August 06, 2015
Source: Shutterstock
You”d think that conservatives would want to embrace the one positive thing that resulted from Obama’s presidency, which is that with Bush, Cheney, and Rice gone, we no longer have to pretend that we can export democracy, civility, and order to impoverished, corrupt, superstitious, lawless, or authoritarian countries. Hell, it’s Obama’s greatest gift to the right. His election freed us of the heavy yoke of feigned concern for hopeless countries and pointless adventures in nation building. The burden’s been lifted; we”re now free to admit that we can”t fix broken and failing countries by invading them, throwing money at them, imposing sanctions on them, holding concerts for them, or guilting people who have other concerns.
Let’s be honest: If not for the ethical objections of Westerners, between Africans and their poaching (and their “desperation” and greed in catering to the likes of Dr. Palmer), and Asians and their ridiculous superstitions about the “virility power” of eating tiger dicks and bear testes and rhino horns, there”d be far fewer wild animals left in the world today (the Environmental Investigation Agency estimates that at least one tiger is killed per day for use in Chinese hocus-pocus). When a guy like Greenfield tries guilting people who are concerned about animal welfare by using what is essentially a typical leftist “race card” argument, I can only marvel at how well he adapts to the language of the people he claims to oppose.
I”ll add that for Greenfield to accuse people like me, people who have a virulently hostile reaction to trophy killing, of seeing wild animals as stand-ins for Sandra Bland, it shows just how little comprehension he has about the political scene. In fact, the “black lives matter” zealots agree with Greenfield. He and Sharpton are allies in the fight to shame those who are making “too big a deal” about trophy killing. Hell, the “black lives matter” fanatics won”t even cede that all human lives matter. They don”t give two tiger testes about dead lions.
I”m holding up the Greenfield op-ed as an example because it was particularly odious, but there were many similar posts on conservative sites last week, several of which made the inane point that trophy killing is super fantastic because it brings money to the Zimbabwean economy (and we all know that every cent of that goes to the impoverished people, right?).
Soon enough the entire Cecil episode will be long forgotten (unless the besieged dentist is tape-recorded saying “nigger”). By next week there”ll be new outrage, and new counter-outrage. But for me, “Cecil week” was fulfilling because it put trophy hunters on the defensive, and maybe it will make a few of them think twice before taking that next baby-elephant-killing trip. And it showed how quickly some so-called conservatives will adopt the politically correct language and racial-guilting tactics of the left when it suits them. If something as relatively minor as a dead lion is all it takes to unlock certain conservatives” “inner Sharpton,” I hate to think what’s going to happen during a primary season that already promises to be especially contentious and divisive.
