Would "ass hat stupid" still be pc? If I claim the "ass" is a butt, not a horse-like beast.

I suppose the term for those people would be something like "cognitively diverted", or they suffer from "reasoning deficit disorder".

And a distinct lack of something meaningful to do.

"Pet" is fine. It has been great for the west. You want to complain about something complain about other countries where for animals be called a "pet" would be awesome. Try the words "pest", "food", and "property". Dogs where I am get eaten, beaten, left in small yards and spaces because they are seen as above.

How do they know pets is insulting? What stupidity!

I adore animals and abhor cruelty to them, but I also abhor p.c. bullshit (oops -- animal metaphor). The factory farm industry is the definition of cruelty, and that's where our efforts should be put, not in policing people's language about pets. (And yes, I "own" four beautiful kitties!)

Oh for crying out loud. My ex and I refer to our cats as "the babies", describe each other as "Mommy" and "Daddy" when talking to them (sigh, yes we talk to them, as in "Mommy will be coming round soon, isn't that nice?") and joke about parental access. But it's an affectation, for Christ's sake. This is absolute rubbish.

@Radwaste: "I suppose the term for those people would be something like 'cognitively diverted,' or they suffer from 'reasoning deficit disorder.'"

Both of those work. Or how about, "meaningful work deficit disorder," since they have way too much free time.

And you know what?? The animals themselves don't care what you call them, as long as it sounds friendly enough, and you feed them and are kind to them. That's all they need. The editors of the Journal of Animal Ethics are a buncha morons.

That's exactly right Flynne. That's why when my attention-seeking Tonkinese cat settles on the lap of visitors she purrs when I pat her and say "Aww, who's a little slut then?"

"Animal lovers should stop calling their furry or feathered friends "pets" because the term is insulting to them, leading ACADEMICS claim" (emphasis added)

And maybe one of the problems with the western world today is that we have **too many academics**...specifically academics of the wrong kind. The great expansion of university education has sucked in many people who have no true vocation for teaching and scholarship as once understood, but instead spend time pursuing "social change."

Again the word 'owners', whilst technically correct in law, harks back to a previous age when animals were regarded as just that: property, machines or things to use without moral constraint.

I shudder to think what they're suggesting here. Without moral constraint? I hope that doesn't involve duct tape. I read it to my cats and they are puckering with fear :)

Anyway, what previous age are they talking about? Farmers still have working dogs, especially for sheep. I know some who don't allow their dogs in the house because they don't want them spoiled. They're looked after, but their role is clear. Many treat them as pets as well, but they're well trained and know their job. And if you've ever seen a good sheepdog working, they're obviously enjoying themselves - I suppose it must be fun bossing the sheep round!

I don't suppose this could have any bearing on the lack of respect accorded our "intellectual elite." No, there is no lesson to be learned here, academics.

How about if I refer to my bird dogs as "canine-American predation associates"?

Wow. This makes me want to cavort around these editors and tell them: "I love my pets, those pets that I own. I am the master of my pets, and they are cute and fuzzy." Perhaps if we all do it, their heads would explode.

Well I know my horse hates the term pet and demands terms like goddess, supreme equine mistress and holy hoofed one. The cat? Well she knows she is a supreme being.

You are all a gaggle of buffoons.

You are all completely off-base here.

Clearly, this is the most important study of the modern age. How could anyone say otherwise?

These scientists have done what has eluded generations before them and should be commended. I'm amazed that anyone would scoff at their herculean accomplishment.

They have taught companion animals to speak English!

Hmmm. Yesterday, I called my dog the "stupidest little monster in the whole wide world," but I did it in a cutesy, high-pitched voice while I scratched her behind the ears. She didn't seem to mind.

I often sing "Duuuuumb dog! Why are you following me?" to my muttface when he's following me around begging for treats. I guess his his wagging tail and seemingly cheerful munching on his milkbone afterwards was really his way of showing how disrespected and hurt he felt. Silly me. I should have seen the signs.

As the "guardian" of an animal that I can not legally keep as a pet in this state, I'm unsure if by saying I am his adopted mother and/or caretaker if that would make me any less likely to be charged with a crime according to the wildlife code. It's not like I'm holding Ralph the Raccoon hostage or anything; there's not a doorknob in the house he can't turn.

My birds would be highly upset if I called them by anything other than their names. Beau gets upset if I call him anything other than "Good Beauregard." And no one likes to listen to an upset amazon.

My other cat MonicaP is generally referred to as "who's a stupid little fluff-monster" in the same sort of voice (she's actually a giant fluffy freak of nature, twice the size of her mother, can reach door handles with her front paws at full stretch). I've seen her stare at a wall for an hour. No reason, it was just there and she had nothing better to do apparently.

On the other hand, she's remarkably intelligent when it comes to food. She can hear a tin being opened from out the front of the house. 40 feet and several walls away.

So I guess my ex-husband referring to our pups as a "VC Taco" when he plays the game of rolling them up in the bedspread is politically incorrect?

2 things.

First, there is a reason the term "Its academic" means "Its irrelevant".

Second, I'll stop calling dogs, cats, goldfish, and the like "pets" when one of them complains.

Some animals out there call people "lunch":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave(crocodile)

The editors of the Journal of Animal Ethics should be digested by a crocodile.

Oops:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_(crocodile)

it's easy to dismiss such falderol [falderee, falderol]
however.
This is how stupid stuff usually starts. In Boulder they changed the definition of "Owner" to "guardian" placing more requirements... as if somehow that changes the cruelty to animals laws. But then they can levy higher fines and other requirements on you, since you are a "Guardian".

So, will it end? Will they start charging people who have fat dogs with neglect? Dunno.

This is the path we are trodding whne we start defining animals in human terms. They know by your vocal tone if you are happy or angry, and that's meaningful to them. Anything else is "blah, blah, sophie, blah, blah."

But changing "wild Animal" to "Free Animal" what are we trying to say there? That muffy is suffering the oppression of living with humans in captivity? Words can be twisted many ways, and laws that seem innocuous at first can be retargetted to make life hell...

And you know what?? The animals themselves don't care what you call them, as long as it sounds friendly enough, and you feed them and are kind to them.

I know it's not proof, but the movie The Jerk kind of pointed that out, where he named his dog, "Shithead".

I know it's not proof, but the movie The Jerk kind of pointed that out, where he named his dog, "Shithead".

When I was a child we had a cat named "Stupid", so-named because unlike most cats he didn't hunt critters. My parents kept a patch of desert outside their window stocked with seeds and vegetables so they could critter watch, and Stupid would lay his fat-ass right in the middle of the patch and watch the critters for hours. The critters eventually stopped flying/running away when he arrived, knowing he wasn't going to eat them. Tangent aside, Stupid never gave us any inkling that he was traumatized by his name.

amy, possums are harmless, if they dog barked or moved towards it, the possum would have just played dead

I do think that all those cartoons we used to see with Dubya's head on a chimp's body were an insult to chimps. . .

"Animal lovers should stop calling their furry or feathered friends "pets" because the term is insulting to them, leading academics claim."

It doesn't insult the animals, very few of whom understand that much English. But it clearly pisses off these useless, oxygen-thief, busybody humans, and that's a very good thing.

Mark Steyn had a nice rant on this today subbing in for Limbaugh. Someone wrote in asking if this meant calling someone "dumb as a rock" is insulting to rocks.

Apparently also someone got arrested for singing the Kung Fu Fighting song infront of some chinese folks...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8475965/Pub-singers-racism-arrest-over-Kung-Fu-Fighting-performance.html

I had several names for my dog, and she would respond to all of them. I won't buy food from Blue Buffalo because they use the term "pet parents" non-ironically in their advertising.

I am not a pet parent. I am either Master (when I have dogs) or Administrative Staff (to my present cats).

And when these busybody types try to come around and "liberate" my pets, I'll "liberate" their innards.

My cat's real name is Fatass. Fatass Cat if you want to be formal. She's never complained.

We've got a cat we call 'retard.' I know, "mentally challenged" is the proper pc term, but when calling a cat, it seemed like too long a nickname. She doesn't care. The other one we call 'fatbutt.' She also has never seemed to mind.

Once, I told one of my cats she was a little asshole for "sampling" a yeast solution that I was planning to use for homebrewing.

Strangely enough . . . she still curled up with me in bed that night, and the beer didn't come out badly. Who'd a-thunk it?

The same cat also has been called "you little shit" on multiple occasions.

The same cat also has been called "you little shit" on multiple occasions.

Mine get that too, or "you little bugger" (and not in the nice tone of voice) on regular occasions, plus, for very bad transgressions, a swat on the backside or a water spray to the head. Contrary to popular belief, you can train cats. It's just a damn sight harder than with dogs.

Multiple cats in a household establish a pecking order - you really want to be on the top of it.

Growing up the neighbor had an all black cat that she called various things. That cat never seemed to mind, though if some people heard the names she called the cat they might be upset and call her a racist.

I'll be a "guardian" of my PET when she has a Social Security number and I can write her off on my taxes.

Good Lord some people have way too much free time.