In case you haven’t heard everything yet, here is a link to a news report that an animal shelter in Hastings, MN planned to hold a “Black Friday” sale on black-furred pets: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45446104/ns/local_news-minneapolis_st_paul_mn/
The shelter said that they noticed that people tended to adopt animals that have colors other than black.
Is this an extension of personal racism carrying over into even to household pet choices? From a symbolic interactionism perspective, could it be that the connotations of the words “black” and “white” that Newman discusses carry over even to household pets? Newman says dictionary definitions of “black” include “soiled and dirty, thoroughly evil, wicked, gloomy, marked by disaster, hostile and disgraceful” (Newman, p. 360). To this, the animal shelter spokesperson added “plain” and “associated with witchcraft and Halloween.”
I did an internet search to find out if other animal shelters were also having trouble getting their black pets adopted, and found out that this is a common phenomenon. I also found this article which reports that a NAACP official saw racial overtones in holding a “black pets only” adoption event being held by a Norfolk, VA pet shelter.
Who wouldn’t want one of these beautiful pets?
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