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glatt · 03-01-2006, 11:43 AM

I look at this, and just don't get it. Somebody thought this would be a good idea. Somebody, somewhere was given a certain set of facts, and using those facts, came to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to kill these creatures. I don't get it. Most human behavior is understandable on some level, but I don't really understand this one.

Well, I guess after thinking about it, I do know what this is about. The person(s) who did this want money. The elephant tusks are worth money. Poison is cheap. They may or may not care that they killed 6 elephants and only one of them had tusks to steal. It's a lot easier to poison all the elephants than to try to take down just one and deal with the other living ones as you try to cut the tusks off the body of the dead one.

This is about money and laziness. It makes perfect sense.

I think of the people who did this as horrible monsters, but I wonder if I'm capable of doing it? If I was a desperate villager with a dying child who needed food or expensive medicine, I'd kill 6 elephants without hesitation if it would get me what I needed. Especially if I was fairly sure I wouldn't get caught.

But sitting here safely behind my clean desk, I think the people who did this are monsters.

03-01-2006, 11:43 AM	#4
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I look at this, and just don't get it. Somebody thought this would be a good idea. Somebody, somewhere was given a certain set of facts, and using those facts, came to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to kill these creatures. I don't get it. Most human behavior is understandable on some level, but I don't really understand this one. Well, I guess after thinking about it, I do know what this is about. The person(s) who did this want money. The elephant tusks are worth money. Poison is cheap. They may or may not care that they killed 6 elephants and only one of them had tusks to steal. It's a lot easier to poison all the elephants than to try to take down just one and deal with the other living ones as you try to cut the tusks off the body of the dead one. This is about money and laziness. It makes perfect sense. I think of the people who did this as horrible monsters, but I wonder if I'm capable of doing it? If I was a desperate villager with a dying child who needed food or expensive medicine, I'd kill 6 elephants without hesitation if it would get me what I needed. Especially if I was fairly sure I wouldn't get caught. But sitting here safely behind my clean desk, I think the people who did this are monsters.