Deopka Ikhide:
A minor addition to your flow of thought here. I think the humanization of animals and the animalization of humans is an equal opportunity Western instinct. It does not play out exclusively when Western messiahs sally forth from their warrens in the Global North to rescue Congo's gorillas from Congo's guerrillas. It also happens in the West and to Westerners. Call it part of the postmodern instinct. Think of those Americans wearing sackcloth and pouring ash over their sorry-ass heads because of the survival of Obamacare. They are angry that some 40 or so million of their compatriots who would otherwise not have been able to afford medical insurance for reasons ranging from poverty to pre-existing conditions are now going to be covered. The Republicans are worried about the profit margin of kinsmen in the heath insurance companies; tea-partyers, neocons, and other racists in the lunatic far right cannot openly say that they oppose Obamacare because the majority of the vulnerable who would now be covered have slightly flatter noses and thicker lips than themselves. What do you think all these people would do if, God forbid, something were to happen to their ability to provide healthcare (vet care) for their dogs, cats, pet pythons, and pet iguanas? There would be hell to pay. They would put pressure on their government to bomb a few more places in the Arab world, steal more oil, and use the proceeds to provide comprehensive and affordable healthcare for their pet animals. It wouldn't be "socialised medicine" then!
Pius
From: Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com>
To: "USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com" <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, 29 June 2012, 21:46
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Jeffrey Flocken: Tragic Losses in the Heart of Darkness
"Because the world's most imperiled species are sometimes found in the world's most dangerous places, the combustible mix of focused altruism and local desperation can collide and result in horrific tragedy.
Such a scenario occurred this past weekend in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) -- the setting for Joseph Conrad's epic novel "The Heart of Darkness." In this wild jungle, the Institute in Congo for the Conservation of Nature and headquarters for the Okapi Wildlife Reserve -- a center devoted to conserving the rare okapi and helping improve the lives of local people -- was over-taken forcefully by a gang of poachers, intent on retaliating against the staff of the center who had been thwarting their elephant poaching operations in the region."
- Jeffrey Flocken
I mean, what is it with Western liberals and their Messianic complex? They humanize our wildgame and dehumanize us. I mean, how can you be celebrating Conrad's Heart of Darkness in this manner in the 21st century? From under which rock did these characters crawl out of?
Read the rest of the article here:
- Ikhide
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