EN/DE:Why ‘rescued’ can never be acceptable/Warum "gerettet'" niemals akzeptabel sein kann
Verfasst: Mo 25. Jan 2021, 20:26
Why ‘rescued’ can never be acceptable
I’ve been made aware of the term ‘rescued’ being used and indeed justified as a term we should be happy to see used about the rehoming of our retiring greyhounds.
Having spent my lifetime in this sport and dedicating myself to the care of my greyhounds I can fully understand the frustrations of the majority of people in the sport when they see and hear this term being used. I have at times in the recent past on occasion tried to listen to the other side of the argument.
I hear the view point that ‘rescued’ sells and it helps with rehoming numbers. Though this maybe true at least in the short term we also have a sport to consider and on consideration the use of the term can only harm and not help our medium to long term prospects.
I’ll be far from alone in this scenario but I’ll be out having a meal or a drink or just about walking my dogs and a member of the public will ask that dreaded question.
Did you rescue him or her?
My usual response will be ‘did I rescue them from what?’
At which point the answer will usually be fired back ‘did I rescue them from a racing career?’
If you’re like me you will be tired of this loathsome question. It does ourselves, as people who dedicate our lives to the greyhounds, a huge disrespect, and from the sport’s point of view, no good whatsoever.
Unless we’re prepared to challenge this uninformed description of our retiring greyhounds, then we’re on a fast route to selling ourselves down the river.
We need to stand up for ourselves and stand up for our dogs. I begrudge nobody that right to earn a good living from reporting on the sport.
People such as Jonathan Kay and Julie Collier, who were the presenters on Thursdays RPGTV show and who both attempted to defend the use of the term ‘rescued’, provide a valuable service to the sport. They do though, need to realise and quickly the offense that the use causes throughout the grass roots level of the game.
Should Jonathan or Julie end up in a situation were an ill relative needs to be taken into care because they can no longer support their needs would they be happy with that person being described as having been rescued from them?
I would guess they would be far from happy with such a description so I ask that they and others who feel it is okay to use the term to think hard about doing so. I’ve heard the argument that it’s ‘just a word’. There are many incidents over the years were a word which was once deemed acceptable in society has rightly been shunned by society as we’ve progressed throughout time.
‘Rescued’ is a term that should be consigned to the same place in history when it comes to describing our retiring greyhounds.
For the dogs sake, for the people working in the games sake, and for the sport’s future sake.
Peter Harnden
GBGB Trainers Representative
http://greyhoundstar.co.uk/readers-letters-42/
I’ve been made aware of the term ‘rescued’ being used and indeed justified as a term we should be happy to see used about the rehoming of our retiring greyhounds.
Having spent my lifetime in this sport and dedicating myself to the care of my greyhounds I can fully understand the frustrations of the majority of people in the sport when they see and hear this term being used. I have at times in the recent past on occasion tried to listen to the other side of the argument.
I hear the view point that ‘rescued’ sells and it helps with rehoming numbers. Though this maybe true at least in the short term we also have a sport to consider and on consideration the use of the term can only harm and not help our medium to long term prospects.
I’ll be far from alone in this scenario but I’ll be out having a meal or a drink or just about walking my dogs and a member of the public will ask that dreaded question.
Did you rescue him or her?
My usual response will be ‘did I rescue them from what?’
At which point the answer will usually be fired back ‘did I rescue them from a racing career?’
If you’re like me you will be tired of this loathsome question. It does ourselves, as people who dedicate our lives to the greyhounds, a huge disrespect, and from the sport’s point of view, no good whatsoever.
Unless we’re prepared to challenge this uninformed description of our retiring greyhounds, then we’re on a fast route to selling ourselves down the river.
We need to stand up for ourselves and stand up for our dogs. I begrudge nobody that right to earn a good living from reporting on the sport.
People such as Jonathan Kay and Julie Collier, who were the presenters on Thursdays RPGTV show and who both attempted to defend the use of the term ‘rescued’, provide a valuable service to the sport. They do though, need to realise and quickly the offense that the use causes throughout the grass roots level of the game.
Should Jonathan or Julie end up in a situation were an ill relative needs to be taken into care because they can no longer support their needs would they be happy with that person being described as having been rescued from them?
I would guess they would be far from happy with such a description so I ask that they and others who feel it is okay to use the term to think hard about doing so. I’ve heard the argument that it’s ‘just a word’. There are many incidents over the years were a word which was once deemed acceptable in society has rightly been shunned by society as we’ve progressed throughout time.
‘Rescued’ is a term that should be consigned to the same place in history when it comes to describing our retiring greyhounds.
For the dogs sake, for the people working in the games sake, and for the sport’s future sake.
Peter Harnden
GBGB Trainers Representative
http://greyhoundstar.co.uk/readers-letters-42/