The Wolfdog World: A Community at War With Itself
It is no secret that the future is not looking bright for wolves who have long since been a topic of great controversy. A similar fate awaits wolfdogs if we don't intervene. One would think those that profess to have a “love for the animals” would band together, support one another and use the power of numbers to impact positive change for the future of those they profess to love so much.
Sadly, for decades now, the wolfdog community has become known first and foremost for its un-community like behavior. A cycle of “rinse and repeat” with repeated bipolar like behaviors that seem focused on rounds of throwing each other under the bus by airing each other's dirty little secrets (while covering up their own) followed by rounds of bonding together like a newfound brotherhood to chew and spit out those being blamed for the woes of the community then return to backstabbing each other and forming communities inside a community. Favoritism has promoted selective accountability. In more extreme cases some “community” members have even engaged in criminal behavior like stalking, cyberbullying and a never ending barrage of slander campaigns.
A “community” is generally defined as “a group of people living in the same place, or sharing the same religion or interests”. It also can mean “a feeling of fellowship and support shared between people”.
The social and practical benefits of a healthy, stable and supportive community can be measured in nearly incalculable ways, from improved mental health, reduced anxiety, combating isolation and loneliness all the way up to fighting a mutual enemy or defending what we hold most dear.
Conversely, the detriment of a hostile community is also unlimited. A community that fights against itself suffers from broken trust and an escalating lack of trustworthiness, weakened safety, vulnerability to external attacks, easily defeated, high levels of fear, anger and crime. None of which is a recipe for safeguarding the future of one of the most critical cornerstones of the earth's ecosystem and for some of us our most beloved canine companions.
In order to understand the magnitude of this type of behavior let's better understand the “why” behind them.
Public Attacks and Mob Attacks
This type of attack is when an individual has an objection to something another individual said or did, but instead of going to them to address the issue privately, they blast the disagreement publicly, often with extensive exaggeration and little to no proof. They may then tag others, provoke or solicit others to join in the attack leaving the victim surrounded, outnumbered and overwhelmed.
According to psychology, whether the subject matter is claimed to be about ethics or justice, the real motivation behind the attack is not a truth seeking expedition, but rather a coordinated effort to gain power over the victim with no regard for truth or ethics:
1) Dopamine rush — participants enjoy a burst of excitement and moral superiority by acting out the role of social enforcers.
2) Power and status — weak or insecure individuals feel strong and important when they outnumber and destroy a target.
3) Safety in numbers and anonymity — online anonymity provides shelter from consequences, state lines provides some degree of protection from legal consequences and echo chambers provide the courage to disrespect, degrade and verbally accost the victim in a way that the perpetrator would never dare to do in person where they face the risk of accountability or even getting punched in the mouth.
Secret Slander Campaigns
This type of attack is when a group of people who don't like a person or wishes to harm a person but they don't have anything genuine to accuse or attack them for so instead they fabricate falsehoods that are then spread through a series of secret communications to colleagues, associates, friends or family through private means, such as phone calls or private messages.
The communications will include false allegations, gross exaggerations and deliberate misrepresentation of fact with the sole purpose to do harm to the victim, either through destroying their reputation, relationships, business or even finances. False reporting to law enforcement is frequently included in secret slander campaigns.
They keep these campaigns secret because the statements they are making are deliberately false and they fear legal and criminal consequences.
The psychological motivation behind a secret slander campaign is control, elimination of perceived threats or rivals, envy or jealousy and revenge against a slight (the slight may be perceived, imagined or factual.) If they can't make the statement directly to the individual or in front of 3rd party witnesses, it's most likely not an accurate representation of truth.
Stalking, cyberbullying and harassment are all CRIMES and we are seeing this behavior increasingly more frequent in the wolfdog community. Some people simply enjoy engaging in this type of behavior, others turn a blind eye and, still, others just remove themselves from the situation. How many of you have actively considered how this chronic behavior harms the wolfdogs directly? You may have thought these behaviors were harmless to the animals, but nothing could be further from the truth. We have seen countless animals stolen, killed and seized due to online abuse. We have seen animals seized and euthanized due to slander and false reporting. People have lost their jobs and their financial resources to care for the animals. Wolfdog bans have been easily implemented because the wolfdog community will not stand together.
There is a reason that the ancient strategy of “divide and conquer” is still just as valuable today as it was thousands of years ago, because it works. Simple things, like rabies vaccination, could have been resolved long ago, but the vaccine manufacturers and AVMA have no fear of the wolfdog community because they know the community is always at war with itself and, therefore, weak and helpless to fight back or even defend itself. They can do anything to wolfdogs and they know it.
I'll make a grim prediction: wolfdogs will be banned nationally within our lifetime. It's not going to happen due to a bite incident. It won't be because of a hoarder or back yard breeder. It won't happen as a result of someone not living by your extensively customized and illegitimate definition of the word ethical. It's going to happen because of YOUR BEHAVIOR AND ACTIONS. Every public mob attack, every slander campaign, every false reporting to law enforcement destroys our credibility as a whole.
We can either rally together for the legislative battles to come, for the good of our animals, or we can continue viscously attacking each other over revised ethics that are based on nothing more than feelings and aren't universally applied. What do I mean by universally applied? I recently saw a significantly brutal mob attack against a breeder because one of their dogs has a high coefficient of inbreeding. Supposedly that is “unethical.” It was difficult not to notice that everyone involved in the attack openly supports and promotes another breeder who has even higher COI's. Unethical vs ethical consistently changes based on who is doing it. If this person is your friend, it's ethical. If this person is someone you hate and were looking for an excuse to attack, the same behavior becomes unethical. That is not how ethics work. We can call that narcissistic splitting if we want to be clinical, or we can just call it what it is, hypocrisy and dishonesty.
For years, we have listened to people cry out for change. Everyone in the community supposedly wants the division and attacks to stop. For the most part, they want everyone else to stop doing it, but they didn't mean that they should have to regulate their own emotions and behavior. The change has to start with YOU!
What Can You Do If You Are the Target of an Online Attack, Cyber Stalking, Harassment or False Reporting?
Unfortunately, recourse in these cases is limited and, often, too expensive for most people to pursue. The wolfdog community used to have a profound shunning policy for anyone proven to have involved law enforcement or animal control in a personal dispute through false reporting. Historically, this was the one unforgivable sin. It was the one time we would see the wolfdog community come together and fight back with indivisible unity. Somewhere along the line this unwritten policy drifted into history. No one really knows why this went the way of the do-do, but perhaps it's time to reinstitute this old custom. Bring back universal shunning for anyone proven to have weaponized law enforcement in a personal dispute! It worked.
Victims can also utilize the court systems in various ways. From small claims courts to federal courts, each state has laws pertaining to slander, libel, defamation of character and tortious interference with business. Costs can range from $3000 to $60,000. The tripwire here is that you can spend 10s of thousands of dollars, win a judgement, but if they have no assets to take you are effectively stuck with a $60,000 participation trophy.
The real genuine cure has to come from within the wolfdog community; don't participate in gossip or attacks, don't accept or repeat information without indisputable proof, be aware that a screenshot without seeing the entire conversation can be used to mislead you, shun those who engage in false reporting. You can stop the attacks with your ears before it even gets out of your mouth.
Be kind, be respectful.