9 years ago
14
Shut up about Cecil the Lion, please
The outrage over Cecil's death is absurd when you think of the other, bigger problems which people are happy to ignore
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk
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First of all, there is not a limited supply of tragedy power that this Lion thing is stealing from other tragedies.
Secondly, this issue is one that's comparatively simple to address compared to the other issues raised in the article. Animal rights abuses, the culture of labor rights abuses in certain very powerful countries and companies, materialism, environmental degradation, I don't know how we're going to fix any of these things as they are massive issues with powerful entrenched interests dedicated to maintaining the status-quo. With the Cecil the Lion thing, and by extension the bigger problem of illegal poaching and threatened species, is an issue much easier for everyday folks like us to affect major policy changes.
Lastly, it's not up to you to decide what other people's interests and causes should be. Yes, this lion thing is minute compared to the challenges facing our planet and our species. But if this helps to open some people up to larger issues, even in a small way, I'm ok with that. And you should be too.
Edit: one more thing. I hope everyone can appreciate the the innate humor of armchair moralists moralizing other armchair moralists. When the hell did cynicism become so fashionable?
I'm always boggled by the argument that we shouldn't focus on this, because we should focus on that! As if talking about one issue somehow diminishes the awareness that can be raised towards other issues. I see the same behavior when video game companies release a new website or new skins or other cosmetic changes. People scream: "Why are you releasing new art when this bug still exists??" As if the art department has any impact at all on the programmers working to fix bugs.
The dichotomies that people force upon themselves are almost always troubling. My answer is always the same
Right! I can see a very clear course of action, some of which I can participate in, to deter similar senseless trophy killings.
1. Remove the "ego incentive". Instead of the normal pat on the back from his buddies, he's getting a big "f*ck you, this is NOT okay" from the world, his countrymen, and his neighbors.
2. Remove his ability to fund these excursions. By making his patients aware that THEY are ultimately funding his bad behavior, he can be striped of his source of income.
3. Somewhat out of my influence: hope for legal action/extradition.
Everyone, IN THIS MOMENT, focusing on this single outrage, can make such an example of this guy, that others will hesitate to follow. Further, once people see that focused effort can lead to a desired result, they will be more willing to repeat that effort in the future.
I've been AFK all day so sorry I'm just now getting to these. For whatever it's worth, I more or less posted this because it's a discussion-provoking article, or at least I thought it was. Not saying people shouldn't be mad (although admittedly I am a little sick of hearing about it).
No worries. I upvoted your post because its definitely something worth discussing, especially because I disagreed with it! Don't be afraid to rock the boat, this isn't Reddit!
Sayeth the Torygraph.
i know right? especially when they've been pushing to bring back fucking fox hunting. jeebus.
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This was easily the most sickening news I've heard in years. There are a lot of people trying to keep endangered species alive, and probably nobody in their right mind think that it's not an issue to hunt them extinct. Still, thousands of people who know Cecil, study what it does, and root for the survival of Cecil and his cubs, have to watch how one rich person from another side of the world decides to lure it out of the protection zone and kill it in needlessly cruel way. Being proud while doing it, and describing it as a "beloved hobby".
Complete disregard of any suffering, just so one person can hunt endangered species before they go extinct, like the planet is their private Pokemon game.
So, sorry to anyone who feels too inconvenienced about seeing too much news about this, and go fuck yourself.