The Florida Mind
I made the mistake of going through most of the 171 comments accompanying the article in the Orlando Sentinel I linked to the other day about the pro golfer who killed the Red-shouldered Hawk. The stupid in some of the comments burns (actually, not all the comments are from Floridians, there are a couple of examples from around the country here, too):
"Well The homeless need feeding who told wildlife to take the bird. It was a charity shot. Cook it up!!!!!"
"Maybe I could get him to aim at some of these sandhill cranes that are continually shrieking around my neighborhood."
Naturally, someone (there were a few) from the anti-abortion lobby in Florida had to chime in; while they are entitled to their opinion on the matter of abortion (as long they don't advocate shooting doctors or blowing up clinics), I fail to see the relevancy on this issue - killing this bird was an illegal act, abortion in this country is not:
"It's sad when an animal is killed there are fines, and jail time.Yet innocent Unborn Babies are Killed"
Many, like this one, have trouble with the language and even want to blame the whole affair on the bird (emphasis added):
"Wow! One out of 10. Great shot. I could hit golf balls at a bird for the next 50 years and not hit one. Watch out Tiger, this guy is comming after you. Stupid bird. He really didn't mean to kill it dead. He was most likely trying to hit close enough to scare it off. I bet he never dreamed he would actually hit that bird."
A supreme idiot, this one:
"Good I hate birds. I am going to share this story with my Bird Hating Club this is classic."
There's more lunacy (and a couple of comments from the more rational people) below the fold . . .
"Oh Spare me it is a glorified frigging chicken"(this person above used the screen name "King Whitey" - you see his kind all the time in Florida: beat up truck with giant tires and a lift kit, in the back window will have a huge "Stars & Bars" flag decal along with a decal memorializing Dale Earnhardt . . . )
"We got a murder rate going through the roof and County and local police are more worried about a bird.""One freakin hawk...you'd think the guy was a convicted murderer for crying out loud."
"What do you say about a police system in Central florida that's more efficient in hassling the local citizenry over petty low level "crimes" yet grossly innefficient in stemming violent crimes and the rising level of gang activity."
"Tell the bird watchers association to go fly with the birds."
"I can understand his situation, and the way he feels. There definently is a lot more to worry about in life. But, if the judge makes him waste time, then best of luck to ya. Do your time if you have to and take it for what it's worth. There are a buch of people who have greater lapses in judgement every day than over just a stupid bird. "It just seems as though we all are beginning to live in a "sudo jail." everyday for profit, God help us!"
There's about an equal number in the comments who actually have some idea how to use the gray matter between their ears:
"I am a hunter so I'm not against killing animals. The simple fact is he broke the law and should be punished. Just saying he is a animal lover cause he has cat's doesn't mean anything. I have pets to. If I shot game animal or a protected species on accident I would expect to be punished."
" 'Unfortunately accidents' do not take 10 trys. He DELIBERATELY tried to hit the bird. What did he THINK would happen if he hit it ? People do not want to 'bury him', they want to see him held accountable for his actions. Why ? Because the average man is tired of the wealthy and celebrities who feel they are above the law. This isn't Hollywood's fault, nor is it the fault of the bystanders who didn't stop him.......he needs to step up and take responsibility for his actions...he half hearted 'we have adopted cats' is just ridiculous."
Comments
It really is scary to read the comments on some of these news stories, whether it be about birds, or Presidents. I don't know if they represent the population in some statistically significant way, but geez there are a lot of dumb people who can't spell, can't think for themselves and can't be civil, or even understand the point of whatever article they are commenting on. Makes you wonder, until you realize those are probably the people that elected Bush too. Then I'm sure they are dumb.
Posted by: Newt Perdue | March 13, 2008 08:48 PM
Scary is a descriptive word to say the least. As a society we spend too much time seeking entertainment and not enough time thinking. On the positive side there is slow movement back toward "Enlightenment" thinking, but we still have a long, long way to go to catch up with the rest of the industrialized world.
Posted by: Kevin | March 14, 2008 08:41 AM