MANCHESTER, VT—Even as tolerance among humans continues to improve, a new survey finds that canines are as anti-garbage-truck now as at any other time in history.
Despite tensions among fringe groups, the average American is more tolerant of people other than themselves than ever before. People of all age groups and most demographics are more accepting of different religions and lifestyles than has ever been seen in the world's history. Almost no one in the United States reports negative views of interracial marriage; most people respect the rights of people to worship whatever god they choose, if any; and gender equality is all but fully recognized by most measures.
However, even among these last several decades of tolerance and acceptance, there appears to have been virtually no progress whatsoever in reducing negative stereotypes among dogs regarding garbage trucks and the people who operate them. Indeed, in a national survey of dogs of all walks of life, 94% of respondents had overtly negative view of sanitation trucks and workers, and the remaining 6% were either left blank or were neutral comments.
"These findings further confirm what we feared," stated Marianne Johnson, Ph.D., who studies prejudice but was not a part of the research. "It seems that some people, or in this case, dogs, are just so full of deep resentment and hatred toward some people that they just aren't keeping up with modern mentality."
The researchers found that dogs' hatred of garbage trucks and workers stems from the noises that the trucks make. Several participants who were interviewed said things to this effect. One golden retriever said, "The loud noises from the trucks make me feel protective of my house and family. So I bark at them to make them go away. I really hate those guys."
A dachshund mix commented, "The bad truck makes noise because is coming to hurt us and take away our food. I know this to be true. So I make it go away when I bare my teeth at it and bark really loudly. I'll keep barking at it every time, too. I don't care."
The canines' beliefs about sanitation workers and trucks is disturbing by any modern measure. A large majority of the dogs surveyed said that they "would prefer that garbage trucks and workers stay in their own neighborhoods." Similarly, 97% of the dogs agreed strongly with the statement, "I would be happier if I never saw or heard another garbage truck for the rest of my life." One dalmatian even suggested that "it is not natural for those [sanitation trucks] to be in neighborhoods with dogs. We have every right to scare them away every Thursday morning."
Researchers and dog lovers are mutually concerned about these findings, and suggest that more efforts be made to mend the divide between garbage trucks, workers, and dogs. "If dogs and sanitation trucks could only get to know each other better, and to see where each other is coming from, perhaps they could see how much they have in common, and that would reduce the tensions," was one recommendation in the manuscript.
Unfortunately, most canines appear unwilling to make this first step toward tolerance, as they expressed the desire to "bite or otherwise maim" the first sanitation worker they contact.
One sanitation worker, when reached for comment about the story, said, "Yeah, it's a shame. I don't personally have anything about those furry critters, but the stereotypes they have are just hurtful. I've got my own food, boy! I'm not going to take yours!"
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