The Callousness of the Blogosphere

In the wake of tragedy, many are choosing inappropriately to make light of the situation.

A woman named "Florida Cracker" flippantly comments that "[t]he problem with antique stuffed animals is they always have some loose thread or button that needs to be pulled" and concludes "Barney announced he'd be checking into rehab." While it is probable that Barney sufferes from a chemical imbalance (most likely the problem is genetic since dobermans are a particularly vicious breed and a scourge to teddy bears everywhere), I would hardly describe being torn apart by vice-like jaws as "loose thread."

A blogger writing under the psuedonym "Lord Monsoon" makes a nearly identical joke regarding Barney's mental health:

[T]he dog has long struggled with an anger management problem. Part of West's duties at the museum is to take Barney to an animal psychiatrist once a week to work through his issues. Said West of Barney the dog's treatment:

"The dog's shrink thinks he's figured right out Barney's problem. He hates cats you see. Gives them the evil eye he does, like he's saying 'you f**king cats' and all. Barney tends to tie up with other dogs, and the shrink says that Barney must blame cats for all the dogfights in the world. Hells bells, the bloody mutt cast an eye on me when I finally took him down last night as if to say, 'Are you a cat?' Bloody hell that look it was, I tell you."

Barney the dog's psychiatrist was not immediately available for comment, but left a phone message with CM later saying he's seen Barney since his "episode" and can tell the dog is most apologetic, and is embarassed and deeply regrets his despicable act. But the dog himself has declined to comment.

The whole post strikes an inappropriately jocular tone and makes light of the death and mayhem. However, I did appreciate Lord Monsoon's observation that "the dog managed to destroy about 100 bears, evidently eluding the agility-impaired West." At the very least the security guard is inept; criminally negligent is more likely.

Generally, people on the web find the situation to be great fodder for juvenile comedy. The comments on this news site demonstrate a distinct lack of moral uneasiness as they share stories of calamity that has befallen teddy bears. I fail to see why the story is humorous much less "Hilarious!!" justifying a double exclamation point.

I have often read news accounts of depravity on the web. Little did I know it extends to a moral obtuseness regarding teddy bears.

Crimes Against Bears

I sincerely apologize for the long silence on the blog. Given our druthers, we bears would prefer to be posting about the myriad of activities in our household. Sadly, Ozzie has been too tired to assist our recounting. As Ozzie's academic mentor I can not complain since his efforts should be put towards getting tenure. However, the fact remains that the bears are bored and we miss the blog. We shall resume blogging in the next day or two.

But news of an international calamity needs to be addressed immediately and widely disseminated. Hundreds of teddy bears perished in Wookey Hole Caves when a doberman named Barney viciously attacked the innocent teddy bears. The murderous beast showed no mercy and offered no explanation for the carnage. The AP described the scene thusly:

Barney ripped the head off a brown stuffed bear once owned by the young Presley during the attack, leaving fluffy stuffing and bits of bears' limbs and heads on the museum floor. The bear, named Mabel, was made in 1909 by the German manufacturer Steiff.

I would like to commend the AP for running a story on teddy bears when the Middle East is in an uproar. Most news agencies would dismiss the story as a fluff piece and ignore the rights of the teddy bears in question. Moreover, the paragraph excerpted above describes the scene vividly (just on the correct side of lurid), and demonstrates a definite sympathy for the teddy bears.

However, I must object to the focus upon Mabel, the bear owned by Elvis Presley. While I am sure that Mabel suffered while watching her owner self-destruct towards the end of his life, she is no more or less inherently worthy of eulogizing than any of the other hundred bears who perished in the children's museum. By my count, Elvis is mentioned four times in the story and not a single other bear is mentioned. There is not even an accurate body count provided. I hope that the AP follows up on the story and releases more details of this tragedy.

Our sincerest and furriest condolences go out to the family and friends of the teddy bears who were harmed.

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Addendum: A picture of the crime scene can be found here. It is clear from Barney's expression that he shows no remorse for his attack. From the description in the article it is difficult to know whether security man Greg West is a hero for saving the remaining bears or an enabling or inept accomplice to the crime. I hope we learn additional details soon.