It's a good point that the lyrics of that one verse may be deemed as demeaning - It certainly would not be the first time Bogle's intent is misunderstood. However, I find the verse in question an accurate, if controversial, description.

A group I sing with is thinking of performing this song. I live in Canada's North, in a territory where Aboriginal and First Nations people, though the majority in most communities, are living in terrible conditions - certainly worse off that most Southern white people's pets.

I only just heard the song recently, but my first impression, apart from amazement at how well it applies to Northern Canada, was that it's message is a severe criticism of White man's policies of assimilation. We, as white people, have to learn to understand how it feels to have one's culture, language, and lifestyle forcibly eliminated and replaced with another's. I think Bogle captures that feeling rather well with that discriptive verse.

Moira