Edgar Jopson, a young activist against the Marcos regime who was eventually killed by it. Yes, there is of necessity a lot of information about the broader social justice movement Edjop (as he was known) operated in--I still think the title of the book ought to have some indication that it focuses overwhelmingly on Jopson. Anyway--Jopson's family were rags-to-riches, working their fingers to the bone building up a grocery business & eventually hitting it big. He went to the posh Ateneo university, where he became involved in liberal student politics. Often he spoke out against the communists, whose numbers were growing in the country; he later became one himself, & took up the mantle of armed struggle. Despite the interesting subject matter, this wasn't the most well-written book, & was sometimes a little dry. Also annoying was the habit of quoting someone in Tagalog & having them say the same thing in English right afterwards. I mean, translating is one thing, but the way things are written it looks like someone is saying "Edgar was x; Edgar was x," just once in Tagalog & once in English, right afterwards. Augh. And then on occasion things beyond my meager Tagalog skills are not translated at all, & the context doesn't make their meanings obvious. Despite this, though, I was drawn into Jopson's story, & even though I am not a proponent of armed struggle I was still saddened to see the life of someone who so clearly lived to help others ended.
Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America - Nathan J. Winograd. This expose of the animal shelter world was really shocking. For example, you wouldn't expect groups like the Humane Society of the United States to be against humane ways to reduce the feral cat population (TNR--trap-neuter-return--instead of just killing them, which doesn't reduce the population). Or to collaborate with vet organizations in opposing low-cost spay/neuter programs--because the vets were worried about losing money (never mind that low-income folks wouldn't be taking their animals in to begin with). Or that shelters would object to bringing in volunteers (to foster & socialize animals, as well as working at off-site adoption events & other tasks) because volunteers are "too much trouble," even though what they do helps save animals' lives. Or that people working to feed & sterilize feral cats would be charged w/animal abandonment!
The SPCA in San Francisco went from killing thousands of animals a year (most of the animals that found their way there) to killing no healthy animals (& were well on the way, I believe, of achieving the goal of killing no treatable animals--ie. cats with upper respiratory infections, dogs w/kennel cough, etc.--before new management decided that they didn't give a crap). How? Spaying/neutering animals before adopting them out, having adoption hours that accommodated working folks, collaborating with volunteers & rescue groups to give animals more attention, doing TNR, & aggressively promoting their animals in the public eye w/off-site adoption events, ads, & other media.
What are some of the mistakes shelters are making right now? It is unfortunately common that cages & bowls are not cleaned properly (& cages are often cleaned, say, w/a high-powered spray & chemicals while dogs are still in there--what???), spreading disease & making the atmosphere unpleasant for animals & potential adopters. And often many cages--up to half--are left empty "to make it easier for staff to clean," while at the same time, the shelter is killing animals "for space." Nonexistent customer service is another problem. And the attitude that shelters have to kill the animals b/c there's nothing else to do is a huge problem. Such an attitude results in legal guidelines regarding how long animals must be held being ignored. There were a few stories in the book of families whose dogs got out of the yard, & when they traced them to the shelter, learned that they had already been killed: one of them, according to records, was killed ONE MINUTE after his intake at the shelter; the other nine minutes after.
Winograd, who worked at the San Francisco SPCA during the time it was making enormous strides in reducing the pet population & in saving lives, & who made Tompkins County, NY a successful No Kill community, argues that blaming the public for the high rate of euthanasia is incorrect & not productive. I agree that focusing more on punitive measures--such as fines for not spaying/neutering & licensing your pets, instead of providing low-cost or free spay/neuter & other services--doesn't work. And it is clear that many shelters are run by defeated, cynical people who don't believe that the animals are worth any real effort, & worse, are convinced that nothing can change. Animal advocacy groups have ignored or misrepresented the success of San Francisco, Tompkins County, & other places, which is just crap.
I do think, though, that the public does bear some responsibility for the state of things. There's the whole attitude of casual consumption, getting rid of something when you get bored w/it, which carries over to our attitudes about pets (made worse by the legal status of animals as property)--not to mention seeing pets as trendy accessories (note the huge popularity of dalmatians after the last version of 101 Dalmatians came out--& the subsequent increase of dalmatians found in shelters). There are also the many, many excuses people give for why they can't adopt an animal that needs a home: they want a puppy/kitten; they want a purebred; they think all animals in shelters are irredeemably bad-behaviored; they think somehow that finding an animal who will get along w/their children or other animals in the house is only possible if they purchase an animal instead of adopting; etc. etc. None of these are reasons for not adopting; all of these objections are easily overcome. But these stupid attitudes remain, & in combination w/the fatalistic, blaming attitudes of the shelters, animals keep being killed.
Winograd's book is more coherent than this review; reading it was alternately depressing as hell & uplifting. I do think the subtitle's reference to the "myth" of pet overpopulation might be damaging: it makes it sound, perhaps, like we shouldn't bother spaying/neutering, b/c pet overpopulation isn't for real, when instead he means the myth that it's impossible to find enough homes in a community for animals--which Tompkins County & San Francisco show is possible, w/tactics like working w/rescue groups & using volunteers. Plus, spay/neuter is a big part of his No Kill strategy.
Prom Nights from Hell - Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephenie Meyer, Lauren Myracle. A few of these stories had big invisible "to be continued…" signs at the end--particularly Kim Harrison's "Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper." Augh! I think I liked that one best; this anthology was fluffy by nature, but somehow felt emptier than a lot of the paranormal stuff I read, even super-fluff. Also, I got real tired of gorgeous white girls over & over & over, y'know? One story did feature a lesbian couple (in the background), which was nice. Overall I think I prefer Rosemary Clement-Moore instead.
Rebolusyon! A Generation of Struggle in the Philippines - Benjamin Pimentel. This is a biography of Edgar Jopson, a young activist against the Marcos regime who was eventually killed by it. Yes, there is of necessity a lot of information about the broader social justice movement Edjop (as he was known) operated in--I still think the title of the book ought to have some indication that it focuses overwhelmingly on Jopson. Anyway--Jopson's family were rags-to-riches, working their fingers to the bone building up a grocery business & eventually hitting it big. He went to the posh Ateneo university, where he became involved in liberal student politics. Often he spoke out against the communists, whose numbers were growing in the country; he later became one himself, & took up the mantle of armed struggle. Despite the interesting subject matter, this wasn't the most well-written book, & was sometimes a little dry. Also annoying was the habit of quoting someone in Tagalog & having them say the same thing in English right afterwards. I mean, translating is one thing, but the way things are written it looks like someone is saying "Edgar was x; Edgar was x," just once in Tagalog & once in English, right afterwards. Augh. And then on occasion things beyond my meager Tagalog skills are not translated at all, & the context doesn't make their meanings obvious. Despite this, though, I was drawn into Jopson's story, & even though I am not a proponent of armed struggle I was still saddened to see the life of someone who so clearly lived to help others ended.
Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America - Nathan J. Winograd. This expose of the animal shelter world was really shocking. For example, you wouldn't expect groups like the Humane Society of the United States to be against humane ways to reduce the feral cat population (TNR--trap-neuter-return--instead of just killing them, which doesn't reduce the population). Or to collaborate with vet organizations in opposing low-cost spay/neuter programs--because the vets were worried about losing money (never mind that low-income folks wouldn't be taking their animals in to begin with). Or that shelters would object to bringing in volunteers (to foster & socialize animals, as well as working at off-site adoption events & other tasks) because volunteers are "too much trouble," even though what they do helps save animals' lives. Or that people working to feed & sterilize feral cats would be charged w/animal abandonment!
The SPCA in San Francisco went from killing thousands of animals a year (most of the animals that found their way there) to killing no healthy animals (& were well on the way, I believe, of achieving the goal of killing no treatable animals--ie. cats with upper respiratory infections, dogs w/kennel cough, etc.--before new management decided that they didn't give a crap). How? Spaying/neutering animals before adopting them out, having adoption hours that accommodated working folks, collaborating with volunteers & rescue groups to give animals more attention, doing TNR, & aggressively promoting their animals in the public eye w/off-site adoption events, ads, & other media.
What are some of the mistakes shelters are making right now? It is unfortunately common that cages & bowls are not cleaned properly (& cages are often cleaned, say, w/a high-powered spray & chemicals while dogs are still in there--what???), spreading disease & making the atmosphere unpleasant for animals & potential adopters. And often many cages--up to half--are left empty "to make it easier for staff to clean," while at the same time, the shelter is killing animals "for space." Nonexistent customer service is another problem. And the attitude that shelters have to kill the animals b/c there's nothing else to do is a huge problem. Such an attitude results in legal guidelines regarding how long animals must be held being ignored. There were a few stories in the book of families whose dogs got out of the yard, & when they traced them to the shelter, learned that they had already been killed: one of them, according to records, was killed ONE MINUTE after his intake at the shelter; the other nine minutes after.
Winograd, who worked at the San Francisco SPCA during the time it was making enormous strides in reducing the pet population & in saving lives, & who made Tompkins County, NY a successful No Kill community, argues that blaming the public for the high rate of euthanasia is incorrect & not productive. I agree that focusing more on punitive measures--such as fines for not spaying/neutering & licensing your pets, instead of providing low-cost or free spay/neuter & other services--doesn't work. And it is clear that many shelters are run by defeated, cynical people who don't believe that the animals are worth any real effort, & worse, are convinced that nothing can change. Animal advocacy groups have ignored or misrepresented the success of San Francisco, Tompkins County, & other places, which is just crap.
I do think, though, that the public does bear some responsibility for the state of things. There's the whole attitude of casual consumption, getting rid of something when you get bored w/it, which carries over to our attitudes about pets (made worse by the legal status of animals as property)--not to mention seeing pets as trendy accessories (note the huge popularity of dalmatians after the last version of 101 Dalmatians came out--& the subsequent increase of dalmatians found in shelters). There are also the many, many excuses people give for why they can't adopt an animal that needs a home: they want a puppy/kitten; they want a purebred; they think all animals in shelters are irredeemably bad-behaviored; they think somehow that finding an animal who will get along w/their children or other animals in the house is only possible if they purchase an animal instead of adopting; etc. etc. None of these are reasons for not adopting; all of these objections are easily overcome. But these stupid attitudes remain, & in combination w/the fatalistic, blaming attitudes of the shelters, animals keep being killed.
Winograd's book is more coherent than this review; reading it was alternately depressing as hell & uplifting. I do think the subtitle's reference to the "myth" of pet overpopulation might be damaging: it makes it sound, perhaps, like we shouldn't bother spaying/neutering, b/c pet overpopulation isn't for real, when instead he means the myth that it's impossible to find enough homes in a community for animals--which Tompkins County & San Francisco show is possible, w/tactics like working w/rescue groups & using volunteers. Plus, spay/neuter is a big part of his No Kill strategy.
Prom Nights from Hell - Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephenie Meyer, Lauren Myracle. A few of these stories had big invisible "to be continued…" signs at the end--particularly Kim Harrison's "Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper." Augh! I think I liked that one best; this anthology was fluffy by nature, but somehow felt emptier than a lot of the paranormal stuff I read, even super-fluff. Also, I got real tired of gorgeous white girls over & over & over, y'know? One story did feature a lesbian couple (in the background), which was nice. Overall I think I prefer Rosemary Clement-Moore instead.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-07 03:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-09 05:34 pm (UTC)That name SHOULD be so wrong, but instead it just elicited a little squee. Awww!
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Date: 2007-12-09 08:18 pm (UTC)That animal shelter book just sounds horribly depressing. Thank you for providing as thorough a summary as you did. Argh.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-12 03:22 pm (UTC)