ARMCHAIR MORALISTS UNITE! Yes, Peoples’ Lives Are More Important Than Lions’
An “armchair moralist.” That’s what I was called yesterday for daring to wonder the following, aloud:
It’s great that there is collective outrage and calls for the death of some dumbass that went on a lion hunt in another country. Where is that same outrage when your tax dollars are funding an organization that harvests the body parts of aborted babies?
If questioning the outrage at the Cecil the Lion story makes me an armchair moralist, I will wear that badge proudly. I just settled into my comfy chair; you might want to stop reading now.
Naming a wild animal doesn’t make it a pet. This isn’t a Disney movie, folks. Had Cecil been hungry he’d have eaten you. And do you know why he would have eaten you? Because he’s a carnivore, not a lovable scamp ready to snuggle and cuddle after a day of napping and playing with his catnip toy. Cecil was in the wild. He wasn’t in a zoo, protected by concrete and bars. He wasn’t even behind a fence. Cecil roamed the largest park in Zimbabwe, the 5,656 square mile Hwange National Park.
In Zimbabwe you can legally hunt elephant, zebra, civet, baboon, jackal, hippo, kudu, crocodile, and, yes, even lion. Trophy hunting brings in much needed revenue. Hunts also provide locals with much desired and appreciated meat. Ever wonder where that steak comes from that you’re eating? It’s a readily available source of protein here. The animals hunted in Africa are a readily available source of protein there.
It’s easy to pretend these animals only exist in zoos or wildlife refuges. The truth is, that elephant you oogle at the zoo doesn’t belong there. That lion you see behind the glass wall? The one some zoo named and sells stuffed likenesses of? He’d rather be in his home country, tearing delicious and freshly caught cheetah meat off the bone.
“What does this have to do with abortion,” you ask? “Can’t I be outraged at both,” you wonder? The question you should be asking yourselves is, are you? Did Mia Farrow post Cecile Richards’ address on Twitter? Did Richards have to go into hiding, in fear of her life because some has-been twit decided her life wasn’t worth respecting? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. If Mia Farrow and liberals like her support an organization that sells aborted baby livers to the highest bidder, why on earth would they care if Walter Palmer lives or dies?
According to reports, a lion garnered more media attention in one day than the Planned Parenthood videos had in two weeks. The mainstream outlets wouldn’t even touch the story for more than 24 hours. Something so horrific, so unconscionable and the media ignores it. Don’t you wonder why? Jimmy Kimmel can blather on about a dead lion; something regularly and legally hunted in Africa, but makes no mention of murdered children’s body parts being sold? And you wonder why I had the audacity to question that?
Have you lost your damn mind?
This isn’t about being a moralist. This isn’t even about being right. It’s about priorities and how far off- kilter they seem to be in this country. I can, without apology, say that the life of a child is more important to me than the life of a lion.
Can you?
Image: https://openreflections.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/new-visions-for-the-book-part-i/
