[ SHOWGSD-L ] "Ponder this"
- From: "David Fritsche" <d_fritsche@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 6 Aug 2013 12:38:05 -0700
As usual, Evan cuts to the perceptual issue... EMOTION!
The first thing I remember when we started in this game, was the fact that
everyone thought their dog should win - me included. I mean, how is it that
I bring to the ring, the finest specimen ever to be entered and then get
dumped by some blind nut case who obviously knows nothing about dogs? Well,
it didn't really go that way, because we won our first show and everyone
else thought we should not have, particularly when we had not earned the
right.
The standard, of course, should be written around my dog. Anything less is
discrimination, as to his style, type, color or something, and we all know
how terrible discrimination is. But we have entered an arena in which one
person stands in the middle of the ring and ponders, as best they can, what
best fits the standard. The Standard - that terrible imposing thing that
demands a discriminating judge and rewards one instead of another and cuts
to the core of the preference of those who wrote it. How dare they eliminate
my dog?
The standard, in this sense, is arbitrary, exclusionary, discriminating, and
not at all inclusive. How can it be that we who live in a society where all
are equal and everyone is judged by the content of their character, accept a
premise that is so capricious and in contrast to our evenhanded values?
Well, welcome to the world of competitive dog sports where the standard does
exist, someone did write it, and we, by entering this world, agree to accept
the exclusionary nature of it. If we do not accept that the standard exists,
then everyone gets a ribbon, all colors are acceptable including my pink dog
with curly hair and floppy ears (oh, that would be a poodle and they have
their own standard - thank God).
So there is no end to the arguments and the emotions and the desires to have
a standard written exclusively for my dog. I remember the moment of
realization for me. It was in Santa Cruz, CA when The Boss came in the ring.
I stood there stunned, realizing that there was the dog who better
represented the standard then did my dog. I also recognized that I loved my
dog more, but knew that we would not win. I also knew that if I wanted to
win big time, my next dog would have to be better than the one I had. What a
shock! The standard was working against me but for Frank and Carolyn.
Emotional? You bet it is. But that is what we decided to wrestle with when
we entered the game and bought our dog. Everything is measured by the
standard in the eyes of the one person in the ring. And that is the beauty
of it and the problem with it.
Dave
===========================
I think it is great that there are so many opinions on the issue. <SNIP>
I enjoyed Jim's article in the Review about it. But, it may have been too
rational. This remains an emotional issue. What bothers me is why would it
be such?
Evan L. Ginsburg
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