One day for about an hour, I sat down and really dove into all of the articles that were written on Cecil the lion’s death. Walter J. Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, was said to have spent $50,000 to hunt game in Zimbabwe. Not only did he hunt game, but supposedly he hunted 'the' game of that area. Reportedly Palmer and his hunting espionage lured Cecil out of the reservation with bait so that they could shoot him down with a bow and arrow. They waited 40 hours before actually killing the lion with a rifle. They then proceeded to behead him and skin his fur.
Since then, there’s been quite the uproar about Palmer and what a travesty this has been. Picketers are posted outside of his practice, refusing to go to him any longer and hoping for justice.
In response, there was another article written by "The New York Times" titled "We Don't Cry For Lions" by Goodwell Nzou. He wrote about how in his village in Zimbabwe, lions are not nearly as sacred as Americans think they are. Growing up, his village lived with a constant fear of lions. According to the article, a 14-year-old boy was mauled and killed by a lion while he was sleeping outside to protect his family’s crops.
He goes on to talk about how we shouldn’t be mistaken. Animals are still sacred and each of their clans has a claimed animal that is sacred to them. Lions are animals that do more harm than they do good for Zimbabweans. Nzou brings up a point I was wondering myself. “We Zimbabweans are left shaking our heads, wondering why Americans care more about African animals than about African people.”
I’ve always noticed that many people are more intrigued by incidents that happen with animals than they do with humans. I can’t speak for anyone else, but sometimes I get more upset in movies when animals die over humans. Why is it that some people think one way or another about that?
I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s great if you express something you’re passionate about, but is this an event that really needs this much attention? Are there other things we should be focusing on? There are people and other animals dying everyday all over the world for unjust reasons, but we don’t see it getting the same kind of hype.
Don't get me wrong; I’m an animal lover. I don’t agree with what Palmer did at all and I find it repulsive. But if we put this much passion into other issues, we could make real progress. I think it’s good that Cecil got attention, but what is really being done that’s going to make a difference about the situation? Are other crooked hunters going to see this and think to themselves, “Man, I probably shouldn’t do that?”
Passions are important, but try to put your energy into making a difference in what you’re worried about. Check yourself when you decide to share articles about phenomenons, because there’s more you can do. Read articles that contradict all the hype, such as Nzou’s article. Not everything is always as the media portrays it to be.
