Mistakes in Advocacy - 2. Inflammatory and defensive responses
Today’s “Mistakes Advocates Make” post is about being a decent human being when responding to posts about dog attacks or BSL. These topics make us emotional (trust us, we know!), but profanity and insults are never okay. We would hope this would go without saying, but recent events tell us otherwise.
Some people are coming from a place of fear and misinformation when they read about a dog attack. If your goal is to change minds, rather than simply yelling at others online, you might have more success with a little understanding and empathy.
Of course, you’ll find that many of the commenters are trolls or people who already have their minds made up. It’s not worth engaging with them. The back-and-forth increases the popularity of the initial post, boosting social media algorithms that show them to more people. If it’s a news article, the social media manager will love the high engagement rate and be more likely to post similar articles in the future.
Be rational and reasonable, and stick to the facts (you can find some speaking points on our website). Above all, be civil. No swearing, no outbursts, no personal attacks. If you can’t meet that threshold, go offline and take a breath. Go take a walk. Hug your dog.
Pro-BSL advocates have a field day over our heated words. They love to share screenshot examples of how “pit bull advocates” are violent, unhinged, and insensitive to victims.
And sometimes they are not wrong. In a recent dog bite related fatality, we were absolutely shocked by the number of inappropriate comments. People were victim blaming like crazy. They were contradicting the RCMP and medical examiner’s reports, engaging in conspiracy theorizing and trying every possible angle to exonerate the dog. They were posting threats to the person who killed the dog.
The RCMP had to publish a statement asking people to refrain from threats and abusive posts, reminding them that these were punishable by law.
How can we possibly expect to be taken seriously when dog advocates are behaving in this manner? Frankly, these posters sound like psychopaths.
We need to do better. Please. We might not always agree on every message but we need to agree on decency and common courtesy. If this is what "advocacy" looks like it is destined for failure.