Our generation faces one of the most pressing issues this world has ever witnessed. We have all come to know dinosaurs as belonging to the reptile family because of their glorified lizard look. However, in recent years it has been hypothesized that these creatures actually adorned feathers rather than scales. This finding has been distressing for most, as their favorite extinct animals now seem like giant chickens, which does not sound or look nearly as cool.

My concern with the new discovery is how people will view the dinosaurs now. Will they prefer the old representation to the new one? Are dinosaurs going to be less liked because of their fluffy exterior? Is there going to be discrimination against our dead, feathery friends? To answer this, I had a discussion with my very good friend and savior, Michael (MichaelWood) Wood.

Personally, I believe that we should accept dinosaurs for who they were rather than focusing on mere appearance. Michael (MichaelWood) Wood responded to my question of how he felt about dinosaurs having feathers: “Pretty good, especially if gryphons count as dinos.”

As you can see in the picture, the dinosaur is shown with absolutely no feathers, a common depiction even with the new information we have received.

I strongly believe that too much pressure is being put on these creatures, since we are telling them that they should look a certain way even though it is genetically impossible. This constraint on dinosaurs is harmful to not only them, but their bird counterparts as well. Would you prefer to see pigeons without feathers or bald eagles with more that just the top missing? I would not think so. So why are we obsessed with the idea of naked dinos?

I know that in the books we read in elementary school depicted featherless dinosaurs, but that does not mean our views cannot change. And it is never too late to change. Discrimination against our feathered extinct predecessors is extremely harmful and more widespread than you may think, so before you push your bigoted and discriminatory agenda on dinosaurs, remember who you are hurting.