July 24, 2016
11:30 am
Zootopia Police Department – Precinct 8
It's another scorching day in Zootopia and the air conditioning unit is busted, again. As mentioned before in one of my previous reports, Precinct 8 is horribly funded and management refuses to acknowledge there is a problem. All the officers with thick fur took the day off and were cooling themselves at the local pool. As a result, there were only a few officers here including Mike, my partner, and me. Today, I was mainly working on some paperwork that I neglected for a while. I would have brought it home but it's against ZPD confidentiality rules. Thus, I was stuck in a stuffy room wiping off bullets of sweat that crept on my forehead.
Mike was sitting at the desk opposite of me and was busy doodling on some scrap paper. Since the chief was not in today (probably because it was too hot for him and he'd rather spend the day in a pool than in a small office), Mike decided to take it easy for today. He could have stayed home, but he reminded me that he had to check in to prove to the chief that he was always on time. I guess the threat of being fired for being absent on numerous occasions really motivates you even if you have to work in an oven.
I was looking down at my reports when my eye noticed a beautiful female fox walking by. She was pretty in her small green shorts and pink midriff that revealed the perfect amount of fur. Let's just say, I was not the only one in the office to notice and that the office just got hotter.
"Hey love," she said to Mike as she caressed her head on his shoulder.
"Hi Foxie. What brings you and your love here?" asked Mike, who was immediately blushing.
I quickly looked down at my paperwork and tried my best to stop gagging. Foxie the fox, a swimsuit model for La Zooza, and more importantly, Mike's girlfriend. Mike met her at a local bar. Some jerks were harassing her until Mike stepped in and flashed his badge. Foxie thanked Mike and they sort of just clicked. They have been together for at least a year, which I still do not understand. When you work with Mike like I have, it's difficult to see how anyone could love him. I should mention that Foxie's charms did not really work on me, but I can't really say the same for the other male officers in the room. Nevertheless, there was only one animal for Foxie and it was Mike.
"Just delivering lunch and something special for my love," answered Foxie. She moved in for a kiss but Mike was quite hesitant in receiving it. It wasn't because he did not like her kisses. In fact, he did, especially in private.
"Foxie… Not here. Everyone is looking." stammered Mike.
"Why not?" Foxie asked teasingly.
I didn't take my glance off my paperwork, but I felt compelled to answer. "Because you're kissing in a public place," I said.
"So?" Foxie continued.
Foxie was not getting my somewhat settle message. I turned my head to make sure that the other officers left for lunch and that we were the only ones in the room. I said, "And you are a fox and Mike is a wolf." I felt bad saying this because it made me sound like I was a specist, an animal who discriminates another animal based on their species.
"Gasp!" Foxie replied, "Why can't a fox and wolf love each other?"
Groan... This hole I dug for myself was getting deeper and deeper. Too late to turn back now. I took off my glasses, wiped my eyes and answered, "Don't take this the wrong way as this is something I strongly disagree with."
I paused and got ready to tell the ugly truth. "Many animals in Zootopia do not like these types of relationships because they find it unnatural. They are not used to see inter-species relationships and think it is weird. Some even think it is an immoral and deviant behaviour."
Foxie could not believe what she was learning. She loved Zootopia and refused to believe that there were some animals who were intolerant. "But… What if they love each other?" she asked as she hugged Mike tightly, "Why can't we be together?"
"That's what I normally ask to those anti-interspecies relationship supporters," I said as I placed my glasses back on. "But the common answer from those animals is that inter-species relationships will never be able to have children and will never be able to create a family. I personally think this is ludicrous. Who says you need to have children to be happy? And what about adoption? Sheesh…" At this point, I must have talked too much since both Foxie and Mike were both red in the face. I guess they never talked about starting a family. Oops…
I quickly tried to defuse the uncomfortableness by continuing, "Frankly, as long as two animals love each other, what is the problem?"
"Oh boy," interrupted Mike as he rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."
I ignored Mike and continued, "Whenever there is some 'controversy' about something, I always ask 'what did they do' questions. For instance, number one, did the two lovers kill anybody? No. Number two, did they burn down your house or commit any other crime? No. Are they spreading hate? Of course not. So what is the problem?"
Foxie looked nervous, as though she was committing a horrible crime by loving Mike. I tried my best to calm her down. "I wouldn't worry, Foxie." I said. "Foxes and wolves are very similar and are usually deemed 'more acceptable' in the eyes of the anti-interspecies supporters. And in the end, who cares what they think? As long as you two are happy, that's all that matters. Whenever two different species love each other and get harassed for it, we should always step in. As for me, I would always protect the couple regardless of the repercussions. If animals hate me for it, so what. I don't care about them."
Foxie looked more at ease once I finished my speech, but she was holding back a question. She summoned enough courage and asked, "What if one species was a prey and the other a predator?"
"You mean like a bunny and a fox?" I thought long and hard since this was a very difficult question and any answer I say could make some animals angry. The ZPD was supposed to be impartial on certain issues. Animal relationships was one of them and I already crossed the line.
Prey and predator relationships were even more controversial than prey-prey and predator-predator relationships. One could argue that the prey-prey and predator-predator relationships share something in common, albeit a ridiculous one (I have yet to find a couple who love each other because they both were prey or both were predators.). Many animals, even those that are generally liberal and tolerant, have some reservations of a prey dating a predator and vice-versa. To them, it is extremely unnatural and not normal. Therefore, they say it is deviant and must be stopped at all cost. There is tremendous social pressure to label a prey-predator relationship as a 'deviant behaviour'. Instead of giving in, I asked myself the same questions I said before. Confident with my reasoning, I answered, "I would support them. If they love each other, why can't they be together?"
I felt relieved after saying this and the adrenaline rush encouraged me to continue with my controversial opinion. "If I had my way, we would remove laws that ban and discriminate these types of relationships. Personally, I find it very unconstitutional. Equal protection under the law. Why is it okay for same species to marry each other but not okay when the species are different?"
Foxie smiled and returned to her cheerful attitude. She felt vindicated by my speech. "Wow, Sap. Mike always said you were a useless peg in the ZPD, but I think you're actually pretty insightful. We need more animals like you, who will speak up for what is right."
I blushed. "Thanks Foxie, no wonder Mike- Hey wait a minute! What else has he been saying about me?"
"Err… I think we should get some lunch Foxie," Mike said as he tugged Foxie away. "It's too hot here. Let's go eat outside."
"Sorry Sap!" Foxie apologized. "I guess I should be going. Thanks again Sap".
Before Foxie and Mike left, I remembered a campaign slogan from the place I was from. I replied, "You're very welcome Foxie. And remember, Love Trumps Hate."