Walden is a shared resource and dogs disrupt the wildlife on the property, and they contribute noise, scent, pee and poop to an area where animals, humans and children expect not to encounter them. Plus it is the law-and the Ranger must enforce the law (and frankly, their jobs are hard enough as it is).
HDT publicly opposed an unjust law (taxation which supported the Mexican War and slavery) and sat in jail for his opposition. Should ALL laws be flaunted in his name?
Because of THAT act-people often cite it as a reason for bad behavior while visiting Walden, or use him as an excuse to break rules generally and do whatever they want to do. They cross the line of basic civility by presuming their rights and beliefs supersede those of others.
As an example:
A teacher took his students on a visit to Walden. he took his dog and when confronted by a ranger-he was proudly defiant and used HDT as his model. He also took photos of this offense and bragged about it on social media.
The original post (excluding identifying photos of the students):
Rangers devote their jobs to making sure that people and their animals do not destroy or hurt the public land. As one put it:
Thoreau broke laws for just reasons. Comments like this are incredibly disrespectful to rangers who spend their life’s work protecting a resource as Emerson’s family requested. We teach students about protecting the resource, and your actions detract from that. If you can’t follow the rules, please go somewhere else. After working at Walden for years, I have heard this argument before, “Well, Thoreau would agree with me on this...” It’s a TIRED excuse for doing whatever they want. Thoreau was one man on his friend’s land...we now get over 600,000 people a year at Walden. If you come to the park, you are on Massachusetts State land. Dogs are are only as wise as their owners. Regardless of what you think, other people come to the park expecting a dog-free park and this is about respecting other peoples’ experience in nature....not to mention
wildlife. People visit Walden from all over the world. For some people, this is on their bucket list. I guarantee that they are not coming to see your dog. It’s not really about what Thoreau did in 1845. There was no germ theory of disease then, no running water, and people didn’t bathe much. Darwin’s Origin of Species hadn’t come out yet (1859). Of course, there are MANY other things people do at the park that are stupid, but why add to it?
Another comment was in reaction to a photo of a student standing on one of the stone pillars that outlines the site of the cabin:
If everyone snuck in dogs and climbed on the markers, Walden Pond wouldn't be around for very long. Preserving the pond is everyone's responsibility so future generations will be able to enjoy it. Do you encourage them to climb on tombstones in cemeteries too?
Another discussed Thoreau walking through the forests and how he knew the difference that a domesticated dog can bring to the experience.
Would Thoreau deliberately lead a domesticated animal into a designated wildlife area? I doubt it. His friend Ellery Channing owned a behemoth of a dog named Bose who sometimes accompanied them on walks. But Bose's presence drastically changed the experience for the human walkers, because he wasn't leashed and he went after whatever natural prompts he was attracted to. Which may have been comical and interesting at the time, but these incidents were not part of the kind of exploration that Thoreau preferred. “Each town should have a park, or rather a primitive forest of five hundred or a thousand acres, where a stick should never be cut for fuel, a common possession forever, for instruction and recreation," Thoreau wrote in his journal on October 15, 1859. Should domesticated animals be part of that instruction and recreation? Probably not. Every Bose needs to stay at home on occasion. And even dog lovers need dog-free experiences.
You could write letters of apology to all of the other visitors to Walden Pond that day. They didn't get to see the chipmunks and squirrels that they usually would have seen, otherwise, on their walks. Even the friendly raccoon that often approaches folks was probably deterred from doing so by the presence of your dog. You deliberately altered the park experience for everyone else. And then you boasted about it on social media. Hmmmm.
One of the (in)eloquent responses which ALSO brags of breaking the law about public water supply:
Miles McCloy Humans pick up dog poop. And only morons would be unsettled by a barefoot touching pee. Go dip your feet in the lake. Flints pons In Lincoln, where Thoreau originally wanted to build his cabin, has the best bass fishing in the metro west, but carries heavy fines as it is Lincoln’s water supply and all lincolnites have their heads up their butts. I fished there every day til I moved away from home. Relax.
It's one thing to disobey as a protest. Another to brag about it publicly on social media. Yet another to teach disrespect to students, especially when it comes to how to treat already vulnerable lands.
There are plenty of places for dogs and for kids to climb on things. Please stop using HDT as an excuse for bad behavior.
HDT publicly opposed an unjust law (taxation which supported the Mexican War and slavery) and sat in jail for his opposition. Should ALL laws be flaunted in his name?
Because of THAT act-people often cite it as a reason for bad behavior while visiting Walden, or use him as an excuse to break rules generally and do whatever they want to do. They cross the line of basic civility by presuming their rights and beliefs supersede those of others.
As an example:
A teacher took his students on a visit to Walden. he took his dog and when confronted by a ranger-he was proudly defiant and used HDT as his model. He also took photos of this offense and bragged about it on social media.
The original post (excluding identifying photos of the students):
Rangers devote their jobs to making sure that people and their animals do not destroy or hurt the public land. As one put it:
Thoreau broke laws for just reasons. Comments like this are incredibly disrespectful to rangers who spend their life’s work protecting a resource as Emerson’s family requested. We teach students about protecting the resource, and your actions detract from that. If you can’t follow the rules, please go somewhere else. After working at Walden for years, I have heard this argument before, “Well, Thoreau would agree with me on this...” It’s a TIRED excuse for doing whatever they want. Thoreau was one man on his friend’s land...we now get over 600,000 people a year at Walden. If you come to the park, you are on Massachusetts State land. Dogs are are only as wise as their owners. Regardless of what you think, other people come to the park expecting a dog-free park and this is about respecting other peoples’ experience in nature....not to mention
wildlife. People visit Walden from all over the world. For some people, this is on their bucket list. I guarantee that they are not coming to see your dog. It’s not really about what Thoreau did in 1845. There was no germ theory of disease then, no running water, and people didn’t bathe much. Darwin’s Origin of Species hadn’t come out yet (1859). Of course, there are MANY other things people do at the park that are stupid, but why add to it?
Another comment was in reaction to a photo of a student standing on one of the stone pillars that outlines the site of the cabin:
If everyone snuck in dogs and climbed on the markers, Walden Pond wouldn't be around for very long. Preserving the pond is everyone's responsibility so future generations will be able to enjoy it. Do you encourage them to climb on tombstones in cemeteries too?
Another discussed Thoreau walking through the forests and how he knew the difference that a domesticated dog can bring to the experience.
Would Thoreau deliberately lead a domesticated animal into a designated wildlife area? I doubt it. His friend Ellery Channing owned a behemoth of a dog named Bose who sometimes accompanied them on walks. But Bose's presence drastically changed the experience for the human walkers, because he wasn't leashed and he went after whatever natural prompts he was attracted to. Which may have been comical and interesting at the time, but these incidents were not part of the kind of exploration that Thoreau preferred. “Each town should have a park, or rather a primitive forest of five hundred or a thousand acres, where a stick should never be cut for fuel, a common possession forever, for instruction and recreation," Thoreau wrote in his journal on October 15, 1859. Should domesticated animals be part of that instruction and recreation? Probably not. Every Bose needs to stay at home on occasion. And even dog lovers need dog-free experiences.
You could write letters of apology to all of the other visitors to Walden Pond that day. They didn't get to see the chipmunks and squirrels that they usually would have seen, otherwise, on their walks. Even the friendly raccoon that often approaches folks was probably deterred from doing so by the presence of your dog. You deliberately altered the park experience for everyone else. And then you boasted about it on social media. Hmmmm.
One of the (in)eloquent responses which ALSO brags of breaking the law about public water supply:
Miles McCloy Humans pick up dog poop. And only morons would be unsettled by a barefoot touching pee. Go dip your feet in the lake. Flints pons In Lincoln, where Thoreau originally wanted to build his cabin, has the best bass fishing in the metro west, but carries heavy fines as it is Lincoln’s water supply and all lincolnites have their heads up their butts. I fished there every day til I moved away from home. Relax.
It's one thing to disobey as a protest. Another to brag about it publicly on social media. Yet another to teach disrespect to students, especially when it comes to how to treat already vulnerable lands.
There are plenty of places for dogs and for kids to climb on things. Please stop using HDT as an excuse for bad behavior.
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