What’s on my mind? In this pigeon-hating world, it seems appropriate to draw attention to the curious story of the little pigeon that could - and in so doing, found a nest to call his own. With a tip of the toque to Canada’s CTV News, the link’s below.
Why are pigeons reviled?
Because they’re “rats with wings.” Because they’re “dirty.” Because they multiply and “take over.” Because they’re “stupid.”
Really? I was about to write a few snappy rebuttals when I recognized an uncomfortable truth. Aren’t some of these comments similar to what the ignorant and the fearful say of asylum seekers? I’m not for a moment drawing a parallel between pigeons and asylum seekers. That would be deeply offensive.
Reports Google: “Although the pigeon is one of the most intelligent of all the bird species, man has found limited uses for the birds other than for the purposes of sport, food and as a message carrier. A team of navy researchers, however, has found that pigeons can be trained to save human lives at sea with high success rates.”
As admirable as that is, this appears to say that Pigeons = Useful = Good.
Not everyone must be Useful to be Good. Nor am I suggesting any identifiable group is “intrinsically good” or “intrinsically bad.” Most are just people - with faces, families, names, and histories. People are people are people - each of us in some ways different, each of us in some ways the same.
All people deserve respect, dignity, fairness, and courtesy. All people deserve a chance. All people deserve a nest to call their own, no matter how modest.
But in this pigeon-hating world, the short story below may surprise and delight you, as it did me. Yes, it’s about a pigeon. But it’s also about reciprocated kindness, and that’s what really counts.
