Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Yoink]

I stopped donating to the WWF years ago, because I cannot find peace with the thought that my money is used to kill children.

That's some seriously warped logic right there. Human children are easily replaceable, elephants are not.
And besides, elephants are beautiful, calm creatures when not provoked whereas the scummy shits killing them are, well, scummy shits regardless of their age. Of course I agree that the people hiring said shits and fuelling the idiotic market for ivory are the real villains, and it would be best if the park rangers and such were able to simply march out of the wilderness and riddle those especially-deserving fucks with bullets (and doubtless many of them would gladly volunteer to perform such a heroic task), but I imagine they are kept from doing so by some shitty law system or other that specializes in preying on the weak and the environment.

[martinuzz]

I stopped donating to the WWF years ago, because I cannot find peace with the thought that my money is used to kill children.

That's some seriously warped logic right there. Human children are easily replaceable, elephants are not.

Placing the life of an animal over the life of a human (child) would be considered seriously warped logic in a lot of places as well.

Don't get me wrong. Elephants are amazing creatures. Gentle / calm, I wouldn't call them, they're territorial (and homicidal when in territorial defense mode) as fuck, but yeah, I'd mourn the loss of their species as much as anyone.

But if you are killing, be it humans or animals for profit, well, is most likely you are not a children anymore, not even if you are 10.

I have to disagree strongly there. A child cannot be held accountable for it's actions (or suddenly not be considered a child anymore), if only because a child's brain isn't physically capable of regarding consequence. That being said, if you are faced with a child pointing an AK at you, it's completely morally acceptable to kill it. That's a whole different matter.

[WillowLuman]

Spoiler: Welp, this got even darker... (click to show/hide)

When rangers confront poachers in such places, they can often find themselves in such situations of kill or be killed

I think it's safe to say that the situation is incredibly fucked up no matter how you look at it.

[LordBaal]

I have to disagree strongly there. A child cannot be held accountable for it's actions (or suddenly not be considered a child anymore), if only because a child's brain isn't physically capable of regarding consequence.

If you are old enough to go around hunting for ivory, it's most likely you are old enough to understand the consequences. Probably not in 100% of the cases, but still.

That being said, if you are faced with a child pointing an AK at you, it's completely morally acceptable to kill it. That's a whole different matter.

Which is really likely something the rangers have to face, since last time I checked, to hunt elephants you need something far more powerful than a toy slingshot.

Poachers, regardless of age, are armed and dangerous, not only to rangers and WWF personnel, but to anyone else trying to stop them.

[martinuzz]

I have to disagree strongly there. A child cannot be held accountable for it's actions (or suddenly not be considered a child anymore), if only because a child's brain isn't physically capable of regarding consequence.

If you are old enough to go around hunting for ivory, it's most likely you are old enough to understand the consequences. Probably not in 100% of the cases, but still.

No, to a 9 year old child (which is a quite realistic age for a child poacher sadly), it's just a game. A very serious game maybe, but they have no idea they are doing anything illegal, nor can they oversee the possible consequences. They just get handed an AK, to shoot smaller game, and to shoot 'the evil men who try to kill us'.

That being said, if you are faced with a child pointing an AK at you, it's completely morally acceptable to kill it. That's a whole different matter.

Which is really likely something the rangers have to face, since last time I checked, to hunt elephants you need something far more powerful than a toy slingshot.

Nah, you can kill an elephant with AKs just fine. It just takes more bullets, and prolonged elephant agony.

I am quite aware of the reality there. I don't blame the park rangers for killing children. I just personally chose to no longer fund a charity that chooses the addition of more weapons to the mix as a viable solution. There must be better ways to save elephants. And it looks like no amount of park rangers is gonna stop the poachers anyhow.

[LordBaal]

Ideally it would be education and imprisonment of transgresors. In an ideal world. But we aren't living in an ideal world. Currently the half ass, half effective solution is to keep kilking/scarying poachers as a deterrent.

[WillowLuman]

A friend of the family in Boise may not be able to bring his family into the country due to recent executive actions. I remember meeting him and his cousins in the summer when we were going to my dad's reunion, he was pretty excited about getting to see them again.

[martinuzz]

Trump hasn't formalized the ban on muslims (or Mexicans) entering the US yet, or has he?

[WillowLuman]

It's looking pretty dicey, and with an aunt working with refugees and an uncle working for the federal government, it's sounding serious.

[ChairmanPoo]

The IMC is annoying me.

[TempAcc]

ALAS, SWIMMING, MY ONLY WEAKNESS

AUGH

[TheBiggerFish]

Almost sincerely meaning a stupid joke about mispronouncing Finnish.

[Shook]

Humm, on top of the usual "aaa my bowels are not feeling good" deal that i won't even bother getting further into by now, i realize that my anxiety has extended into driving as well. Now, i am a licensed and acceptably capable driver in spite of being a bit rusty, but i get anxious when i am to start driving, and heavily trafficked areas are rather stressful to me (... no shit son). I haven't even been in any accident yet (... while driving), my worst blunder while driving was with the examiner sitting right next to me (who, mind you, is a police officer, and which cost me naught but a failed test), and generally the worst i do is to occasionally forget to use the turn signals (or flash the wrong direction) in areas where it doesn't make much of a difference, and yet... I get nervous about having to drive. Fuckin' subconscious. >.>

[TheBiggerFish]

Driving makes me nervous too.  It's a reasonable response IMHO.

[Shook]

Oh yes, i doubt ANYONE likes to drive on heavily trafficked roads (and driving on empty rural roads is actually kind of relaxing), but the thing is that i am aware of this being a new thing; i didn't feel like this to begin with. Back then, it was my relative inexperience that made me a bit nervous, now it's a bit more nebulous, and a bit stronger than before. I suspect it's my usual fear of fucking up that's doing it. :I