Not Mutually Exclusive

My outrage over Cecil the Lion's death is not because an animal was hunted in and of itself. I am not a hunter and never will be. But, I can certainly understand the hunting for food as part of an organized season to cull the overpopulation of a species that would otherwise die of starvation and/or disease due to this overpopulation. I may even be able to understand hunting to protect hearth and home, though I do think there are other measures that could be explored. I am willing to have the conversation.

What bothers me about Cecil's death is not that he was some famous or beloved lion. No! It was the way in which he was hunted, dying 40 hours after being hit with an arrow. It was the purpose of the hunt, simply for a trophy. And, it was the way of the hunt, luring an animal out of a protected park.

Some are saying that we are spending too much time focusing on the death of a lion. My outrage at the lion's death does not diminish or replace my outrage at girls being stolen and sold into slavery or for innocents being killed for not following ISIS dogma or for too many children of the world living in poverty with little chance for education or upward mobility. Disgust and outrage over one inhumane act does not negate nor diminish my disgust and outrage over other inhumane acts in this world. These things are not mutually exclusive!