Where do you stand on the killing of Cecil the Lion?

[Illuminati Blood Drinker]

I'm looking at my list of "places where bullsh**t racist police practices have gone ignored" and nope, "social media" isn't on there, and I really doubt it's going to get on there because some asshole killed a lion.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

and I'm horrified at how the social media lynch mob has descended upon this fellow

Yeah, clearly he's the real victim here.

When you're done beating up that strawman, feel free to address my point.

What is your point? Why shouldn't the "social media lynch mob" descend on him? Even if you accept his version of the facts as 100% true, he's still pretty terrible, and that's something I'd want to know about my dentist before I paid him boatloads of money.

I mean this guy is obviously a worthless sack of crap, and I don't feel an immense amount of pity from him; but it is always disturbing how fast the Internet can track down and obliterate somebody's life. It's no justice how I see fit.

And yes, animal rights is an issue I find important - I value the right of sentient life; but obviously it inspires a lot of hypocrisy. Cecil the lion probably had a better life than the untold numbers of cattle, sheep, poultry and swine slaughtered for their meat and hides every day; but it's easier to focus on obvious villains like this wankstain rather than comprehend that all of us are complicit in an exploitative system.

[DC Al Fine]

and I'm horrified at how the social media lynch mob has descended upon this fellow

Yeah, clearly he's the real victim here.

When you're done beating up that strawman, feel free to address my point.

What is your point? Why shouldn't the "social media lynch mob" descend on him? Even if you accept his version of the facts as 100% true, he's still pretty terrible, and that's something I'd want to know about my dentist before I paid him boatloads of money.

I mean this guy is obviously a worthless sack of crap, and I don't feel an immense amount of pity from him; but it is always disturbing how fast the Internet can track down and obliterate somebody's life. It's no justice how I see fit.

This.

Where is the justice in some random guy having his livelihood destroyed because his bad action happened to go viral?

[SteveRogers]

and I'm horrified at how the social media lynch mob has descended upon this fellow

Yeah, clearly he's the real victim here.

When you're done beating up that strawman, feel free to address my point.

What is your point? Why shouldn't the "social media lynch mob" descend on him? Even if you accept his version of the facts as 100% true, he's still pretty terrible, and that's something I'd want to know about my dentist before I paid him boatloads of money.

I mean this guy is obviously a worthless sack of crap, and I don't feel an immense amount of pity from him; but it is always disturbing how fast the Internet can track down and obliterate somebody's life. It's no justice how I see fit.

This.

Where is the justice in some random guy having his livelihood destroyed because his bad action happened to go viral?

When your acts are bad enough, your livelihood is supposed to be put in jeopardy. That's why we make things crimes.

[Joe Republic]

I guess I'm confused why this went more viral and with more outrage than the little blonde bitch who took a grinning selfie with the giraffe she just killed.  I mean who the f[Inks] kills a giraffe for 'sport'?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

As an aside, let me point out that most of the posters here live in areas where the apex predators have been eliminated and would be opposed to their reintroduction. Despite being native to the Carolinas, I can't see either the wolf or the panther ever being anything but sport team mascots here.

Particularly poor strawman.

Especially since it wasn't even a strawman, but an aside.  I wasn't offering it as any sort of defense of his actions.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I mean, if he ends up getting beaten up or killed as a result of all this, yes, he kind of would be, wouldn't he?

Sure, but he won't.

Besides, weren't you the one who's in favor of lynch mobs? Even if you don't want him murdered for this, maybe you want him murdered for being a capitalist oppressor, no?

[The Free North]

I appreciate the intrinsic value of biodiversity and think hunting for sport should be illegal.

[dead0man]

I appreciate the intrinsic value of biodiversity and think hunting for sport should be illegal.

Saving Lions by Killing Them - by Tanzania’s highest-ranking wildlife official via the NY Times

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[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I find it sad that the lion died. He could have lived to devour all the MSNBC reporters who find this story more relevant than the Planned Parenthood scandal.

[Mechaman]

One thing is abundantly clear here:

This thread so far has been horrible and needs to die.  In a fire preferably.

[Ebowed]

I stand on whatever general principle there is to the effect that, if you are overly concerned about this kind of thing, that is clear indication that you have things very good in your life. 

So which issues are you concerned about, rich boy?

[ingemann]

As an aside, let me point out that most of the posters here live in areas where the apex predators have been eliminated and would be opposed to their reintroduction. Despite being native to the Carolinas, I can't see either the wolf or the panther ever being anything but sport team mascots here.

That argument would be better if the good doctor lived in Africa and wasn't some rich douchebag paying a fortune to travel halfway around the world and wound a animal (at the very least use guns, when you kill a animal that size0.)

I don't have a problem with people killing even harmless or cute animals. But I do have a problem when people pay a fortune for killing a animal, they don't check and see whether it's a legal hunt.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

As an aside, let me point out that most of the posters here live in areas where the apex predators have been eliminated and would be opposed to their reintroduction. Despite being native to the Carolinas, I can't see either the wolf or the panther ever being anything but sport team mascots here.

That argument would be better if the good doctor lived in Africa and wasn't some rich douchebag paying a fortune to travel halfway around the world and wound a animal (at the very least use guns, when you kill a animal that size0.)

I don't have a problem with people killing even harmless or cute animals. But I do have a problem when people pay a fortune for killing a animal, they don't check and see whether it's a legal hunt.

To repeat, it was an aside, not an argument defending or minimizing the guy's actions.  Why the heck do people think otherwise?

[Bigby]

Why am I supposed to care again? It is a shame that people care more about a lion being killed than the fact that African governments abuse the charity funds that are supposed to go to their citizens instead. Only 1% of Kenya's national budget can be accounted for? No coverage from the media. A lion in Africa dies? Nonstop news coverage.

[Proudconnh]

The whole thing has been blown out of proportion. It was one lion killed in Africa. I mean why can't people get this outraged about a more important issue that will have real impacts on a large number of human lives, instead of being a massive population of apathetic voters. If people payed more attention to policies and less on dead lions imagine how far we could go.

[PJ]

To all arguing "It was only one lion!" the incident is merely representative of a larger problem. Cecil's death spurred the usually terrible Zimbabwean government to ban hunting of several big game species.

and I'm horrified at how the social media lynch mob has descended upon this fellow

Yeah, clearly he's the real victim here.

I mean, if he ends up getting beaten up or killed as a result of all this, yes, he kind of would be, wouldn't he? Human lives obviously outweigh those of wild animals, unless you're one of the OUTRAGED PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET calling for blood right now. What's utterly f**ked about this whole episode is how quick people are to jump on the lynch mob bandwagon for an animal, but turn a blind eye as black men in this country keep getting killed by police, day after day.

How exactly are the two mutually exclusive? I'm not arguing in favor of the lynch mob mentality on social media, but outrage and disgust over the act of luring a threatened species out of protected wilderness and wounding and killing it over a period of two days is certainly understandable. Acts such as this ought to be prevented because it causes unjust suffering and death on the part of the animal all for pleasure; not because "humans and wild animals are equal" or whatever nonsense you think the animal rights movement is peddling. I'm not sure you've been paying attention to police brutality if you think social media has been ignoring police brutality. Ever heard of #BlackLivesMatter? Social media outrage has been directed at incidences of police brutality and racial profiling, as it should be. In fact, that outrage has been one of the leading factors in exposing police brutality and raising awareness of racial issues in recent years.

[tschandler]

I appreciate the intrinsic value of biodiversity and think hunting for sport should be illegal.

If you support biodiversity then regulated sport hunting is one of the best tools for it.   Trophy hunting is such an idiosyncratic term.  Everyone who hunts takes trophies.  That is the entire point of hunting, we've been doing it since Man has evolved.   I try to make sure every animal I kill is eaten by someone certainly.  But sometimes, I prefer the taste of Doe to Bucks.  If I shoot a trophy buck, then the food bank will get the donation after it comes back from the butcher. 

[Bojack Horseman]

Poaching is-and should be-illegal. I'm not against hunting, but I 100% support prohibition of and strict penalties for killing a member of an endangered species. You want to hunt deer, by all means, go for it. But there is a deer season for a reason, and there are stiff penalties for violating that law.

[ElectionsGuy]

I find it sad that the lion died. He could have lived to devour all the MSNBC reporters who find this story more relevant than the Planned Parenthood scandal.

Absolutely awesome post.

[Murica!]

I appreciate the intrinsic value of biodiversity and think hunting for sport should be illegal.

If you support biodiversity then regulated sport hunting is one of the best tools for it.   Trophy hunting is such an idiosyncratic term.  Everyone who hunts takes trophies.  That is the entire point of hunting, we've been doing it since Man has evolved.   I try to make sure every animal I kill is eaten by someone certainly.  But sometimes, I prefer the taste of Doe to Bucks.  If I shoot a trophy buck, then the food bank will get the donation after it comes back from the butcher. 

Hunting totally wasn't necessary for food

[Jacobtm]

Completely unimportant.

Worry about homicide in the U.S., or any other number of problems.

[SWE]

Completely unimportant.

Worry about homicide in the U.S., or any other number of problems.

People can't be concerned about multiple things?