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In Zimbabwe, We Don’t Cry for Lions
New York Times ^ | 08/05/2015 | By GOODWELL NZOU

Posted on 08/05/2015 12:32:37 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Winston-Salem, N.C. — MY mind was absorbed by the biochemistry of gene editing when the text messages and Facebook posts distracted me.

So sorry about Cecil.

Did Cecil live near your place in Zimbabwe?

Cecil who? I wondered. When I turned on the news and discovered that the messages were about a lion killed by an American dentist, the village boy inside me instinctively cheered: One lion fewer to menace families like mine.

My excitement was doused when I realized that the lion killer was being painted as the villain. I faced the starkest cultural contradiction I’d experienced during my five years studying in the United States.

Did all those Americans signing petitions understand that lions actually kill people? That all the talk about Cecil being “beloved” or a “local favorite” was media hype? Did Jimmy Kimmel choke up because Cecil was murdered or because he confused him with Simba from “The Lion King”?

In my village in Zimbabwe, surrounded by wildlife conservation areas, no lion has ever been beloved, or granted an affectionate nickname. They are objects of terror.

When I was 9 years old, a solitary lion prowled villages near my home. After it killed a few chickens, some goats and finally a cow, we were warned to walk to school in groups and stop playing outside. My sisters no longer went alone to the river to collect water or wash dishes; my mother waited for my father and older brothers, armed with machetes, axes and spears, to escort her into the bush to collect firewood.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Minnesota
KEYWORDS: africa; cecil; cecilthelion; hunting; lions; minnesota; zimbabwe
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To: SeekAndFind

Africans are more sane than Americans.


21 posted on 08/05/2015 1:57:00 PM PDT by justa-hairyape (The use of the name is sarcastic. Although at times it may not appear that way.)
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To: SeekAndFind

The comments from the NYT site are unbelievable. Idiot, coddled Americans telling African people to “move to the cities if they don’t want to be near lions”.

Really? Just where is the liberal “compassion” for black people??? The average monthly salary is $150.00. Not to mention the people in outlying areas have most likely lived in the same location for generations. What about their right to live in peace??

Black lives only matter when it is convenient, it seems.

Liberal tree huggers are miserable, evil creatures.


22 posted on 08/05/2015 2:03:16 PM PDT by Darnright (When a system acts illegally, its dictates are not the law of the land, they are the law of force)
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To: SoFloFreeper

RE: I am amazed the NY Slimes published this piece.

Two words : DIVERSITY and AFRICAN.


23 posted on 08/05/2015 2:08:55 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind; All
"In Zimbabwe,
We Don’t Cry for Lions....


Zimbabwe Carbon Footprint photo ZimbabweCarbonFootprint.jpg

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24 posted on 08/05/2015 2:48:16 PM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: SeekAndFind

25 posted on 08/05/2015 8:25:06 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: Darnright
Idiot, coddled Americans telling African people to “move to the cities if they don’t want to be near lions”.

Let's everyone move to cities! Maybe the lions can do our farming for us.

26 posted on 08/06/2015 4:20:55 AM PDT by Claud
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To: grey_whiskers; pookie18
My FRiend that graphic is simultaneously extraordinary and gut-wrenching.

H/T to Pookie (http://www.therightreasons.net/index.php?/topic/68067-todays-toons-8615/) for this addition today...

 photo care-jericho-cecil-the-lion_zps9mfkysbc.jpg

27 posted on 08/06/2015 4:25:43 AM PDT by Prov1322 (Enjoy my wife's incredible artwork at www.watercolorARTwork.com! (This space no longer for rent))
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