I have revisited this in September, 2019, after splitting my multi-purpose blog into three. This blog about lions, prostitutes, empathy gone awry, and sheeple, definitely belongs here. “Everything else” meaning anything with a political or purposefully apolitical tinge, anything navel-gazing autobiographical, anything not horses or research. This particular piece got a bit of attention at the time, and then was forgotten. What is clear is that people haven’t changed at all. A drowning kitten with receive and outpouring of Internet support (emotional and monetary) while thousands of people dying of hunger or fleeing persecution will be at best ignored and at worst dehumanized and labeled enemies of the nation.
Cecil the Lion
By now everyone has heard of Cecil the Lion. (That’s some wikipage!) Today I read this piece in the New York Times. Cecil was protected, named, and old. The hunter, a dentist from Minnesota who likes to hunt and who has become the victim of a virulent cyber-bullying campaign, because yes, that’s what it has felt like to me from the beginning. Oh, he might be an unappetizing person (unless you’re a vengeful lion), not adverse to tipping the scales in his favor when it comes to hunting truly wild animals…
But did was he deserving of the mass outrage, the scandalized internet memes and righteous pointing of fingers? The outright persecution? Is he any worse than the hundreds of people who dump their pets when they get past puppyhood or let horses starve in their backyard? Than the many more hundreds who take advantage of other people, abusing partners and children, stealing, threatening, and yes killing?
Added 3 July 2016, apropos of Cecil the Lion: Angry Tweets won’t Help African Lions
Empathy gone awry
Walter Palmer gets nearly twice as many google search results as Dylann Roof. I hope that this is in part because Cecil’s death is more recent than the deaths of the nine people Roof killed. I suppose it is some consolation that Dylann Roof has a wiki page and Walter Palmer does not.
Cecil the lion gets more results than the other two put together. He’s even got his own Facebook page.
[Maybe it’s because he’s a cat. Cats do seem to have taken over the internet, and that’s fine (I myself own–or am owned by–four cats). But when you see something like Lil Bub–thank you Daily Beast piece for alerting me–you begin to wonder. A kitten born with genetic disorders such that she requires constant care and medication just to stay alive is cared for, at great expense, when thousands of healthy animals are put down in shelters. This makes no sense. Truly empathy gone awry. And yet thousands of people have followed the story of that kitten while–in some cases at least–turning a blind eye to human suffering]
How easily the internet turns people into sheep, bystanders, and bullies.
I posted “In Zimbabwe We Don’t Cry for Lions” (also linked above) on Facebook today. A friend commented that (s)he’d been afraid to post it for fear of being “attacked.” The truth is, when you post anything the least bit political on Facebook, you are opening yourself up to attack.
In my case, much of what I post it too conservative for my liberal friends and too liberal for my conservative friends. I cannot win. I don’t mind–I like a good argument discussion. And I have put all my blindly vehement “friends” on my restricted list. I wont tolerate lies, name-calling, or other nastiness on my wall. (It’s not you’re opinion, you’re just wrong –from my last post.) So disagreement is good, as long as it happens in a civilized manner. What’s not good is that people hesitate to post something for fear of persecution or (more likely) because they just don’t want to have to read all the unthinking, knee-jerk reactions. People seem so quick to jump on the latest cyber-bandwagon, whatever it is. And especially if it validates their existing prejudices.
We were all born with sheeple tendencies that can be manipulated.
When I was in kindergarten, a particularly ignorant teacher’s aid did something that felt twisted and wrong at the time. I now know it was abusive. One of the class troublemakers had done something wrong (I don’t recall what it was). She made us stand in a circle around him, hold hands, and chant “Shame, shame on ________.” (his last name loosely rhymed with shame)
Cecil the lion feels a bit like that… And even more like something that happened when I was a junior counselor (in 8th grade) at 4H camp. One of the senior counselors did something (again, the exact nature of the crime has escaped my memory). So we all immediately decided he was practically Evil. We hated him, ostracized him, wrote letters to the Authorities about him… all on what was probably flimsy evidence, consisting primarily of hearsay. Oh I am sure he did something, but I doubt it was worthy of ostracism and hatred. Yet somehow, drunk with righteousness, we banded together against him.
In defense of hunting
Early on in the Cecil scandal (before it became and absolute faux pas to speak in favor of hunting anything, much less lions), I listened to an interview on NPR (Here and Now) in which a hunter (director of Dallas Safari Club) defended the killing of Cecil, and hunting in general. A lot of what he has said has since been cast in doubt (e.g., the legality of the hunt), but not all of what he said was foolish. That Cecil was older by far than he would have been in the (human-free) wild is undeniable.
Hunting itself is not evil incarnate. I wouldn’t want to have to kill my lunch, but I would if I had to, and I love venison… deer hunting is necessary in many places, to avoid overpopulation. And yet people froth at the mouth at the idea of The 650-acre lodge owned by Cecil the lion’s killer which is covered with hunting shacks so he can slay deer in his own back yard. So it’s cheating… but it’s hardly a crime. A sign of a successful reinstatement of native populations is the need to cull the herds (National Geographic piece on the pros and cons). With domesticated animals, a good breeder will only breed what she can sell to responsible homes. You cannot do that with wild herds.
Of course, in Africa may species are endangered due to the varied predations of humankind. Lions need to be protected. Hence the warm fuzzy feeling of apolitical righteousness that swept the Internet over Cecil. After all, there are fewer political nuances to objecting to the killing of a protected lion with a name than there are to providing affordable antiviral drugs to nameless hordes of African people.
Empathy gone awry
What about people? Life expectancy in Zimbabwe? 57. Median age? 20. 38% 14 and under. Most die early, of AIDS. HIV/AIDS prevalence? 15%, and fifth worst, after Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, and Namibia. (Source) The increase in prostitution due to the poor economy only worsens the matter (Zimbabwe: Economic Decline Drives Single Mums to Sex Work). Zimbabwe is a recognized center for human trafficking as well. Because prostitution is illegal, women could hardly turn to the police for help. Until this May, standing on a corner was grounds for police harassment and arrest. Although prostitution is still illegal, the fact that police need more reasons to arrest women is an advance (A Landmark Ruling).
On prostitution
On the way to work last week, I listened to part of an On Point discussion about What Decriminalizing Sex Work Would Mean. Last week, Amnesty International voted to support the decriminalization of all aspects of consensual sex trade. The On Point discussion featured someone who violently disapproved, and someone who very softly approved (she was reluctant to state, openly, that yes, decriminalization is a good idea). There were four guests, but I only caught two. The first said that all prostitution was demeaning to women. (I did not hear her acknowledge that men can also be prostitutes); every single act was an act of violence. The second only pointed out that legalization would facilitate the access to medical care, police protection, etc. This is certainly the case (Amnesty International is right to take a stand on sex work).
I am in favor of decriminalizing prostitution. Decriminalization will, at the very least, help prostitutes get access to health care and make it easier for them to seek redress in criminal cases. I do not believe that every single transaction is an act of violence (though many may be). I do not believe that every prostitute has been forced into that choice out of desperation or lack of education (though most may have been so obligated).
The problem, of course, lies in the ties between prostitution and practices that should be illegal, such as human trafficking and slavery.
Per se, prostitution is not slavery.
This is slavery: ISIS enshrines a theology of rape. An excellent piece depicting a horrific practice, although I do not like the headline. “Enshrine” is definitely not the appropriate verb. (This is slightly off topic, but I’ve just finished reading that article and find it too awful to address directly yet deserving of mention and sharing.)
I do not like slippery slope arguments. Just as smoking pot does not turn you into a heroin addict nor a drink before 5pm make you an alcoholic (and much less does sex education lead to orgies and teenage pregnancies), legalizing prostitution will not increase child trafficking or tempt “good girls” (and boys) into a life of sin.
One may freely choose to sell one’s body. The universally legal form of that has been called marriage for centuries.
11 minutos
But there is always a price. For an interesting treatment of the topic, read Paulo Coelho’s Eleven Minutes. I read it in Spanish, years ago when it was first released. Discussions of prostitution always remind me of that book (and of Fifty Shades of Grey, which I’ve never read–by all accounts, it sounds unappetizing–but I’ve seen enough reviews to know what it’s about). Eleven Minutes is not Coelho’s best book, but it’s certainly thought provoking.
This has turned into rather a ramble, but I hope it will also be a provoking ramble. If anyone disagrees, or has a point to make, or would like to suggest other reading material, please do so in the comments…
Was the outrage over Cecil the lion justified? Why were we so outraged? Why are we less outraged about the Zimbabwean women forced into prostitution? (those truly forced, and those who had few choices left) Should prostitution be legalized? & etc.