Cecil, a 13 year old Lion was “Sport Hunted” by morally reprehensible Dentist and the world has gone crazy trying to come to terms with where this horror. Sadly, Cecil’s killing might be what was needed to create change, but we as a society need to get focused where the source of our outrage lies. Is it specifically Cecil being killed, is it Sport Hunting or is it the Dentist? I am growing increasingly uncomfortable with the angry mob mentality screaming “let’s all go hang the dentist”. I am not trying to be controversial or obtuse, I understand why this topic has become a hot button but I fear we are wasting our energy on the wrong aspect of this tragedy and thus, are unlikely to receive any justice. It seems clear to me that this isn’t about Cecil. Very few of the vocal many (certainly nobody in my FB feed) knew who Cecil was before he got “Sport Hunted”.
The outrage, as far as I can tell appears to centre around how a power deprived Dentist, aided by his guides, lured Cecil The Lion from one area to another before he shot him with a cross bow (and subsequently killed him). Apparently the actual crime wasn’t that he killed Cecil… it’s that Dr. Dickless lured him away from a protected area which, according to a permit, then allowed Cecil to be killed legally. If we follow the bouncing ball this means the crime we abhor is the luring, not the killing. Is this about a technicality?
We don’t actually know if this small-membered git even knew what he was getting himself into? According to him he thought he was following the rules. You’ll need to suspend your outrage for a minute to appreciate this but this did happened in Zimbabwe. In the Corruption Perceptions Index 2007, Zimbabwe was ranked 150th out of 179 countries for corruption (least corrupt countries are at the top of the list) therefor it is reasonable to believe that the hunter thought he was acting within the law when he may, in fact, have been duped. That doesn’t make him any less of a douche bag but it’s possible that this isn’t really about the Dentist.
Hunting for the sake of killing is disgusting and deplorable to the majority of our civilized society and, for the most part, is completely foreign in the animal kingdom at large. I can’t begin to understand what barn animal molestation these hunters suffered as children to drive them to want to spend tens of thousand of dollars to pointlessly destroy a sapient being. It’s a sick fucking world – full stop, but the Facebook Righteous Majority might want to stop take a good long look in the mirror and ask themselves why they are so upset at the Dentist? Sport Hunting has been public display for our entire lives. Some sources on the internet (so it must be true) state that there are 100 million animals killed every year for sport or fashion – NOT FOR FOOD. whether its 1 million or 100 million, it’s a boatload of blood and fur so I ask; Why now? Why this lion? Why this guy?
Is the issue that a lion, or any animal, was killed by a human in the name of Sport? Is so then our issue is with Sport Hunting. Condemning this loser as a means to stop Big Game Hunting is about as ineffective as the victim’s families of the Colorado Theatre shooting suing the companies that sold James Holmes ammo on-line in an effort to solve the gun control problem in the US.
If your issue is that killing all animals is wrong regardless of the purpose then a) that is a whole other kettle of kelp worthy of much debate and b) you are a better global citizen than most…. likely a better citizen with a protein, calcium and vitamin D deficiency living in a leather free house sporting hemp and cotton clothes but a better citizen none the less.
My moral compass tells me that killing animals for food, clothing and tools is ok. Dating back to my ancient ancestor Great Grand Pappy x 1,000 Homo Erectus (it’s a long story… … …)
my family has prospered physically and mentally from the meat, hides and bones of mammals we have killed, either directly or indirectly. The resulting mental and physical growth has benefited humans world was responsible for our evolution, putting humans at the top of the food chain and ultimately creating the society we now live in. As is always the case the passing of time means things have changed and with change comes the opportunity for us to challenge the logic of the past. Is it ok to kill animals is we can artificially manufacture the resources we used to get from Bessie (the generic beef and leather yielding cow)? If it is ok to kill animals, does the reason matter? Is the difference between how Cecil felt and how Bessie felt at their moment of reckoning any different? Do we care? Is this why we are upset. Is killing Cecil the issue or is the issue about how and why we justify the difference between killing animals?
I don’t believe in sport hunting, not because I am a too squeamish to kill animals (which I am) but because It defies my sense of logic and it just feels wrong. When my heart and my brain agree, I don’t argue. Killing an animal that is threatening me or my family might make me sad but It is logical. Killing an animal to feed or clothe my family also makes sense. Killing for the sake of killing is illogical and is offensive and it makes me really, really angry that I (we) still allow this to happen but until we agree and stop it, we can’t blame the dentist.
my $0.02
Steve
sweethotcrap 