The False Solace of Vilification

A couple days ago, marketing guru and author Seth Godin wrote a blog posting, of the same title as I chose, The False Solace of Vilification.

According to Godin, the desire to vilify someone, or something, is a natural human emotion to just about any random event.  According to Godin:

When a global slowdown, national tragedy or random event hits, people look for someone to blame. If there's no one to blame, sometimes they look for someone to hate, even if it is ultimately self-destructive.

Godin mentions computer viruses, floods, economic downturns, etc. 

In each case, the person being hated on is precisely the person who can do the most to help. And yet sometimes, we can't help ourselves.

It is impossible for me not to relate this to how many in the sheltering world react. Every day, shelters across the country are inundated with homeless animals. People drop them off because they say they can no longer care for them. Someone mistakenly has a litter of puppies they cannot find homes for. Someone's dog was taken from them by animal control because they were neglecting the animal.

As a shelter worker, who sees this situation happen every day, it is very easy to blame the "irresponsible public" for the animals in their shelter.

However, it is that same public that is most able to help them save the lives of those animals -- by adopting from the shelter, by giving their donations, by telling others about the good work you are doing, by recommending you to their friends who want to get a new pet.

Often, our natural tendency to vilify leads us to not trust the public, and not let them help us overcome our situation.  And they are the very people who can help us most.

Comments

[Michael Badial]

This article is awesome! In coaching we say "when you feel discomfort when looking at somebody, most likely you see qualities in that person that you like, want, resonate with, or can help you." But most cannot get past the discomfort. If only we could see the discomfort as potential. Then we could really start flying! KC (if thats your name) Your an awesome dude, keep up the great work!

[Jane -- Petfinder.com Blogger]

Great points! Sometimes it can be hard to maintain perspective when you're faced constantly with the ramifications of pet relinquishment and over-population. It's a daily struggle to channel that anger and frustration into a positive direction to help open up communication with the public, rather than shutting it down.

I've shared this with our Twitter followers. Feel free to keep in touch!

http://www.twitter.com/petfinder

[Valerie]

Thanks for posting this. This is so applicable to animal protection, as you pointed out. The public is NOT the enemy. The public is the only hope for saving shelter pets. Yes, some people are irresponsible or even cruel, but most people do the right thing or would like to know how to. Calmly work with them rather than insulting them and you will be able to move mountains. The irresponsible minority should not be granted more power than they deserve, yet this is what happens every time a shelter animal is killed.

I was a counselor on a suicide hotline for quite a few years, and I was struck with the stark contrast between how we as counselors were trained to handle negativity and how people who worked at animal shelters were allowed to act and react. From the very first minute of our training as counselors, we were taught that our stance in times of crisis was always to be that crisis was both danger and opportunity. The attitude that every negative situation always contains an opportunity to be seized upon is one that enables you to save lives and to persist. If instead, your default reaction is to complain and insult people or be vindictive, you get what we have in shelters today. The crisis of attitude in animal shelters contains the opportunity for change which we must all seize.