What's Going On: Why we shouldn’t hate Walter Palmer
There’s a lot of people in this country who don’t like President Barack Obama.
That’s not news. What would be news is if after his presidency ended, he spent the next 11 months on a safari in Africa. And if he’s disliked now, could you imagine the uproar if he started tweeting photos of himself holding a high-powered rifle while standing over a slain rhinoceros. Or an elephant. Or a lion.
The NRA-loving conservatives would start clamoring for a third term for Obama. Liberals would lose their collective minds.
But regardless, Obama would become the most polarizing ex-president … well, ever.
However, 100 years ago when Teddy Roosevelt did the exact same thing, he was hailed as an American hero. In the 11-month safari, he killed more than 10,000 animals, some of which are displayed today in museums throughout the world.
How times have changed.
Dr. Walter Palmer, a dentist in Minnesota, turned into Enemy No. 1 last week after it was revealed he shot and killed a beloved lion from a Zimbabwe national park.
Palmer claims he was unaware the guides he hired for $50,000 had illegally lured Cecil the lion off the national park for the kill.
Regardless, a public firestorm has ensued partially due to Cecil’s popularity. He was a major attraction at the park, partially due to his distinct black mane and his ambivalence to people, which allowed them to drive vehicles close for picture opportunities.
What really has people angry, though, is the fact Cecil was baited, a seeming unsportsman-like approach, and that the lion didn’t die quickly. After Palmer shot him with an arrow, the lion escaped and lived another 40 hours before he was tracked down and shot with a gun. He was then gruesomely beheaded so Palmer would have his trophy to take home.
While many are clamoring for justice in the form of sending Palmer to Zimbabwe to face possible criminal charges, some are going to even greater extremes. PETA recommended the dentist be hung for his charges, and he has in fact faced so many death threats that he has gone into hiding and has temporarily closed his dental office.
While Palmer may or may not be complicit in the illegal details of the hunt, focusing on this instance is very shortsighted.
While it may not be as socially accepted as in Roosevelt’s day, big game hunting is a big business in Africa. There’s an estimated 18,000 tourists who come to Africa every year (half of which are Americans) for managed hunts, most of which cost thousands of dollars. More than 100 companies exist to cater to those hunters’ needs, charging as little as $250 for a chance to shoot a wild hog to up to $60-70K for a chance to kill a lion or an elephant.
While the death of Cecil the lion may be unfortunate, he’s estimated to be one of 300 lions legally hunted and killed on an annual basis. The anger directed at Palmer is misdirected at best. Persecuting and vilifying him is shortsighted at best.
If we as a society want to condemn big game hunting, so be it. If we passed a law banning the import of lion’s heads, or other big game trophies, people like Palmer would stop paying thousands upon thousands of dollars to kill the animals.
Until that happens, though, let’s save the indignation and stop threatening to hang dentists, ruin their business, or deport them to third world countries.
Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express and Glenwood Opinion-Tribune. He can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com.