Wow...I had no intentions on jumping into this fiasco...Dead tired from work, and just not ready to offend some of the best friends I have, with my piddly a$$ed opinion..but....guess I must have slipped, because here I am.
First off, let me state, I am NOT against hunting. It is an age old human quest to hunt and kill for sustenance. I have friends who do indeed put trophy heads on their walls. Hey, that's their thing, certainly not mine, but, some folks like Golden showers, and swallowing maggots, so..each to their own.
Yes, there is a whole whack of bad sh*t happening all over the world, but, again...what one considers bad, others seem to think is fine and dandy. Silly people getting offended over the killing of a lion. WELL!!! Maybe folks should simply shut up about everything that rubs them the wrong way? Maybe the whole world should accept things that happen, and go with the flow, even if it means floating down Sh*t river on a fart bubble? They can hold their noses, right? Bear with the references to crap, because I am in a pretty crappy mood, and it kind of rubs off on my writing.
Folks have opinions, and..they have the right to them, and..eventually those who find these opinions offensive, will be very happy, because..if things continue there will be laws to stop us from voicing our feelings, those laws are multiplying as I write, and, pretty soon, all opinions will be placed under government control, so...let the people have their say, while they can. If we were all the same, life would be pretty freaking boring. And..to speak as if the opinion that is not the same as yours , is wrong, you have a far higher opinion of yourself, than I do. My opinions are just that, mine, and I enjoy a good debate when I feel strongly on matters, I am more than happy to argue to attempt to prove my point. If someone disagrees I am open to listen to their reasons, and I will attempt to counter with my facts. That is why we don't live in a dictatorship (well not on paper, anyway), and majority still rules.
So, first off, let me state, I am totally with those folks who are pi$$ed off at Walter Palmer. Hey, he made his choices, and if he loses his dental clinic, and very soon wishes he had not spent the 50,000. to have the ability to mount the head of a lion on his wall..lesson learned, the hard way. Happens to all of us at some point.
He chose to travel to a completely different country with a far difference government than that of the U.S.A. He not only chose to travel, he went to hunt. He claims he was not aware this lion was a park favourite. Hellooooooo..was he not there when the baiting was done, was he not aware the park was right there? Come on...He wanted a lion, and he paid 50,000. He wasn't going home without this head, and he was more than likely fine with whatever it took to get it. To bait an animal, and then..for crying out loud to blind it with lights..that is NOT hunting!!! So, for those who feel strongly about the hunt, if you truly are hunters, trophy or not, to "pitlamp" an animal is disgraceful.
Here is my feeling on things. Let's just say, Farmer John has 200 head of cattle behind his fence. His pasture is in the middle of no where, and...he has missed a great big hole in his fence. Hey the cows are munching away behind the fence, but..Starvin Marvin has a hankering for a juicy beef steak, so..he lures one of the cows out of that hole in the fence, shoots it, slices the hindquarter off, throws it in his pickup, and drives away. Is that right? Should Farmer John keep quiet, he had a hole in his fence, that's his fault, right?
The lion belonged in the park, he was in the park, until Mr. Palmer and his guides baited him off. Whether the lion was 13 year old Cecil, or just 2 year old Chuck..doesn't matter. What they did was wrong, to lure an animal, no matter what it is, away from it's home (hey..how about your pet dogs..some folks enjoy a nice chunk of puppy) blind it, and then act like you are in the Hunger Games, is just pathetic.
Hunting should always be a fair game, it takes wits and skill, survival of the fittest, not bait and blind. He wasn't starving, although perhaps with the down turn in his business, he might just be opening a tin of tender vittles at some point.
I have friends who have been involved in trophy hunting, guiding, etc. now, I will never make a call to book a hunt with them, I don't want Yogi's head hanging over my couch, but...I certainly hope that they don't go about trolling out of the local wildlife reserve to provide their clients with their prizes (pretty risky in Canada). I don't understand the pleasure to kill, simply for the thrill, but..as I said before, there are quite a few things that are not listed on my bucket list.
Yep, the world has a ton of nasty floating about in it, and folks do voice their opinions on a fair bit of the garbage. Cecil, he simply made an impact on some folks who were able to publicize his killing, and therefore it has popped up onto a whack of facebook pages. It has evoked various opinions, and...I for one, am glad that we can read them, and debate them, because...the time that those who feel opinions in matters like these are silly, is disappearing, and pretty soon, they won't have to read opinions, because they will not be allowed. If it is silly to make a great deal out of "just a 13 yr. old Lion", don't worry, when someone removes something that belongs to you, and disposes of it, likely most of the world won't give a damn, and....perhaps you might find that upsets you?
It is clear, some people have never had to fight for something they believed in. This week, it is Cecil... myself, well, everyone knows what I have been fighting for. There are plenty out there that feel I am stupid, I am selfish, I am not looking out for the greater good of the future. Hey, I believe in what I put out to the world, it is my opinion and....I think when we ignore issues, such as poor Cecil, we become complacent, and then we ignore some more, until nothing matters anymore, and then we will all worry about being baited and blinded..but it will be too late..no one is listening anymore!
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