Sarah Palin welcomed the new year yesterday by posting Facebook photographs on of her son Trig stepping on the family dog. Unfortunately for Palin, her followers did not find the photos as uplifting and inspirational as she did.
May 2015 see every stumbling block turned into a stepping stone on the path forward. Trig just reminded me. He, determined to help wash dishes with an oblivious mama not acknowledging his signs for “up!”, found me and a lazy dog blocking his way. He made his stepping stone.
Palin posted three photos of Trig. One showed him climbing on the dog’s back and another showed him turning toward the camera after he’d finished.
So Palin was either not as oblivious as she claimed or (my guess) she thought the sight of her son standing on the dog’s back was so cute, she had him do it again for the camera.
Whatever it was, Palin’s followers were less than enchanted.
Debbie Schinski: “I like Sarah a lot, her conversative values etc. But I too thought this post was not well thought through. I love animals and yes it does appear the dog is not in pain. However I found myself feeling badly for the dog. It’s inappropriate to allow him to stand on the dog and obviously inappropriate to post.”
Sylvia Highburger: "The 6 year old Trig has some weight and for him to step on a relaxed Dog’s Spine will cause problems; my friednd’s dog had a similiar injury, and the dog was paralyzed in his hindquarters for almost a year. The dog was treated with accupuncture and spinal manipulations for him to recover. Pretty spendy, and much care needed. This is often how children get bitten for abusing Dogs. Please teach Trig how to treat the Dog humanely, and not as a stepping stool."
Gwen Hoffman: “This is so wrong and is animal cruelty. Just because your son has a disability is no excuse to not teach respect and compassion for animals,” My Mom would never have allowed my precious Downs Syndrom sister to abuse or mistreat any animal. This is no way to teach a child to act, or be a responsible parent."
Carrie Smith Rotty: "How can you just let that child stand on that dog?!? Pure stupidity on your part mom. When that dog is hurt and snaps or bites, you better remember who is at fault-YOU!"
Don N Judy Siglin: "This dog needs protection! How can you allow this!!"
Not all the comments were negative, though from my spot check, comments like these were outnumbered by ones like those above:
James Crabtree: "cute and what a kind dog"
Shannon Lee: "Oh please that dig could get up if it was being bothered, the kid would fall and learn his lesson the hard way."
So what is it about conservatives and dogs? As Reuters pointed out, this is reminiscent of the revelation that Mitt Romney strapped his crated dog to the roof of the family car.
Then it’s on to the spit for a good four to six hour roast depending on the size of the pet.
I can’t believe anyone would even THINK to defend this in any way, shape or form. Simple Sarah had NO PROBLEM with this – there was no correction afterward, there was no admitting that this was inappropriate behavior. She was fucking PROUD of him finding a way to reach the sink by stepping on an animal to do so – I think that was clear.
She is a despicable human being as is anyone who defends her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxrXottkW9k
At least not yet . . .
.
And that is where Palin fails- Hard. Not only did she think it was inspirational, but her inserted message was that she as reminded that it’s cool to trample people to get what you want. Extra points for a wording that could easily sound like she’s talking about poor people when it inevitably get posted out of context by some psuedo-satire site.
The way people treat animals is very telling about their character.