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About a year ago I was at the far reaches of a Victorian park in the next village throwing sticks in the river for doggo (Bert). Bloke wanders down and rolls a ciggy - bikers leather chapter vest, tats, piercings. My Spidey senses start tingling but I can't judge a person I don't know on their appearance - we get talking about dogs (he'd had a Husky) and general stuff for 20mins or so till I wandered off. Bert isn't happy with the guy though.
Bumped into him a few times in the park over the next few months - had a quick chat each time.
Fast forward to the other day and one of the Manchester airport links I noticed another headline - it's my 'mate' but it turns out he's a wrong 'un and has been sentenced as per the link below.
I think the moral to this story is to trust your Spidey senses and to be more Bill Murray
https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/24481949.ramsbottom-man-sentenced-sharing-offensive-posts-online/
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I would happily be more Bill Murray....
Hitler’s dog, Blondi, loved him right up until he tested his cyanide capsules on it.
Even dogs can be fooled.
I think the moral to this story is to trust Bert
FTFY
Looking like he does - handsome, intelligent, debonair, urbane, sophisticated - I cannot for the life of me imagine why he might be attracted to an ideology that transfers blame for personal failure onto others based on race.
Puzzling.
My parents told me not to talk to strangers. For good reason!
of course the other way to interpret this anecdote is that 50% of dog owners are wronguns 😉
And yet I look so normal ..
Animals are more intelligent and sensitive than humans give them credit for - this single idea has been giving me nightmares ever since I realised it about 40 years ago :o(
The comments section is exactly what I expected it to be
"no place for him in our society, get rid of this terrorist, send him back to where he came from"
"Send him back to Ramsbottom?"
"That's harsh"
The more I meet people, the more I love my dog.
Nice dogs (there are wrong'un dogs too) are excellent judges of character.
Our 1st Lab was as nice as pie, didn't bark or growl, tolerated our baby daughter climbing all over him, pulling his ears, displacing him from his bed, shoving her fingers up his nostrils like he was a bowling ball, etc. ... until one day 2 'caravan occupants' (is that an accepted term now?) came up our driveway... he went absolutely bonkers, growling, snarling and barking from the pit of his stomach at them, with his hackles up.
Good boy. Extra biscuits that day.
Also - sagely advice given to me by a friends father, decades ago... "never trust a man that has more hair on his chin than on his head".
Holds surprisingly true.
My hound went through some 'roid rage when younger a hated a lot of people. Now she reserves that hate for very occasional people, i.e. a youth, hood up approaching the local shop, as covered the lower half of his face with a buff, she didn't growl or offer any signs before she lunged straight at his face. She's trained me to be aware of and react to things like this so it's ok, no teens faces were harmed, his underwear maybe not so good.
She does also protect random women, so a guy with his arm around a woman the other day had to separate from his partner, then she was all happy and willing to say hello to them.
I reckon if that guy from your story approached her in a park she'd politely decline any advances!
Also – sagely advice given to me by a friends father, decades ago… “never trust a man that has more hair on his chin than on his head”.
Holds surprisingly true.
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! That rules out most of this forum, including me. I never trust a clean shaven man. Hasn’t let me down yet. Doubly so if they also wear polo shirts. Something sinister about grown men with faces like children.
Always trust a dog if it doesn’t like people. Apart from when the dog is an absolute dick.
Also – sagely advice given to me by a friends father, decades ago… “never trust a man that has more hair on his chin than on his head”.
Holds surprisingly true.
Well that's a bit baldist* isn't it?
*if that isn't a word, well it is now.
"My hound went through some ‘roid rage when younger a hated a lot of people. Now she reserves that hate for very occasional people, i.e. a youth, hood up approaching the local shop, as covered the lower half of his face with a buff, she didn’t growl or offer any signs before she lunged straight at his face. She’s trained me to be aware of and react to things like this so it’s ok, no teens faces were harmed, his underwear maybe not so good."
Why? Did he prove to be a wrong'un? Hiding a machete down his trackies perhaps?
before she lunged straight at his face
Erm..A dog that randomly attacks complete strangers doesn't seem like a good dog to me (unless it's the way you tell it)
Something sinister about grown men with faces like children.
If your dad doesn't have a beard then you've got two mums.
Alternatively, my dad was a ****. He also had a beard and hair. Makes you think.
Did you not realise that patch club = ****?
I think the guy in the report went to the same school as me at one point. Same name. Age is about right. Not far away either. ?
Always trust a dog if it doesn’t like people. Apart from when the dog is an absolute dick.
Which is the problem really. When to trust the dog?
After all as a rule they seem to treat the posties with suspicion?
Erm..A dog that randomly attacks complete strangers doesn’t seem like a good dog to me (unless it’s the way you tell it)
It's certainly not ideal, she's a rescue with a lot of issues we've had to work through. Mostly, she's lovely to people and far calmer than when we got her, there are moments though when she goes and at close to 30kg it's not subtle. Her current list is mostly made up of electric scooters and skateboarders, there's also a local kid who is likely dealing drugs with an electric moped and she barks at him without fail.
She used to react to anyone in camo, but there's a local cadet who she adores and this has helped train her out of that particular response.
She's always on lead and we use a Halti harness to help keep her under control. But on reflection I may never get another dog let alone another rescue.
Yep they can be a nightmare but sounds like you're doing the right things
My in-laws had a rescue that absolutely loved me. They used to call me her boyfriend. She would growl and bark at my wife if she hugged me. But was fine with her any other time. Mind you, she ****ing hated cyclists. The dog, not my wife.
After all as a rule they seem to treat the posties with suspicion?
Which is completely reasonable. Who wants a dog who isn't suspicious of strangers who come up to your front door and push unknown objects through the letterbox?
Occasionally, just occasionally someone looks like what they really are, you know?
Bloody annoying as I don't like stereotyping people. 🙂
Who wants a dog who isn’t suspicious of strangers who come up to your front door and push unknown objects through the letterbox?
Whereas my boy is so chilled complete strangers can walk into the house and he doesn't react at all. He might, just might, get out of bed to say hello. I honestly think a burglar could walk in and empty the place and he'd just gently wag his tail at them. He's barked 3 single barks in 2 years.
Bloody annoying as I don’t like stereotyping people. 🙂
Yeah that's it - I made a conscious decision to not stereotype due to his appearance. Its his choice to look the way he wants to look. This is the world we live in nowadays. I think I was disappointed when I saw the news report that historical stereotypes I may have harboured (and that people have touched upon above) have been 'correct'.
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My dog is un-phased by posties/parcel delivery folk, which also means she'd be un-phased by intruders. Win some, lose some.
That said, If she doesn't let somebody stroke her that's a good indication to me they're a wrong un.
Your girl and my boy sound alike, must be a groo thing.
Animals are more intelligent and sensitive than humans give them credit for – this single idea has been giving me nightmares ever since I realised it about 40 years ago :o(
I hope you’re not fond of eating octopus, because it’s increasingly obvious that they’re incredibly intelligent. As are Corvidae, particularly Ravens. They have a large vocabulary, are tool users, and can adapt objects to make them more suitable for a given task, they’re self-aware, they can count out loud, and if threatened by a person, they will remember that person, and can pass on their knowledge to their offspring. They hold a grudge.
Also Portia, jumping spiders, are surprisingly intelligent, they hunt other spiders, and if attacking moving prey, are capable of tracking and adjusting their trajectory ‘in flight’!
I’m not sure quite what this one’s intentions were when I took the photo, it may have been eyeing up its reflection in my camera lens and thinking “dinner!”
......and he's been released back into Ramsbottom and my local park.
Said hello tonight as I walked past and had a quick chat, I mentioned I'd seen him in my local paper, he tried to downplay it. Told him my views and politics were the polar opposite to his but I'd say hello and chat as a fellow human being.
A prison sentence hasn't changed him - my taxes have effectively just kept him fed and watered for a year.
I could take him to MrsRNP's community kitchen and introduce him to some amazing contributing immigrants (as well as all her other awesome 'customers') but I know it won't make any difference.
It's a funny old thing the human psyche at times. I hate everything the guy stands for yet I don't want to not talk to him.
It's a funny old thing the human psyche at times. I hate everything the guy stands for yet I don't want to not talk to him.
You're a better person than me. I would quite happily told him to **** off.
Everyone wants to be good at something. Being a **** is very attainable.
To an extent I think it’s a bit like being in a cult - part of personal identity. Cult members tend to double down on first finding contradictory information (eg that the great leader is embezzling funds etc) and get into a spiral of having to believe despite personal costs because it becomes so integral to their identity. It’s not logical but it’s a recognised phenomenon. Anyway people who get out of cults usually do so not because of evidence to the contrary or consequences but because they develop other interests and connections to different groups and communities (in the widest sense).
I’m not sure where this is going but your ability to not knee jerk react is maybe more likely to change him than my inability to talk to racists.
I could take him to MrsRNP's community kitchen and introduce him to some amazing contributing immigrants (as well as all her other awesome 'customers') but I know it won't make any difference.
Come on, you should know better than to pre-judge like that. Sometimes people need something to be thrust in their face before they get it. Prison isn't likely to change him in this case, the community kitchen could be more successful. You could least give it a go, you're not one to shy off a bit of hard work. 😀
Weren't all his crimes committed online? Pure speculation of course but I imagine that a lot of people who commit those sort of crimes have mental health issues plus possibly alcohol/substance abuse issues.
If that's the case here with your mate the nazi then prison isn't likely to change anything as it won't have resolved his issues long term. Taking him to MrsRNP's community kitchen might well have the desired effect of making him appreciate the contribution that immigrants make but I would expect him to go home afterwards and just carry with his usual behaviour.
I suspect that his online behaviour is probably more a symptom of his mental health condition than a genuine reflection of his belief system.
I would just carrying on chatting to him if you are happy with that. Btw you had no idea he was a "nazi" until you read about his conviction so how do you know he still is?
It's a funny old thing the human psyche at times. I hate everything the guy stands for yet I don't want to not talk to him.
That marks you out as a decent person. Sometimes, just acknowledging another person's existence and interacting with them can be a very powerful thing. There are a lot of lonely and isolated people out there. We never know what's going on in other peoples lives that can lead them to make bad choices. A bit of positive human interaction, even if it's only small talk can maybe lead them to making better ones.
You just never know what someone is really like until the truth comes out.
I used to say "Morning" to Fred West every day for 6 weeks while he was renovating the house next door, this was 3 months before he was arrested!
He always said "morning" back & even said sorry if its been a bit noisy while he was doing the rip out, bastard cost me a lot of money though as my house lost 35% of its value.
One of those cases where some kind of supervised community service and a suspended sentence conditional on respecting an Internet ban might have been more appropriate and allowed him to keep the dog which you don't mention in your latest post.
I continued to chat to a sex offender jailed for acts at the local swimming pool until he moved away. He'd done his time, got a girl friend, got a job, changed behaviour and hopefully that continues.
Did you not realise that patch club = ****?
Judgemental much? My brother and his wife are in a club that wears colours, and the majority of the members are ex- and serving British armed forces. The bloke who officiated at their wedding was a padre in the RAF. The Royal British Legion have a bike club whose members wear colours.
Best not make a complete idiot of yourself by making stupid comments like that. *rollseyes*
I never trust a clean shaven man. Hasn’t let me down yet. Doubly so if they also wear polo shirts.
Oi! I resemble that remark!
You just never know what someone is really like until the truth comes out.
I used to say "Morning" to Fred West every day for 6 weeks while he was renovating the house next door, this was 3 months before he was arrested!
If the "totally based mostly on true events honest" documentary is to be believed, Fred was as much of a victim as any of them. Rose was the psychopath, Fred was just a useful simpleton who did what he was told.