Susan Nance
As contributor
As commenter
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They've come a long way, baby
Wow! This is an amazing turn of events-- or of business strategy-- for a family-owned company that once operated mostly as a concert promoter, then bought up Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circuses a half century ago. Lectro Link is light years aw ... -
Re: Mascot Life
Cultivating one's inner mascot
The phenomenon of dual accounts here is very interesting. Is it true that the school-sponsored social media presence functions like LinkedIn, a professional page for the mascot, whereas the personal accounts function like an informal Facebook page--loaded ... -
You're both right!
Indeed, a zoo without webcams and visitors would be more like a reseach facility employing animals, or a CAFO housing animals-- and we all know how difficult it is for the public to see what's happening inside those places. So, yes, captive animals a ... -
mesmerizing footage, but where is the bear going?
I agree entirely with your analysis of this "news chopper" footage. But, is the bear running away, or just going about her business unaware of the helicopter? I can't tell. The larger context of aerial news footage implies that what is bein ... -
Cats can tell different stories than people
Yes, I have seen the cat making his escape on the surfboard- a scenario that could have gone so horribly wrong for him. I find those kinds of videos interesting in that people seem fascinated seeing cats (and others) do 'people' things- ride sur ... -
Are the People Who Watch Captive Animals Villains?
What do we make, then, of the people who do gather up the kids and head to the zoo or the aquarium? True, often they come across as really unthinking and ignorant. I too have seen parents at a number of zoos and aquariums yelling at the captive animals, t ... -
Will the real PETA please stand up?
PETA is indeed a puzzle. Their use of a 'sexy' aesthetic in their public outreach could be taken as self-defeating or strategic. I suspect that the target audience for the campaigns employing nude women are people who wear fur and eat meat--thes ... -
It's not a zero sum game, but some think so
Brett: Amen to that! I think some scholars may have strong emotions about critiques of animal exploitation because they believe it is a zero sum game. Some have told me that to compare systems of exploitation grounded in speciesism to systems grounded in ... -
Complicated questions...
The folksy look of these pieces is--as you say--comforting and disturbing. I wonder: If one didn't know the context of their creation, would a viewer necessarily realize a disaster is being depicted in them? And is that ethical? What was Mumford ... -
When Animals Attack and the Old Double Standard
Thanks for finding this interesting artifact, Brett. I agree with the consensus here, but would add: humans seem to use an old double standard in interpreting animal encounters that result in human injury. Humans seem most fearful of animals whose action ...