Baited

As baited as Cecil

Putting another minnow on the hook, the media question this morning: “What makes rich men want to hunt beautiful animals?” Continuing to play yet another media-managed stampede and we are so obtuse as always to bite. All well and good, moral outrage that a lion with a name making it human was baited from its sanctuary to be shot and this is not the hunter’s first brush with the law and his hunting associations. But the question is not the question. Before an American is returned to morally indignant and self-righteous Zimbabwe to “stand trial” and be imprisoned, the government of Zimbabwe ought be held accountable for decades of incompetence, despotism and ruination.  Our government doesn’t have the guts to take that on. Instead, from top to bottom, U.S. government officials will be working the crowd by playing Superman to hunt him down and extradite him. Unless he can be shot while running for the woods.

Media puppets, Americans need a sense of perspective, priority and balance about moral outrage. There are hungry children, children without shelter, children without medical care, entrenched unescapable poverty; and politicians and ordinary Americans who don’t give a good gardenia. The public is a ship of fools, puppets controlled by media who make a living of stirring this outrage and that. Perspective. Comes to mind Hagrid sobbing over a dead spider as Filch mutters, For the love of God, man, get a grip.

Success will be if the media can play this frenzy out to another windfall and the government of Zimbabwe can turn attention away from their own wickedness and lynch someone else, especially if it happens to an obscenely rich American big game hunter.

The question is why we are so easily baited, like shooting fish in a barrel.