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The Social-Media Mob Bags Another Trophy
I don’t hunt and — at the risk of losing my conservative bona fides — I also don’t own a firearm and have never pulled the trigger on anything more powerful than a pellet gun. Furthermore, I agree that a distinction can be drawn between hunting animal populations that pose a threat when their numbers get too great and hunting rare or exotic animals purely for sport.
But even with no vested interest in the topic, I found myself rushing to the defense of Cecil the Lion’s “murderer,” Dr. Walter Palmer, a Minnesota dentist. Not because I agree with what he did, but because I disagree with what happened to him as a result of the story going viral.
For those of you who missed it, the short version is that Palmer enjoys big-game trophy hunting and paid more than $50,000 for what he believed to be a legal and properly-permitted expedition in Africa. As it turned out, there is significant doubt about whether Palmer and his guides acted legally, having allegedly lured Cecil off of a protected preserve in order to hunt him.
The bone of contention for critics actually isn’t the legality, but the death of a beautiful animal at the hands of an evil hunter. I saw comment after comment on all forms of social media calling for karmic justice to befall Palmer, with many going as far as to encourage others to do whatever they could to shut his business down.
The Yelp! page for his dental practice was flooded by terrible reviews based on his killing of this lion. Multiple articles from the heroes at Gawker Media and a few other lefty sites openly cheered the pitchfork-and-torch routine. Reports now indicate that his business is on hold (and the future of his practice is in doubt) and that Palmer has gone into hiding.
Several of the folks I saw commenting today openly rooted for Palmer’s death, while one person — who is actually a friend of mine — literally said that Palmer should be raped for killing this animal.
Raped.
Naturally, I told my friend that this was not only insane, but also that anyone who thinks someone should lose his business or his life for trophy hunting is more barbaric than trophy hunters are. Although my friend and I remain so, most of the people with whom I tried to engage — civilly and thoughtfully — were content to name-call and block when confronted with even a hint of an idea that didn’t mesh with their own view on the topic.
Again, I think being anti-trophy-hunting is an entirely reasonable position to take. However, the point where I jump off that train is when the anti-hunting folks think that someone who engages in this activity should not be able to make a living anymore, to say nothing of those who think he should be physically harmed.
In our fits of vengeance, we are far too quick to destroy people we’ve never met because they offend our sensibilities. Here, Palmer did something that many people find objectionable, but we’ve certainly seen similar things done to other folks who have done far less. The goal for most isn’t really “justice” in a traditional sense. Rather, despite their high-minded moralizing, they actually seek the brief, primitive euphoria of power coupled with feelings of superiority.
No regard is given to the life that may have been destroyed by these actions. And why should there be, after all? What is the life of this man compared to the life of a beautiful animal? Never mind that few even knew this animal existed before today. And never mind as well that many, many people get far more agitated over the death of a single lion than they do over — I don’t know, let me pull one example at random — the collection and sale of fetal body parts.
Thus, for the millionth time during the era of social media, the edges of what we might call “humanity” look just a bit more frayed tonight, and I am left to stick up for someone with whom I wouldn’t normally side.
Why? Because, even if I might otherwise oppose to trophy hunting, I’m much more strongly opposed to social-media mobs getting to decide who has the right to exist without fear of losing his job… or more.
Published in General
I agree with you. I’ve known several people in recent years who go on safari and don’t actually try to kill anything, but they enjoy the trip.
like.
Social media mob mentality is nothing new. There are countless examples how this has impacted people.
Remember Justine Sacco? She didn’t have a job by the time her plane landed and it has since ruined her life.
https://twitter.com/JustineeSacco/status/414502620397449216
Seems to me these twits haven’t got a working brain cell.
I agree 100%. This is a terrible development in the world of social media, and I detest that this is who we’ve become.
What makes it even worse is that as little as a few hundred furiously-tweeting people can force the hand of employers or sponsors or other former allies. That’s not the case in today’s story, of course, as Palmer has garnered almost universal disdain from all corners.
But, in some cases, it really only takes a relatively small number of people to get someone fired, for example. I think we should all be a little wary of the disproportionate power of the trending topic.
Examples like these are probably just the tip of the iceberg. Public shaming via social media are campaigns not just targeting powerful companies or public figures, but really anyone who is PERCEIVED to have committed the crime of offending others.
I wonder if the doctor’s tormentors should be sent to re-indoctrination camp where their levels of self-esteem can be taken down a notch or two. (Didn’t somebody post information just recently about how bullies tend to have abnormally high levels of self-esteem?)
One byproduct of this new world is that I feel like old notions of justice through due process are slowly being replaced by a new dynamic: Something like an online harassment campaign (f/k/a “the prosecution”) versus a GoFundMe account (f/k/a “the defense”).
The tormentors ARE the re-indoctrination camp. They’re the left’s army to crush anyone who makes a flippant tweet or a miniscule $1,000 dollar donation to the wrong cause. Their two minutes hate is there to reinforce solidarity against the other.
Big game hunters are the sole reason there are lions and other big game animals in Africa. Now with the advent of Eco tourism there’s not the same need. Source is Peter Harhaway Capstick , professional African hunter.
I have dozens of big game hunting friends. I’m not one in general ( occ deer , lots of birds) but Ill defend their rights to the death. I do mean it. The anti hunting crowd are imbeciles.
Another thing these activists should realize. Big game hunters are armed, motivated, and don’t take threats lightly. Furthermore, the good dentists are in high demand so I’m doubting he’s gonna lose his business.
In a side issue to all of this, I’m being lectured by a few of my lefty friends about this being the “market” at work.
As with the pizza parlor that wouldn’t cater the (hypothetical!) gay wedding, I have to explain that threats and harassment forcing a business to close over safety concerns is no more “the market” than someone throwing a brick through a storefront window.
Most of these folks fail to grasp that market forces couldn’t shutter a business in 24 hours. Even if customers (or, here, patients) dropped to zero, it would take more than a day for the market to cause a business to fold.
I’ve seen so many cases like this over the years. One doctor (and I think a dentist, as I recall) on Cape Cod was being bothered by some Canadian geese on the golf course, and the doctor struck the geese with his golf club. This was years ago, but he ended up in trouble because of it (but I don’t know if there were criminal charges), and the press made a big deal out of it, and the publicity was very damaging. The doctor sued the local paper for ruining his practice, and he won the case, but the case took years, and he was never able to restore his practice.
Then there was the woman in the Midwest who abandoned some kittens in the woods, someone found out about it and reported it, so the woman was arrested and tried for animal cruelty. The judge sentenced her to spend a night by herself in the woods.
Then there was the ball player who was engaged running animal fighting (chickens?), and he actually went to jail and pretty much lost everything.
I understand the desire to stop cruelty to animals that is behind these laws. But we routinely put millions of animals to death every year in our animal shelters, slaughter houses, and research labs.
I guess I don’t see the distinctions others see between cows and lions, not to the point of prosecuting someone for killing a lion.
I do realize I’m missing something.
This reminds me of the reaction of some crazed animal rights types to the Texas Tech cheerleader-huntress Kendall Jones. I wrote a post about her here on Ricochet last year (can’t link because I’m on my iPad).
I remember some people on Facebook saying that she should have a forced hysterectomy. Horrible and disgusting.
I really don’t get hunting. Why hunt? We can just buy meat. Maybe wild meat is tastier…though I doubt people eat lion. On the other hand I figure it can’t hurt to eat its still warm and beating heart in order to gain its power. I do that to all my human victims even when they weren’t that powerful.
I think the way to handle this from the doctors perspective is to be really brash about it. Post a picture of the lion head. Maybe one of himself naked wrapped in its bloody hide, shooting a puppy. Really get into it. Maybe buy a ranch in Montana, fill it with booby traps and invite PETA freaks to come take you on. Then you can hunt the most dangerous game, naked, with a knife. Like God always intended.
I hate the pile-on mentality. I don’t even like it when the person at the bottom of the pile did something genuinely wrong. We should try to do justice, not use every opportunity to make a spectacle of our vengeful self-righteousness. It’s a variation of the beginning of King Lear where the king promises that the daughter who declares the most love for him will get the biggest share of the kingdom, except instead of declaring love, people try to top each other in their hatred. One often gets the sense that people like to kick a man just because they have a target they can get away with kicking.
It IS!!! But not the way they think.
Want to make an animal plentiful? Legalize ranching. No animal for which there is a legal market goes extinct. Their numbers climb. Rare animals in Africa have seen their numbers renewed once the countries legalized their growing, hunting, harvesting, etc.
Want to make an animal extinct? Pass laws to forbid deriving any benefit from the animal. Then there is no reason for people to want to keep them alive.
Please, she did a 1 month stint in Ethiopia to rehabilitate herself – then landed another gig at a PR company. 1 year later she was the recipient of several fawning interviews designed to further rehab her image.
She also let her twitter handle go to some uber socialist podcasting organization. You should see the things they do with her name now.
In other words, her life wasn’t ruined.
The lion was collared, part of a study and lured out of the preserve. That’s criminal. If the dentist was ignorant of this, he still shares some responsibility. If big game hunting in Africa is that sketchy, he’s a fool for taking the chance. What’s equally upsetting is that game hunter dentist wasn’t a good enough shot to kill the lion instantly. The poor creature was made to suffer for hours. If he can cough up $55,000 to go play Teddy Roosevelt, he’s got the funds to lawyer up. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for his bad judgment or poor marksmanship.
Or, as Rush Limbaugh would say, if you want to save a species, eat it.
The politicization of Yelp! and similar platforms really unsettles me. Yes, I realize it’s nothing new, but the speed at which a business can be destroyed by a bunch of social justice warriors from around the world who’ve read one article about one thing you did is just unsettling. I really hope Yelp! scrubs these reviews.
A name like Tom Garret and you’ve never fired a gun? You need to short that stuff out, time: now, or turn in your man card. And I ain’t playin’! Yes I am.
I know it’s not the point of the post, but I’ll just say this: I have no issue with hunting in general. But there is no way you’d ever find me hunting a lion. Not ever. They are just too awesome.
Here’s the weirdest, nuttiest, most morally obtuse bit of of the whole thing: there’s a petition with — supposedly — 300,000 signatures demanding justice for the lion… addressed to Robert Mugabe.
He’ll eventually apologize to the collective. Just like everyone else in this situation eventually apologizes to people to whom an apology isn’t even due. Like Trump’s lawyer with the rape remark. He made a factually incorrect statement about the state of the law regarding spousal rape. In doing so, he harmed no one except maybe himself in that he now looks like he’s a lawyer who doesn’t know the law. And yet he apologizes… To whom? Nevertheless, hunting merely for sport is a sign of a mental disorder in my opinion, and possibly even incipient psychopathy. So I’m not all broken up about the dentist specifically.
Safari hunting is never going to be socially acceptable anymore. Tough to defend.
Sometimes, during the two weeks I spend every summer helping OJ Simpson by looking for the real killer(s), I also continue my search for the guy who shot Bambi’s parents although he is probably in his 90s by now. I hate that guy.
This is precisely my concern. Let’s take it as a given in this instance that this is a “bad person.” But what about the many other scenarios where this sort of thing happens? Do we trust (1) the media to report entirely accurately on the alleged transgressions, and (2) do we trust the mob to be reasoned and judicious enough to mete out appropriate “punishment?”
For me, the answer to the first question is “No,” and the answer to the second is “Hell no!”
What a wonderful piece by Mr.Garrett. I won’t pretend to endorse hunting of this nature, and await some determination as to whether Palmer (as opposed to his guide) acted illegally. But anyone who doesn’t see the warped psychology of “the mob” is whistling past the proverbial graveyard. First, they came . . . .
Calls for the destruction of lives and the willingness to demonize are not new. Such barbarity is a part of every generation. But not every generation approves of barbarity among its leadership and in public displays.
Vicious hatred of ideological opponents has become mainstream in our culture. This is a greater threat to America than any matter of law.
The danger isn’t just that social media empowers mobs. The danger is that mobs are encouraged even by the President himself. Mobs are not merely tolerated. They are celebrated. Insults and threats are celebrated by mainstream media, politicians, teachers, parents, and all who shape culture. It’s a powder keg waiting to blow.
It’s the Bolshevik way. Get a forced confession, then take them down to the basement and shoot them.
These days we treat them more cruelly than with a bullet to the back of the neck, but the principle is the same.