Mutually Exclusive

You guys must know of other cat people besides myself. And surely, everyone has someone in their circle who's a die-hard Hello Kitty fanatic. (You can easily spot the latter just from their office cubicles.) But can you name anyone who's both a Hello Kitty devotee and loves cats? Probably not.

Having noticed this aberration from a handful of people (including myself), I've decided to ask a few more to confirm. This was how one of them went.

Me: do you like hello kitty?
Co-worker1: oh i used to collect hello kitty!!!!
Me: would you say you LOVE hello kitty?
Co-worker1: my grade school friends know me as the hello kitty girl. so, YES.
Me: okay. which do you like better - cats or dogs?
Co-worker1: (in less than a second): dogs

'Nuff said.

But here's a prime example - I asked another colleague who has sworn abhorrence towards cats and wish they'd disappear from the earth (strangely, she's my friend). I half-expected her to freak out at the mere suggestion, and that would've disproved my theory, but she did not. "Yes, I do like Hello Kitty". After her, I didn't think I have to ask any more people.

I wonder what went on in the head of the creator to have immortalized such an antithesis of the creature it represents. Was he even a cat owner, for except for the whiskers and pointy ears, there's nothing feline about Hello Kitty at all. Let's see, she enjoys wearing clothes and headgear, engages in activities that people may find useful, and... she even owns a pet cat. She has no mouth, so no fangs and looks like the nails are clipped or non-existent. And oh, she takes baths (as suggested by some merchandise, like below).

So, if you think about it, Hello Kitty is a freakish misnomer, no offense to fans.

As a postscript, I'd like to share with you this hilarious blog of a guy who's being a total sport about his wife's fanaticism (or is he?). Note that there's not a mention of live cat anywhere in it.