An eleven year old in Washington state killed a cougar which was following her brother. Some people wonder why she poses with the dead body of the animal. I've always thought that the antic of fox hunters were strange and rather suspect.
But now I understand why. What are the choices when you live on a farm or in the countryside or in the USA with big, wild animals such as bears and cougars. The opposite of feeling sad or scared is happy. If the girl with the gun were to hesitate, she or her brother and the animals on their property could be caught and killed by the cougar. So she has to feel emboldened and encouraged and happy that she won this fight.
This dichotomy also explains the worrying attitude of thugs in cities. They live in rough neighbourhoods where they practise killing the innocent, so that when they face real danger they are not afraid.
However, being endangered by wild animals all day and every day, far from police, is not the same as going up to a stranger in a city and picking a fight for 'fun'. In the UK and Singapore we are in crowded cities and rely on strangers to be full of goodwill, to help in times of trouble, not to practise fighting in the street nor having fights for fun. Police marksmen are nearby to defend us. Cougars are not normally roaming the streets. (That's why I oppose importing wild animals into cities. Keep wild animals on safari parks out in the countryside.)
But now I understand why. What are the choices when you live on a farm or in the countryside or in the USA with big, wild animals such as bears and cougars. The opposite of feeling sad or scared is happy. If the girl with the gun were to hesitate, she or her brother and the animals on their property could be caught and killed by the cougar. So she has to feel emboldened and encouraged and happy that she won this fight.
This dichotomy also explains the worrying attitude of thugs in cities. They live in rough neighbourhoods where they practise killing the innocent, so that when they face real danger they are not afraid.
However, being endangered by wild animals all day and every day, far from police, is not the same as going up to a stranger in a city and picking a fight for 'fun'. In the UK and Singapore we are in crowded cities and rely on strangers to be full of goodwill, to help in times of trouble, not to practise fighting in the street nor having fights for fun. Police marksmen are nearby to defend us. Cougars are not normally roaming the streets. (That's why I oppose importing wild animals into cities. Keep wild animals on safari parks out in the countryside.)
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