Nature Lovers, Sign the Petition

[rexbobcat]

I understand the moral outrage that Americans have about it, but I don't really understand why they think "Destroying this person's life" is the best solution.

Well, I don't really know what all happened over there and truthfully I doubt we'll ever really know with any degree of certainty. I guess what concerns me is that we live in an age where if you do something stupid and it happens to "go viral" you might very well have your own life destroyed by moral outrage that all too often seems to be fueled by people who never really did get the whole story but rather only a very narrow subset of the facts that was designed for just that purpose.

I have become terrified of sharing almost ANY opinion that requires some amount of rationale or critical thinking. By that, I mean opinions that don't follow the popular dogma of what you should believe about the subject according to human emotion.

"So, in 2015 you gave a civil, and reasonable stance that goes against the emotionally charged popular opinion. How would you feel if we posted your home address online so people can send you personalized death threats. Will that make you a better person you piece of filth?"

There's an actual term for this: Doxing

The Internet since the advent of social media, has become umpteen times scarier for the average person.

 

[EIngerson]

I understand the moral outrage that Americans have about it, but I don't really understand why they think "Destroying this person's life" is the best solution.

Well, I don't really know what all happened over there and truthfully I doubt we'll ever really know with any degree of certainty. I guess what concerns me is that we live in an age where if you do something stupid and it happens to "go viral" you might very well have your own life destroyed by moral outrage that all too often seems to be fueled by people who never really did get the whole story but rather only a very narrow subset of the facts that was designed for just that purpose.

I have become terrified of sharing almost ANY opinion that requires some amount of rationale or critical thinking. By that, I mean opinions that don't follow the popular dogma of what you should believe about the subject.

"So, in 2015 you gave a civil, and reasonable stance that goes against the emotionally charged popular opinion. How would you feel if we posted your home address online so people can send you personalized death threats. Will that make you a better person you piece of filth?"

There's an actual term for this: Doxing

The Internet since the advent of social media, has become umpteen times scarier for the average person.

You make a pretty good point with that. Doxing…. Thanks. New one for me.

 

[Braineack]

I'm trying to figure out where the outrage is for the 100's of other lions killed since Cecil.

You all only care because he had a name and it made the news.

 

[limr]

How many other people in Zimbabwe were getting paid off by the guide and farmer for this illegal activity? That's why for the US government to send the dentist back there would be insane. The Zimbabweans would use him as a scapegoat to protect their illegal deals.

And how many will be out of work now that the lion is dead? Did you even read the article I posted to discussing the impact of killing the lion? And no, not just the emotional impact or legal impact, but the economic impact. Man who studied Cecil the lion for 9 years talks impact

Or maybe you'll ignore this comment as well.

Good lord….

I'm glad our priorities are straight….

A cat was killed in Zimbabwe? I've heard 9 amber alerts in the past week. Countless murders on the news in my local area. Thefts, wild fires, govt corruption….the list goes on.

How many of you gave a damn about a lion 2 weeks ago? My guess is none.

Hell, the Zimbabwean Govt doesn't even care about this cat. Half of them didn't even know it happened.


Sorry Tirediron. Couldn't hold back.

Of course there are other problems, but why does caring about one thing mean we don't care about others? Or that we're not trying to help other problems? What am I supposed to do about the amber alerts or wildfires in your area? What are you supposed to do about the poverty and crime in my area? Are we supposed to be outraged all the time at everything?

My point is, daily we're seeing the list of things I mentioned in the media. Now we're cold to it. A lion being killed in a country 99.99999% of the people upset have never been to or cared about in their life has the world crying. It's comical. If people's hearts bleed that much for things happening in foreign countries read up and get upset about real problems there.

Do you mean to tell me you haven't seen anyone upset about our problems here? Have you not seen he deluge of stories about Sandra Bland or the missing teens in Florida? The people on my Facebook feed who posted about the lion are also people who post about police abuse, about global warming, about local tragedies, about education...the lion was just one in a myriad of things that they care about. And many of them are active in efforts to help.

Most things aren't going to get international attention, but that doesn't mean that they aren't getting attention at all. Most tragedies are more localized and don't affect others farther away. Sometimes, an event captures imaginations and the story spreads. So what if people sometimes latch onto it to feel like maybe they can do something about this one thing? What difference does it make to you? What really is the use of calling us a bunch of idiots for caring about something that you don't care about?

Having lived over there I can tell you that the "villagers" that the press reported were "crying for justice" had almost certainly eaten the lion shortly after it was shot.

According to the article, no, the villagers didn't eat the carcass. It was picked over by vultures and then the researchers left it for the hyenas to pick the bones clean.

 

[table1349]

Interesting thoughts by a writer in our daily paper.
Questions about lion s death public s reaction to it

One of the biggest mysteries of the lion ordeal, though, is all of the emotion it’s brought to the world.

It went from breaking news to hysteria almost immediately. I’d like to know why some broadcast personalities got emotionally broken up over the death of a lion, yet they’ve reported on mass murders, wars and catastrophic weather disasters with a straight face?

I’d like someone to explain why our society gets more upset when some animals are killed than when people are killed? Where is all of this fervor for things such as an estimated 3 million children dying in the world annually to malnutrition, or the thousands of people annually who are murdered because of their religion, race, or gender?

If proven guilty, I want Palmer and the others punished, but I don’t understand how animal-rights groups can say that it’s OK for Palmer to be killed for allegedly poaching a lion but they don’t want me to kill a fish to eat? Why are there people who want Palmer executed while they’re against capital punishment for people who kill people?

And I’m wondering where the reported 100,000 who signed an online petition for the U.S. government to get involved have been for the past 40 years?

That’s at least how long biologists have preached it’s loss of habitat and poaching that are the biggest enemies of African wildlife. It’s a continent with some of the world’s fastest population growth and worst poverty. Neither bodes well for wildlife.

I don’t understand how the death of one animal brings more attention than the plight of the entire species.

Several predictions say Kenya, once Africa’s richest country in terms of wildlife, will see its lions go extinct within the next 15 years, though they haven’t allowed hunting since 1977.

Where are the petitions, the late-night hosts spreading the word and gathering funds to reserve chunks of habitat and fund the anti-poaching steps African animal species so need?

Like I said, there’s a lot to this I just don’t understand.

 

[Buckster]

From my earliest memories of hunting and fishing with my dad and granddad, it was hammered into me that the hunt was about bonding between us, but the animals we hunted were exclusively a source of food, not a source of thrills. I was taught to never kill any animal that I don't intend to eat, and to eat any animal I've killed whether I like it or not. I was told that it was the way of my family, many of whom are Native Americans who still have enough of the bloodline to be card-carrying tribal members.

I can remember us eating a few critters that weren't considered "good to eat", but we did it anyway because of that basic family principle and the "teaching you a lesson here boy!" aspect of it.

As such, "trophy hunting" doesn't sit well with me personally. Doubly so for animals designated for protection, as this lion was.

 

[Designer]

Interesting thoughts by a writer in our daily paper.
Questions about lion s death public s reaction to it

Some of us marvel at the lack of any sense of proportion.

Yes, I know people who lack a sense of proportion, and I don't think there is any easy fix.

 

[limr]

From Cecil the Lion to Climate Change A Perfect Storm of Outrage Oneupmanship - The Atlantic

"...
Instead, the people who hadn't jumped on the Cecil-outrage bandwagon jumped on the superiority-outrage bandwagon. It’s a bandwagon of outrage one-upmanship, and it’s just as rewarding as the original outrage bandwagon. Anyone can play, like this:

It’s fine to be outraged about one lion, but what about all of the other lions who are hunted and killed every year? There are 250 Cecils killed annually across Africa as trophies, and that’s what you should really be outraged by. But good job caring now.

Actually, what about all of the animals? All of the cattle and fish and brilliant pigs who are systematically slaughtered for human consumption every day? Were you eating a hot dog when you posted that thing about Cecil on Facebook? Anyone who is not vegan is no better than the dentist Walter Palmer. That is what you really should be outraged by.

Actually, you only care about Zimbabwe when a lion is killed? Great of you. Killing animals is part of the circle of life, but you know what’s not? Human trafficking. People are bought and sold as slaves today all over the world. Why are you talking about one aged jungle cat in a place where the relationship between impoverished pastoralist communities and wealthy foreign tourists is more complicated than you actually understand?


And I’m glad you’re so concerned about human trafficking, but there will be no humans at all if we don’t do something about climate change. Reliance on fossil fuels and industrialized farming is the real problem, and that's what you should be outraged by. You don’t know what to care about. I know what to care about.

The Internet launders outrage and returns it to us as validation, in the form of likes and stars and hearts. The greatest return comes from a strong and superior point of view, on high moral ground. And there is, fortunately and unfortunately, always higher moral ground. Even when a dentist kills an adorable lion, and everyone is upset about it, there’s better outrage ground to be won. The most widely accepted hierarchy of outrage seems to be: Single animal injured < single animal killed < multiple animals killed < systematic killing of animals < systematic oppression/torture of people < systematic killing of humans < end of all life due to uninhabitable planet.
..."

 

[Buckster]

Sometimes it just takes one otherwise obscure incident to be the CATalyst that suddenly gets everyone's attention to a bigger problem.

(Sorry - couldn't resist. )

 

[table1349]

You wait, within 6 months there will be a book out with a title somewhere along the lines of "The Politics of Cecil"

Interesting thoughts by a writer in our daily paper.
Questions about lion s death public s reaction to it

Some of us marvel at the lack of any sense of proportion.

Yes, I know people who lack a sense of proportion, and I don't think there is any easy fix.

At least not a legal socially acceptable fix anyway. Personally I would vote for the Click & Clack method................A good Dope Slap.

 

[table1349]

Sometimes it just takes one otherwise obscure incident to be the CATalyst that suddenly gets everyone's attention to a bigger problem.

(Sorry - couldn't resist. )

See Above reply.......Report at 9:00 a.m. for your dope slap.

 

[AlanKlein]

This is what real poaching is about in Zimbabwe: Where's the outrage? This lion issue is all about feeling good; feeling superior. And then getting back to the Bachlorette.
Poachers in Zimbabwe poison 87 elephants for ivory official says - CNN.com 87 elephants poisoned.
Poachers kill 300 Zimbabwe elephants with cyanide - Telegraph 300 elephants poisoned.

 

[AlanKlein]

And this all took place in the same Hwange National Park, where the lion lived.

 

[Buckster]

This is what real poaching is about in Zimbabwe: Where's the outrage? This lion issue is all about feeling good; feeling superior. And then getting back to the Bachlorette.
Poachers in Zimbabwe poison 87 elephants for ivory official says - CNN.com 87 elephants poisoned.
Poachers kill 300 Zimbabwe elephants with cyanide - Telegraph 300 elephants poisoned.

Interesting how this perfectly ties into the post Lenore made here:

Nature Lovers Sign the Petition Page 6 Photography Forum

 

[pixmedic]

out here in Central Florida the Cecil story is getting 10 times the media coverage as the 4 marines and one sailor killed in Chattanooga did.