Can I just say, I’m rather annoyed with people and this
Cecil the Lion thing.
I’m not irritated for reasons you might think. I’m not upset because people are outraged
over his killing; I am too. I’m upset because
people who aren’t outraged somehow feel the need to sanctimoniously belittle
those who are. “Oh, you give a shit
about a lion, but not the children dying in Africa.” Um, go to hell. Yeah, I care about that too. Why can’t I give a shit about both? How
does me caring about Cecil make me care less about children starving?
Who the hell is anyone to tell me that something I care
about isn’t worthy, simply because he doesn’t find it significant or thinks
there is something more important to care about? “Americans
can care about a lion but not….” Give it
a rest already. Don’t tell me what to
care about. Here’s an idea - educate me
about your cause, without disparaging someone else’s. That’s a good place to start. But telling me that I have to care about your
beliefs simply because, well, I care about a stupid ol’ lion is going to get you
a face palm. And if you’re planning on trying to educate me
– have facts, not propaganda. I like to
think I’m a reasonable and considerate person; if you come at me with
thoughtful, factual information, I’ll listen.
It doesn’t guarantee that I’m going to agree, but I’ll try to see your
point of view. If you’re simply going to
spew out vitriolic half-truths and exaggerations at me, you’ll be lucky if you
get my zoned-out look. That means I’m
not going to engage you because I realize that talking with you is a waste of
my time; you’ve drank the proverbial Kool-Aid.
If you’re not lucky, you’re going to get an earful from me about why you’re
an idiot. These days, I often opt for the former. It makes my head hurt less and keeps my blood
pressure down.
To sum up; I can care that a lion was killed for its head
and hide but its carcass was left to rot and still care about starving
children, Vladimir Putin’s policies, law enforcement safety, animal abuse,
elderly abuse, the state of education in this country, curing cancer, curing
MS, national security, and a plethora of other things. I can also care about Cecil being slaughtered
and
not give two hoots about your cause. I’m
talented like that. You can choose to
care (or not) about Vlad’s policies and whatever else you deem important. Me giving a damn about a lion shouldn’t change
that.
