Everyday Misanthropy: Attitudes towards Owning a Dog as a Pet in Today's Serbia

Abstract

Although the general thematic framework of this text is the relationship between humans and animals, the comments and testimonies about dogs presented in this text are, in fact, comments and testimonies about humans. Dog behavior represents a framework and an occasion for dealing with human behavior by commentators and respondents. It aims to highlight the inaction of what is being commented on or what is being said, whether it is seen through the perspective of people who own dogs, or that of people who do not and who consider the current practice of keeping them excessive. Not all comments and statements are unambiguously formulated according to the "for" and "against" principle of a given practice, but in spite of that, most of them have a clear value orientation in favor or against it. The commentators and respondents’ tendency to present their point of view as unbiased is the starting point of their discursive confrontation with the opinions and behaviors that they do not like. The final part of the procedure is the evaluation of other people in a way that it equates them with their attitudes: people are assessed based on the evaluation of how well their opinion aligns with the part of the worldview related to the specific topic being commented on by those who are evaluating. The purpose of the evaluation is to establish one's own statement about what the sociocultural normative should look like in terms of what is being commented on. The evaluation is based on personal views and experiences related to the behavior of the actors in the given practice – dogs and their owners – with the notion of what is culturally normal in this regard. The notion of cultural normality is based on what is perceived as common everyday interaction among people, guided by the idea of sociability, as well as on the knowledge of the legal regulations of the given area. The idea of the commentators and respondents is that it is possible to establish an ideal image of the behavior of dog owners, their pets, and the people they interact with in public in sociocultural everyday life. Respecting mutual needs in terms of using shared physical space, as well as maintaining hygiene in it, having a positive affective attitude towards both dogs and people, not disturbing others in any way, including unprovoked judgment, are the basic elements of this ideal image – regardless of the perspective from which it is viewed. Deviation from this in specific actions – whether it is not collecting feces after a dog's defecation, mocking dog owners for any reason, or anything else – is considered non-committal. Misanthropic attitudes, therefore, arise in the expected form of disdain for such behavior, or at least pointing out human mistakes.