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Religion for animals
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11-09-2013 10:53pm#1
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I did intend the comment as a light-hearted one!While I take Peregrinus' point that the vet could have been hinting at a non-treatable condition, it is also reasonable to expect a vet to limit their advice to the realms normal to veterinary practice . . .
Whereas an Irish person moving to New Zealand might find it bizarre that nobody ever says anything about religion. Is referring to religion in New Zealand a bit like referring to sex was in Ireland when I was a chizler?Kiwi in IE wrote: »Of course I havn't been to every vet in NZ. But in the 3 years I have lived here I have been subjected to far more religious talk from strangers and acquaintances that the preceding 33 years I lived in NZ. I find it bizarre that so many appear to make an immediate assumption that the whole of humanity must share their personal religious beliefs.
I don't think people who talk to you about religion are assuming that you share their personal religious beliefs. They just assume that you're not affronted by references to religion in everyday speech. It's an understandable mistake; they're not to know that you're a psychic cripple as a result of your repressed New Zealand upbringing.
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Hi Kiwi, I have followed your posts here with interest as I am Irish with dual NZ citizenship. I was brought up (here) in a totally non-religious family, I don't say atheist because the subject simply never came up. (It is possible!)
Your posts as an outsider have made me realise how much religion is ingrained in this country but I do think you are hyper-sensitive about religious stuff (I know you are partly joking about the cat). But I often feel that a lot of the religious expressions in this country are as much verbal shorthand as anything else. For instance, a friend of mine whose brother was dying recently asked to pray that he went quickly. I don't for a moment think that she actually thought that I was about to go down on my knees, but I take it more as an expression - she hoped he would go quickly, and for her sake I did too.
In the same way that when I touch wood, I am perfectly well aware that the wood nymphs that I am appeasing aren't going to do much for me, but it is a way of telling the other person that I care about something without actually spelling it out.
You are, in my opinion, absolutely right to be outraged about a lot of the stuff that goes on here, but you might find Ireland a more relaxing place if you let some of the verbal stuff go...
PS New Zealand is a stunningly beautiful country but I thought I was going to freeze to death when I lived there and I was reasonably far north, but dear god, it was cold in winter. Still, stunning place and everyone should go there.
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Hi Kiwi, I have followed your posts here with interest as I am Irish with dual NZ citizenship. I was brought up (here) in a totally non-religious family, I don't say atheist because the subject simply never came up. (It is possible!)
Your posts as an outsider have made me realise how much religion is ingrained in this country but I do think you are hyper-sensitive about religious stuff (I know you are partly joking about the cat). But I often feel that a lot of the religious expressions in this country are as much verbal shorthand as anything else. For instance, a friend of mine whose brother was dying recently asked to pray that he went quickly. I don't for a moment think that she actually thought that I was about to go down on my knees, but I take it more as an expression - she hoped he would go quickly, and for her sake I did too.
In the same way that when I touch wood, I am perfectly well aware that the wood nymphs that I am appeasing aren't going to do much for me, but it is a way of telling the other person that I care about something without actually spelling it out.
You are, in my opinion, absolutely right to be outraged about a lot of the stuff that goes on here, but you might find Ireland a more relaxing place if you let some of the verbal stuff go...
PS New Zealand is a stunningly beautiful country but I thought I was going to freeze to death when I lived there and I was reasonably far north, but dear god, it was cold in winter. Still, stunning place and everyone should go there.
Hi Animord,
My family were pretty much the same. Religion never came up with us either. And believe it or not I never had a problem with religion, or even called myself atheist before I moved here.
You are probably right I do need to just ignore it. It does intrude on people's lives though and it is quite a big, unexpected culture shock coming from a secular country. I find the education situation especially hard to cope with as the mother of a 5 year old. Without the impact on education and women's rights, I could probably could just about ignore it.
Religion is the only complaint I have about the country. Apart from that I am more than happy to live here with central heating in my house! 0
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