Okay, prepare for a lot of emotional irrationality here. Just to warn you.
I want to point out that a lot of things eat mice. Even wolves eat mice. I am pretty positive that dogs eat mice. But yeah, I'm sure he is just starting with hey, they called Jews vermin, so I'll follow that and make cats Nazis. But I feel like given the way people read Nazis (as the ultimate evil incarnate blah blah... something I don't agree with, but something I know people think), making an entire species of animal represent something that weighty... bothers me. I think if he did, you know, the whole thing with various types of birds or lizards or something I wouldn't have this reaction, because nobody thinks, "oh yeah, goddamn sparrows, I fucking hate those bastards, they probably ARE Nazis." But I guess I feel that there are people that would think that about cats. I'm not sure if there is any animal that is as easily coded as evil in Western culture as a cat. Maybe like... a hyena? Yeah, maybe a hyena/jackal type thing. But that's not exactly common. I guess people see snakes as evil too, for Biblical reasons, although it is rare for a snake to come up in pop culture. Unless it's Britney Spears dancing with one.
I mean, they say it semi-jokingly, but I have heard a lot of people say "cats are evil," and there are so many movies where cats are treated like shit that can get chainsawed in half (whereas when a dog dies, it's typically a noble death a la I Am Legend, or something that is meant to really elicit emotion because the Dog Was Such a Good Guy). So that's why I think it's taking a shortcut to "good" and "evil," and why I think it's lazy. Partly because I really do feel that's how cats are coded in Western culture, and hell, if you want to challenge stereotypes, make your Nazis penguins. Nobody thinks penguins are evil. And once again, I do get that he's coming from the starting point of the Jews = vermin thing. But I fear that the end result is yet another example of cats being evil bastards that should be drowned.
This is a pretty crazy reaction on my part, I know. But I once wrote a story dedicated to the cats that were burned with the witches in Salem (and as I recall I wanted the Church to like... apologize for killing cats?). So... yeah.
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I want to point out that a lot of things eat mice. Even wolves eat mice. I am pretty positive that dogs eat mice. But yeah, I'm sure he is just starting with hey, they called Jews vermin, so I'll follow that and make cats Nazis. But I feel like given the way people read Nazis (as the ultimate evil incarnate blah blah... something I don't agree with, but something I know people think), making an entire species of animal represent something that weighty... bothers me. I think if he did, you know, the whole thing with various types of birds or lizards or something I wouldn't have this reaction, because nobody thinks, "oh yeah, goddamn sparrows, I fucking hate those bastards, they probably ARE Nazis." But I guess I feel that there are people that would think that about cats. I'm not sure if there is any animal that is as easily coded as evil in Western culture as a cat. Maybe like... a hyena? Yeah, maybe a hyena/jackal type thing. But that's not exactly common. I guess people see snakes as evil too, for Biblical reasons, although it is rare for a snake to come up in pop culture. Unless it's Britney Spears dancing with one.
I mean, they say it semi-jokingly, but I have heard a lot of people say "cats are evil," and there are so many movies where cats are treated like shit that can get chainsawed in half (whereas when a dog dies, it's typically a noble death a la I Am Legend, or something that is meant to really elicit emotion because the Dog Was Such a Good Guy). So that's why I think it's taking a shortcut to "good" and "evil," and why I think it's lazy. Partly because I really do feel that's how cats are coded in Western culture, and hell, if you want to challenge stereotypes, make your Nazis penguins. Nobody thinks penguins are evil. And once again, I do get that he's coming from the starting point of the Jews = vermin thing. But I fear that the end result is yet another example of cats being evil bastards that should be drowned.
This is a pretty crazy reaction on my part, I know. But I once wrote a story dedicated to the cats that were burned with the witches in Salem (and as I recall I wanted the Church to like... apologize for killing cats?). So... yeah.