Siegfried, the Tiger, and the Murders in Afghanistan
I'm sure you remember the story of Roy Horn, the Las Vegas illusionist mauled on stage by Montecore, an exquisitely beautiful seven-year-old white tiger with whom he thought he had a trusting and affectionate relationship. It was an awful story. Of course many made an obvious observation: Animals do what animals do. Tigers have instincts and a fixed nature. It would have been ridiculous to call the tiger a "savage" or a "barbarian."
To those in the media who are suggesting, apparently in all seriousness, that Terry Jones caused the deaths of seven UN employees in Afghanistan by burning a copy of the Koran, I'll just note that the only way that argument works is by means of a suppressed premise. The premise is that the killers had no moral agency--in other words, that they were, literally, animals.
Me, I'll stick with "savages" and "barbarians."
....
Correction: Thanks to our member Pious Agnostic, who pointed out that Roy Horn, not his partner Siegfried Fischbacher, was mauled.
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Re: Siegfried, the Tiger, and the Murders in Afghanistan
Pious Agnostic: Great points, all.
I hate to be "that guy" but just a clarification: "Siegfried & Roy" are in fact two people, Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn.
It was Roy mauled in 2003 in a horrifying incident, and yes, the tiger was just being a tiger. Very sad. · Apr 2 at 5:39pm
You're not "that guy"--I really appreciate it when people correct me about stuff like this, actually.
Jul '10
Re: Siegfried, the Tiger, and the Murders in Afghanistan
Anyone who has ever experienced combat knows that there are a certain percentage of human beings who will fight and even kill if pushed to an extreme, and that there are certain percentage who merely need the license to act in that manner. Fortunately, the latter group are a small minority, but they do, on occasion, find their way into the media, witness My Lai, Colombine, and other rare but highly publicized events. Savages have always existed among us. They serve their Darwinian function or they would have been eliminated from the gene pool long ago. They also make up a major portion of the players in apocalyptic literature and theater as the major tormentors of the protagonists. They are not, by any definition, the true representatives of any race or nation of people. We forget that when we talk of our enemies or they talk of us. The savages among us do not define us.
Edited on Apr 3, 2011 at 10:23amMar '11
Re: Siegfried, the Tiger, and the Murders in Afghanistan
Your argument about the unstated assuptions of the liberal media is interesting.
Why do they take islamists' word when they blame Terry Jones for their violence but assume it's just rhetoric when they chant 'Death to America'?
The time lapse alone proves there was no real connection between the two events and the 'outrage' was manufactured.
The islamists know what the liberal media want to hear but, if they wanted to, they could whip up an angry mob to avenge the loss of el-Andalus.