At my house, the peeps have learned to respect the cat with the sharpest claws.Okay, maybe that's not quite right. Truth is, they respect the cat who has the sharpest wit and isn't afraid to use his claws.
And that would be me. MOUSES!
Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk some more about this thing called respect, shall we?
The other day, I heard someone say, "He don't respect me." Now lack of respect for the English language and grammar aside, there most definitely is something to be said about the lack of respect in today's society. As a cat and a blogger, I am faced with this lack of respect on an almost daily basis and I have to say, it's beginning to get on my nerves. MOUSES!
Are you aware that some peeps out there don't consider me to be their equal? It's true.
Part of that lack of respect is, I do believe, the fact that I'm a cat. Can you believe it? The fact that I walk on four paws instead of two, and happen to have a tail, is no reason to disrespect me. Again I must say, MOUSES!
You know, when one walks on four paws instead of two, one is far less likely to fall down. MOUSES!
For example, when I write a particularly engaging post on my blog, everyone and all their uncles assume the peep has written it. Same thing if I happen to win an award. Used to happen with Nissy, too.
You might find it hard to believe but it's a fact. I've heard these people with my very own ears. "Oh, but it's really you writing," they say to the peep, winking uncontrollably like they have a whole beach full of sand in their eyes. And although the peep always answers with, "No, it's Seville's blog," they just keep on winking. Yup, winking up a storm. A sandstorm, in fact. The sandstorm of all sandstorms, to be sure.
They're trying to trip up the peep, I do believe, and it makes me worry. Makes me worry that one day, they will trip up Peep #1 on account of her walking on only two feet. As I mentioned earlier, walking on four paws is a far more stable way to walk. MOUSES!
Why does everyone assume Peep #1, simply by virtue of her being a peep, is a better writer than I, Seville the Cat? It makes no sense. Have they actually read any of her stuff? MOUSES!
Truth be told, the peep and I both have blogs. At least I assume the peep still has hers. Hasn't been updated in I don't know how long. No, seriously, I don't know. I'm not sure anyone does. Yes, my friends, it has been that long. She's an incredibly inconsistent blogger. The only thing consistent about her blogging is her inconsistency. MOUSES!
What's more, nobody reads the peep's blog and when I say nobody, I really do mean nobody. I could make some silly joke about a guy named Nobody being the only reader she has but honestly, even he doesn't read The Peep's Cheeps any more. It's because she never updates it, you see.
So who's the better writer, huh? The peep or me? Clearly, it's me. Oh should that be I? Hmmm... Yup, clearly it is I. You see? Peep probably doesn't even know that. MOUSES!
But as a blogging kitty, I get the double-whammy lack of respect. Not only are there those who don't respect us kitties, but there are those who don't respect us bloggers, either. Let me tell you what happened just last week.
As you know, here in Canada, we have an election coming up. Tomorrow, in fact. In fact, by the time some of you read this here blog post, the election might already have been past. What you might also already know is that in this election, peeps have to prove they are who they say they are, before they can vote.
Ignoring the whole issue that as a cat I don't get to vote which clearly indicates a great lack of respect towards the feline species...
Okay, moving on.
The other day, our weekly local paper reported that in order to vote, peeps needed to show photo ID. Something like a driver's licence. Yup, that's what they said. They said, well, rather they wrote, that photo ID was required. Not helpful or useful but rather, required.
Now here's the thing. That's not true. It's not true at all. Not even in the least. And had that reporter read the blog post I had written the week before, "get out and vote," he would have known that. MOUSES!
Some might say I'm making mountains out of molehills but to those people I would answer, molehills are mountains. No self-respecting cat ever ignores a molehill because as cats, we like to keep track of all resident moles.
But mole counting aside, this is really serious stuff. The fact is that in order to vote in tomorrow's election, you can use photo ID such as a driver's licence but there are all sorts of other forms of ID you can use, too. And they don't have to have your picture on them, either. There are well over three dozen non-photo forms of identification Elections Canada will accept, as long as one of those pieces of ID has your current address on it. Plus, there's even a third option where you can have another voter attest to your identity.
So what happens when someone reads in the paper that they don't get to vote unless they show photo ID? What happens to the person who reads that and doesn't have any photo ID? I can tell you what might happen. They just might read that and decide, since they won't be allowed to vote anyway, they won't bother going to the polling station.
Now do you see why this is such an important error? One moment of carelessness and... MOUSES!
For my blog post, I got my information straight from the horse's mouth. Okay, maybe there weren't any actual horses involved. No ponies either. But my facts were absolutely factual. I took them straight from the literature mailed out by Elections Canada and double-checked them on their on-line site. The peep even spoke with an Elections Canada official although truth be told, she did that after my post had already been published. But the bottom line is, my facts were fact and to this day, remain factual.
But back to the issue of respect or lack thereof.
Peeps naturally respect newspapers. Read it in a paper and it's like it's written in stone. Newsflash... Newspapers haven't been printed in stone since Bedrock's The Daily Granite went on-line. MOUSES!
But does the public show the same respect they have for newspapers, to bloggers and more importantly, blogging kitties, too? Sadly, no.
You see, if a blogging kitty, such as myself, publishes something contradictory to what a real newspaper publishes, it will always be assumed that the newspaper is correct and that I, as a kitty and a blogger, am not. Obviously, this shows a lack of respect. A lack of respect directed towards the blogging kitties of the world. MOUSES!
When you're publishing something important, you've gotta check your facts. Check 'em once, twice and even thrice.
What do you think would happen if a Toronto paper accidentally published misinformation about the score at a Blue Jays' game? A riot, most likely. Good thing that didn't happen. MOUSES!And for anyone reading this blog post before tomorrow's election... You do NOT need photo ID in order to vote! You do need identification, yes. It does not need to be of the photographic kind. And if you have any questions at all, check with Elections Canada at elections.ca or call 'em up at 1-800-463-6868, They'll tell you what you really do need and exactly what you don't.
And most importantly of all, show respect for your country and respect for democracy by voting tomorrow. October 19th is the big day! Canadian citizens, 18-years-old and older, each have one vote so VOTE TOMORROW or forever hold your peace. Or at least until the next election. MOUSES!
