Criticism halts 'Black is beautiful' pet campaign

SOME PEOPLE OUGHT TO GET A LIFE, BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL MEANT FOR DOGS AND CATS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BLACK HUMAN RACE!!! DO YOU HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO BUT TO COMPLAIN AGAINST THE ANIMAL SHELTER? PLEASE. GO AWAY

I think this is outrages. The promotion has nothing to do with African Americans, and for anyone to be offended by it is childish and ridiculous. I think the promotion should run. It is becoming an extreme reverse predjudice. Are we suppose to always step back and say that if we use the word black we may offend African Americans. Using the "N" word is offensive, yet African Americans use it in greetings as a term of brotherhood. RIDICULOUS! I have no time or patience for this kind of behavior. RUN THE AD!

When is the PC crud going to end? This was for a good cause, it was not meant to demean or take away from any one or any thing. This is a promotion for the health and welfare of pets that need a home. I have two BBD rescues (Big Black Dog), a lab and a lab/retriever mix. This PC stuff is out of hand. No one intended to insult anyone they were trying to "free" abandon, abused, neglected pets and place them in good homes. Such a shame that PC has become so twisted.

Waste of web space.
Not even newsworthy.
Nothing was offensive to anyone and it was a great idea.
Some people need to find a real job.

Don't we have more important and pressing matters then criticizing the selling and saving of black coated animals? Where were all the critics when a certain grandmother was referred to as typical white person, was that not even more insensitive and racially biased then trying to keep black coated pets from being put to sleep? We all seem to want equality and reduce preconceived perceptions but I am at a loss to explain the need to criticize the saving of an animal's life based on the week of the year. We are not African Americans or Irish Americans or German Americans or Mexican Americans, we are Americans. We should be able to celebrate both the freeing of slaves in Texas and the adoption of black coated pets at the same time. I can not believe that I actually just spent time writing on such an inane subject.

I had no idea black animals were harder to adopt out. This story was worth reading just for that fact. Either way this works out, the organization has gotten their message out anyway, eh? Interesting.

Leigh Ann Hubbard
Managing Editor
James Hubbard's My Family Doctor
www.MyFamilyDoctorMag.com

Oh for heaven's sake.
From this point on, I am going to have to insist that anyone referring to me must do so by saying: the Irish, English, Native American formerly known as white but who is really more tannish with pink undertones.
Is Nelson Linder an educated man? He should demand some of the money back.
Finding a problem where none exists is beyond ignorant, it borders on paranoia.
You know, I love dogs and I've never had a black one.
I guess that probably makes me a racist.

Can't we start talking about things that really matter in this country..like how the middle class can't afford to put food on their table and gas in their car right now. Have we really gotten to where we think that saying black dog/black cat is offending people. It is true that black dogs and cats have a hard time getting adopted. I have worked in animal shelters for a number of years and they tend to be the last ones looked at. But we are after all taking about animals. Not talking about people. Can we let the black - white topic go? If we really want to get into the race and slavery topic lets talk truths and not about how we want to think everything happened. Get over it already. My family did not own slaves so stop saying the I owe you something and that I have to be PC when you are not. Most the incorrect and damaging behavior is from other African Americans.

How silly.

We are partially to blame, because when these people are being "politically correct" or just plain whiney or use the word "disempowered" in a sentence, it is our responsibility to speak up and make sure they know how ridiculous they're being. We don't do that enough. These ignorant, sheltered people are NOT the majority, and they should be put in their places more often. Let's work on that, shall we?

Sooooooo...........BLACKS DON'T THINK THEIR BEAUTIFUL?????? That's certainly the message these WHINERS and COMPLAINERS are sending!!!! What a bunch of IDIOTS!!!! RUN THE AD and tell the BLACK COMMUNITY to BITE ME!!!!!

Nothing offensive but I tell ya, some blacks are going to say "hey they're right, that's offensive" ... no its not, you're just letting the media dictate your opinion. Heaven help us if Al Sharpton shows up. Maybe we should keep this on the low.

It was perfect timing. We can have a big Black to Black event next week.

As a volunteer at the shelter near my home I witness constantly the fact that animals with black fur are far less likely to be adopted. It breaks my heart and people should be supportive of their local shelter trying to find forever homes for these hard to place animals. PC has become out of control! We can't say anything without the fear of offending someone, somewhere. Well, such is life. I don't think their adoption ad is in any way degrading or disrespectful. But why don't we ask the thousands of black puppies, kittens, dogs, and cats that get euthinized on a daily basis. Do you think they are offended?

This is just plain narrow minded. Some people have to use any excuse to bring forth their own agenda. Some Ethnic group members just have to keep offending everyone. All he succeeded in doing was angering alot of people of all races. Stop nit picking everything and keep your eye on the big picture. This shelter had a great idea.

How ridiculous this is. Don't worry about the animals that don't have homes that this particular week
might have gotten them a good home because of the reduced adoption fees.
How selfish some people are.

WHAT THE HELL?! GIVE OVER, YOU HOSERS! WHAT HAS THE PROMOTION OF UNFORTUNATE ANIMALS TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT THE SLAVES WERE STILL IN THE STATE OF SLAVERY 2 1/2 YEARS AFTER THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION?! FRICKIN' PC HAS DEFINITELY GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME.

I'll be surprised if the Civil Liberty Union or NAACP doesn't sue the Humane Society.
After all, that's blatant discrimination isn't it?
Pathetic.

If I were running that shelter, I would say this to Nelson Linder the president of the Austin Chapter of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE:
BITE ME!!! I don't care if OUR advertisement about animals offends you!!! BTW.....are you a colored easter egg or a BLACK MAN? My Ancestors HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH SLAVERY, so why should we pay attention to your STUPID HOLIDAY????

Wow the background on this page is white and I am white, how offensive!...no wait, those 2 facts have ABSOLUTLY NOTHING to do with each other. Perhaps others need to follow through on this thought process, reality check please! Humans are not the only black things on the earth. Do we need to go back to our pre-school classes and learn our colors? As I recall, black is a color of many things that have ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING to do with the skin color of humans.

From another perspective, logic would seem to dictate that those who have been historically oppressed would want to help others who are oppressed. But then again Political Correctness does not equal logic or even sensibility it would seem. If it weren't so entirely sad it would be ironically laughable. This man with black skin is so horrified at the thought of someone/something encroaching on his historical date that he will inevitably cause the further oppression and quite possibly speed the destruction of other creatures that are oppressed simply because of the color of their skin/coat. Shame on Mr. Linder for his selfishness and insensitivity. Shame on the shelter for bowing to political pressure and further putting those they are charged with at risk. Maybe this is an example of how sometimes black becomes less beautiful.

I'm thinking about filing a lawsuit against the NAACP..............how would you like that MR. LINDER!!!!

The next time Bed Bath and Beyond has a "white sale" I'm going to protest!!!!! These leaders of the black community are always looking to put the blame on something. When did the word "black" become their word?

A few inaccuracies in the story:

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1862, taking effect in 1863. It was publicly read in Texas in June 1865, not 1867.

Humane shelters do good work and are run by well-intentioned people. Like any well-intentioned people, their judgment is not perfect.

Juneteenth is a celebration of the emancipation of a people from slavery. Nothing anti-white about it. Just a celebration of the end of one of the two most brutal forms of oppression exercised in this country (the other being the genocide of native Americans). It also represents the beginning of a long struggle for equality in a society that, unfortunately, invested a lot of effort until relatively recently in denying some of its own citizens the rights explicitly guaranteed them under the Constitution. The effects of a long-standing culture of oppression have largely, but not completely, dissipated. This unpleasant fact causes extreme discomfort among some, judging by some of the posts in this thread.

"Black is beautiful" is statement of self-affirmation rooted in the 1960's and 1970's that motivated a lot of people or all races to take action to bring an end to rampant racial discrimination and brutality. It served as a basis for self-affirmation for a race of people who, for generations ,were bombarded with messages from nearly every aspect of American culture that that Black/African racial features were inherently inferior, 2nd-class, ugly, even animalistic -- anything but beautiful.

Like it or not, we live in a country in which -- a generation ago -- one could routinely finds signs posted to the effect that Dogs and Negroes were not welcome in certain business establishments.

Accordingly, anyone with a basic level of marketing savvy could predict that the humane shelter's presumably well-intentioned use of the expression to promote the interest of dogs would, in fact, undermine its message. The expression was coined for use in a particular context to affirm the self-esteem of an oppressed people. Unintentionally or otherwise, the humane shelter's marketing scheme implies that the aspirations of Black people and the welfare of dogs are on par. Doh!

I'll give the humane shelter the benefit of the doubt and assume that whoever conceived the campaign has more heart than brain, which is essentially what the NAACP rep concluded.

O.K., now all the uninformed people incapable of dealing with nuance can get back to their rants.

Katrina,
Your not very bright are you? You don't seem to understand that if these animals aren't adopted quickly, they will be put to death! Maybe we should do the same to Mr. Linder since his ignorant criticism will be the cause of their deaths!!!

I am a very proud African American and was a very proud owner of a Black Chow Chow---I got my dog because he and his brother weren't selected due to their coats. I've also read articles before about the difficulty centers were having adopting out black dogs and cats. I am of two minds on these concerns. "Black is beautiful" was a phrase coined by us (AA) at a time that we HAD to let folks know that we were beautiful too---and to have it used in reference to animals around June 'Teenth could be seen as bad taste. But the "concept" is perfect for this cause... I think the ad should run just on another week though.

Readers don't discount the validity of the concerns voiced in the article. Insensitivity is the root of most issues regarding race, religion and sex.

Williamson county animal shelter...........Send them your displeasure for backing down.

NAACP Austin TX Chapter...............Notice they don't put an address for sending your displeasure! If anyone finds it, please post it along with phone #'s.