A left-wing writer accused people of owning dogs of being part of a “settler-colonial” social structure due to their popularity among White people. The article received considerable attention amid wider debates over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
One writer on social media posted that dogs “in large cities are essentially settler-colonial—a way for their owners to move into and occupy more of the urban space than they are allotted while making it everyone else’s problem.”
The comment came after a wider series of comments on the online magazine The Cut. One writer posted said that there was increased opposition to having dogs in New York City. The question was posed regarding whether or not White people were the only ones with dogs.
Another person wrote that they were questioned by a woman about why her dog was not leashed and whether this was due to her own “White privilege.”
Dogs slammed as ‘settler-colonial’ as pooches and owners blamed… https://t.co/z10X2xVPgl
— Understand Woke (@what_is_woke) April 21, 2024
“To be clear, the synthesis of this is that trying to create a policy around ‘good dog owners’ and ‘bad dog owners’ is nonsensical,” the person wrote on social media later.
“We need to pass common-sense supply-side policy to maintain an agreed-upon amount dogs in major cities through licensing and registration fees,” wrote the author.
There has been increasing criticism of DEI programs at colleges and government agencies, including whether or not they promote racial separation. Congress began a series of hearings on the subject of DEI programs and their effects.
The wider DEI debate also comes as a number of states and cities are debating whether or not to pass reparations. This included a California panel that recommended more than $1 million in payments for the state’s Black residents despite it never being a slave state.
New York is currently weighing the idea of reparations, which gained increasing attention following the 2020 George Floyd riots.
There is currently a push in Boston for $15 billion in reparations payments despite the city being one of the major centers of the abolition movement.
