kept in the dark

Kept in the dark? What? Where? Who?!?

Although society has moved on into the twenty-first century, there are still suppressed groups in our society. Despite the fact that we have live in a free, democratic and socially supportive world, there is still a silenced population which resides amongst us all. The forgotten are still being kept in the dark, a primordial society where every day is a fight to survive.

They are the goldfish.

The way we treat our goldfish, despite the fact that their names imply wealth and luxury, is morally wrong. Look at their accommodation, daily care, public image, and what happens when we say goodbye.

Take a peek into the average goldfish’s home and you will see a dim, dingy bowl, fake plants, gravel polluted with detritus and murky, acidic, nitrate-rich water. The human equivalent of such squalor would be confinement to a single furniture-lacking room, sewage mixed with scraps soiling the floor, and everything layered in dust. Of course, there would be a window, not sufficient to keep the room bright, but large enough for the inhabitant’s privacy to be invaded 24 hours a day.

What happens every day in a goldfish’s life? Well if they’re lucky, they get fed with some kind of synthetically prepared formula. If not, they may be forced to sift through the gravel and re-digest their own waste products, or yesteryear’s leftovers. Some days, goldfish tanks are cleaned out and the water is changed. But this is seldom; they confine their mess to their tank only, unlike a dog, which messes your whole house; it’s so easy to forget about fish…

…which leads to my next point. Everybody knows the insult, “you’ve got the memory of a goldfish!” But, many goldfish have good memories – eg, mine learn the times for feeding as babies – every 6 hours. Stereotypes are not helped by easy obtainment. Most goldfish cost around $5, but many people give them free. What’s the point of spending money on something that costs less than a tube of lipgloss, and may not even last as long?

People often lose their goldfish in under a year, because they have not taken responsibility – shocking – if you treated your cat that way, the RSPCA would come after you. The poor neglected goldfish is disregarded, thrown in a bin, left on the lawn, of if he or she is lucky, buried in a compost heap.

It is tragic that goldfish today are treated worse than women in the dark ages – ornaments held captive in the worst conditions, goggled at for entertainment, never given a second thought after they leave this world. But Goldfish are living creatures just like us. And so, I think it is time we stop mistreating our goldfish in this completely immoral way; free them from their prisons of darkness and allow them to see the light.