False Dichotomy
Wherein Our
Heroine Loves All Creatures Great and Small.
"Are you a cat person or a dog
person?"
Why is it that this
sort of question seems to preclude the answers, "both" or "neither"? Possibly
because this is one of those questions that is supposed to tell the questioner
something more about the questionee than his or her simple preference for furry
companionship. It is supposed to be the measure of a person, a clue to their
inner psyche, a deep insight presented by a shallow question. There is an
implication that cat people are aloof, dog people are friendly. Cat people
don't require adoration, dog people demand it. Etcetera. You are supposed to
fit into one of a choice of two boxes.
One of my favorite .sig files
has a quote from Oscar Wilde, "It is absurd to divide people into good or bad.
People are either charming or tedious." Or, as I like to say (I don't know
where I got this - perhaps I made it up), "There are two types of people: those
who believe the world can be divided into two types of people and those who
don't."
It is also interesting
to see how people react after they have already got you neatly boxed. I have
been classed as a "cat person" or "dog person" just through normal conversation.
I mention I have a dog and I get silently categorized by the other person. Then
my conversational partner finds out I
also
have two cats, and the mental gears start clashing. They had had me pegged - I
had confessed to dog ownership, and then everything I subsequently said or did
confirmed me as a dyed-in-the-wool "dog person." Some people even get peevish -
"But you have a dog! You're a dog person!" Conversely, I had two cats long
before we got Mac, so many of my acquaintances had me securely in the "cat
person" slot for years. Never mind the fact that when you're single and
traveling a lot a dog is not a practical or wise choice. Being a dog or cat
person is supposed to preclude practical
considerations.
Truth to tell,
if I could, I would also have a horse, a pair of hedgehogs, and a few chickens.
Perhaps from now on I should say, "I'm a farm person." That should blow some
minds.
Posted: Monday - November 29, 2004 at 07:17 AM
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