It’s similar to dog fighting in my opinion. It’s clearly cruel to the animal.
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Horse racing shortens the animal’s lifespan. And puts them at great risk for leg injury. You do know what happens to race horses that have a career ending leg injury right?
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Our obsession with “show quality” dogs forced us to breed dogs that literally can’t breathe right.
If you look at drawings of pugs from 200 years ago you’ll notice that they had longer snouts. They could actually breathe. But prim American socialites wanted their pugs to be as “cute” as possible. So they selectively bred them for a squished face. Now they can’t breathe.
It’s ■■■■■■■ criminal.
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Same with bulldogs. Poor German Shepherds and their messed up hips. Hell, there’s dogs that can’t even see if you don’t properly groom them constantly.
Their mere existence is abuse.
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I can’t remember his name but there was a comedian who talked about some kinds of dogs having an existence that similar to “dying all the time but not being allowed to die.”
I think it’s the French Bulldogs that can’t even breed naturally anymore. Humans have to artificially inseminate them and then they have to have c-sections to give birth.
And yet people are ok with it and even celebrate it. It’s ■■■■■■■ whack.
Then you have those psychopaths who declaw their cats. Or defang venomous snakes. Things those animals depend on for self defense. Which is just as much their right as it is ours.
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Admittedly, I’m one of those psychopaths. 
Almost no one was advocating anything about sparing cats from declawing during my time. It never occurred to me in my youth that some people were so useless that they couldn’t even keep a 10 pound animal for 16-18 years.
I’ve had 2 of my 3 cats (Maine Coon mixed boys) for 16+ years now. Casper was obese his whole life and can no longer even jump up on the bed because he’s too heavy and too weak. He was once a lion of a 24 lbs alpha male and now gets picked on by 12 year old female cat whom I horribly mistakenly named Angel.
BamBam no longer ■■■■■ solids and is down from 18 lbs in his prime to a 7 lbs scrawny boy. We feed him several supplements and medications daily and their effects get less effective every month. He also constantly vomits everywhere. This is all reminiscent of my dad’s dog growing up when she reached the end of her life.
The boys destroyed the furniture I had on loan from the Lending Closet on post during my first deployment. Wife had all the scratch posts and toys and cat playgrounds my money could buy (for the two cats that I didn’t want in the first place, it was a package deal). They still shredded the couch, the loveseat, and the recliners. I was so embarrassed when I returned it all that the Lending Closet guy in the warehouse wrote it all off. Wife wanted to buy Ashley Furniture sets for the living room, dining room, and our bedroom not long after I got home with all those deployment bonuses. Cats got declawed first!
It’s been an absolute pleasure having these kitties in my life, and it’s also been an absolute chore tending to their needs. I love BamBam to death, and I’m ready for him to die. It’s gonna break my heart to be happy that he’s no longer oozing liquids out of every hole every ■■■■■■■ day. It’s just not fair for proud wild animals to die these undignified deaths of old age.
We also have 2 dogs, ages 11 and 14. Old Man Sammy’s eyes look a little grayer than they used to. I had to put down my perfect rottweiler a couple of years ago and she was only 5. She’d be old and in pain right now anyway. Wife and I are done after this. We’re tired of how sad it feels to watch this happen to our best friends.
I forgot where I was going with all this. I’m super stoned and still feel euphoric from working out late this afternoon. 
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i know this is antidotal but i owned a race mare who raced until she was 9 and lived to be 31. she won 9 races. had 6 foals. and lived out her life with dignity.
Allan
I think many Americans are having a hard time observing this nation evolve into a liberalized insane asylum. I have too much riding going forward and am going to stay and fight hard by demonstrating traditional American values. My happiness vs their empty sadness searching for happiness will be the best evidence as to which way is the right way. I have grandchildren I want to observe finding their happiness by witnessing their grandmother and I and our choices in life.
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So many gullible young Americans have been sold a bill of goods - from various sources - that they are entitled to a certain lifestyle along with being persuaded to feel envy and strife towards others who have more than them. So that’s clearly part of the issue. The other is how many factors played into the evolution of the US economy centered around the cost of living and average salaries not keeping up.
I would tell every young American on their approximate 40 year pathway of hard labor; economic success is attempting to run up an escalator that’s going down. It isn’t fair. You will not progress at the same rate you’re expending your energy…that’s life. Get used to it and never give up. It’s like being in a forest of invisible trees and you’re the lumberjack. You are in control of actually choosing to be in the forest, keeping your axe sharp and swinging your butt off. When that tree falls is an invisible, economic goal that you do not have control over. Some trees are much thicker than others but…keep swinging and eventually…every tree will one day fall. That too…is life.
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Yeah that’s why most of the counties they choose have strong social nets etc
And as @Axxowiz points out over and over, none of these Scandinavian countries have or believe in open borders along with some of the most restrictive immigration policies in the world.
Those aren’t the countries i was referencing though you had no way of knowing that since i wasn’t more specific. On purpose 
Look at the prevalence of ex pats to South American countries.
Like Costa Rica etc
Hard work and making smart decisions are clearly vital, and those who do so will definitely find more opportunities than those who do not. With that being said there clearly are economic challenges that the generation of today faces that generations of the past did not:
They wrote, “For context, $7,450 in today’s money is $85,685.28, adjusted for inflation. But the annual salary was $3,400 annually or $39,100.13 in today’s money. In 1955, that house cost 2.19x the average male salary. In 2023, the median home price was $430,000 and the real median income in the US is $74,580.00. In 2023, the average home costs or 5.76x the average salary.”
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I thought Costa Rica was considered to be a Latin American country?
What sources promote this?
The results of 40 years of Reaganomics.
Gutted unions.
Overhauled the financial industry, very much to their favor…resulting in 2 banking collapses. Many of those practices are still in place. (stock buybacks should go back to being illegal)
Stopped enforcing the Sherman act.
Nearly all Pubs, and enough Dems voted and supported these policies. Biden is trying to restore the policies that made America great.
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Costa Rica is a Central American country.
It’s Latin American. Spanish is the official language there. It’s located in Central America.
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Yup, I have been there. Great vacation…
