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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-06-16, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016. PAGE 5. Other Views Animal crackers (and some human) "I think I could turn and live with the animals They are soplacid and self-contained..." — Walt Whitman Hang on, Walt — it's not that simple. I'm as fur -friendly and bird -besotted as the next nature lover, but I'm not dumb enough to cuddle a cobra, hand -feed a grizzly or lather my body with Uncle Al's Barbecue Sauce and lie down in front of a wolf den. I have been bitten by dogs, lacerated by cats, kicked by a horse, bunted by a goat and nipped on the chin by a rose -breasted cockatoo — and that's before we even get to deer flies, horseflies, black flies, mosquitos, gnats, ticks and sundry other creepy crawlies of the gnawing and stinging persuasion. In my experience, very few animals subscribe to the Disney Channel. Don't take my word for it — ask Justin Schmidt. He's an American entomologist who created the Schmidt Sting Pain Index after seeking out the world's nastiest, shortest -fused insects. In the name of science he arranged to get stung by 83 different species. Not surprisingly, Schmidt has become a bit of a snob about the gradations of insect - Keeping the By the time this issue of The Citizen hits the stands, the violence in Orlando will be well documented. A final number will be put on the deceased and the injured. As I write this, it's currently sitting at 53 wounded and 50, including gunman Omar Mateen, deceased, but, with surgeries pending for several of the injured, those numbers could change. Pictures and videos may emerge that show that people should have been aware that Mateen was the kind of person who shouldn't have access to firearms. I'm sure things will come to light that will have people arguing about law enforcement and gun control, like the fact that Mateen was under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to the fact that he had, according to former co-workers, previously expressed discriminatory and murderous statements about people. In the end, we will see all these images, videos, monologues, news reports and "click bait" stories on the internet that will lead us to believe that Mateen was a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off, despite his father's protestations that he was a good boy and that he doesn't understand where the hatred that fueled the act came from. This is the single largest terrorist attack in the United States since the twin towers were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001. Reports are also indicating this is the largest terrorist attack that focused on a 'gay' target, but, with others being injured, including responding police officers, it's an attack on everyone, which may be exactly what Mateen wanted. Popular nightclubs are typically crowded environments where someone intent on causing mayhem like Mateen did can affect the most people. President Barack Obama made an announcement regarding the incident, offering condolences and reminding the people that this is why stronger gun laws need to be put in place — to make sure that automatic firearms, like the one used in this incident, don't find their way into the hands of people intent on causing harm. I'm not really one to get involved in the politics of our southern neighbours outside of its entertainment value, however, I have to OKArthur Black induced pain. He describes the sensation of a sting from the bald-faced hornet as "Rich, hearty...similar to getting your hand smashed in a revolving door." But that's a dry Martini compared to the sting from a tarantula hawk (not really a hawk — a wasp, but as long as your thumb): "Pure, immediate, debilitating pain," he enthuses. "I tell people to lie down and scream." Different strokes, I guess. You wouldn't catch Charles Foster offering himself up like a human pincushion for snarky wasps. That's because it's hard to catch Charles Foster doing anything. Chances are he's underground. In a badger's lair. Trying to be a badger. Foster took Whitman's suggestion to turn and live with animals rather literally. He spent six weeks in a dark, dank badger's sett trying to discover the essence of badgerhood. That included indulging in one of the badger's favourite delicacies: raw earthworms. Is the man crackers? Hardly. When he's not badgerishly crawling about the forest floor Foster is an Oxford don and a successful English barrister. Besides, it's not as if he's always trying to be a badger in his spare time. Occasionally he's tried to live as a fox, a red deer and an otter. The otter experiment was the least successful. Despite long hours of wallowing in ice-cold streams he never actually got to catch a fish with his teeth. Although he did manage to get a leech locked onto his lip. Trying to be an otter turned out to be Foster's tarantula hawk experience. "I had such little empathy with these animals. How do I make this jangly, vicious world link with the nice bucolic feelings I'm having in this beautiful place? To be an authentic otter I had to feel jangly and neurotic, and that was hard." Doesn't surprise me, Charles. It's a jungle out there. issues at he forefront • or terrorist attacks to further their own agenda. Now I'm in awe that Trump and Clinton are using the death of these 50 people as a means of strengthening their bid for the presidency. We can't forget that those 103 people either wounded or killed, their families and friends, the people who escaped the nightclub and their family and friends are the ones about whom this incident and its subsequent news coverage should be. Obama can get away with his comments because he isn't campaigning, he is saying that he is sorry for what happened and that he hopes to find a way to stop it in the future. However, his yet -to -be -elected counterparts aren't saying these things because they feel for anyone but because it is an event on which they hope to capitalize. Remarkably, this is a conversation that we often have in the offices of The Citizen — we need to make sure the story is about the people involved and not about the people who are championing a cause or reacting in a certain way. Reporters, hosts of news shows, photographers and everyone else who prepares news for the general public need to be sure that they aren't making an issue worse or allowing an issue to be a soap box because that isn't our job — our job is to present the news as plainly as possible. So when it comes time to read about some horrific story like the one coming out of Orlando, make sure you're getting the right message. In this case, it's that people were killed, people were hurt and the person who did all this was investigated as a terrorist before and, therefore, should have had a lot of trouble obtaining a firearm. That's the story. Whether or not Trump is right and people should be deported or whether or not Clinton is right and this signifies a need for stronger defences is a question for another day. Denny '(---ilLits"!--:* Scott Denny's Den point out that, as an outgoing president, Obama's words don't seem to be coming from a place of garnering votes or support, but of wanting to make a change that will better the nation he has led for the past eight years and he's right. Before anyone gets up in arms, I'm not suggesting that guns shouldn't be had — quite the contrary. Weapons used for hunting or for protecting a farm are completely reasonable things to have, especially in a rural place like Huron County. Automatic weapons, however, are designed for one thing and one thing alone — hurting and killing people. Outside of soldiers and the heaviest armed police units, the weapons are completely unnecessary. Unfortunately, this event will become a staging point for both (assumed) presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. While Trump has already started to use the event as a means of continuing to wage his war against specific immigrant groups (which includes, but is not limited Muslims, Mexicans and Canadians for those keeping track), the truly troubling thing is that people are apparently congratulating him on being right with his stance that certain immigrant groups should be kicked out of the country for safety reasons. Clinton has also stated that the incident shows that there needs to be a firmer stance on defence both at home and abroad. While some people may be puzzled by me waiting so long, this is the tipping point for U.S. politics as far as I'm concerned — this is the point of no return. My wife and I have watched a few politically -based television shows like Netflix's House of Cards and I'm constantly in awe that people, in the show, use events such as a shooting or plane crashes Final Thought "Common sense is not so common." — Voltaire Shawn "t Loughlin Shawn's Sense All sizzle, no steak Jn the world of politics, really over any time period, there have always been real issues and not -so -real issues. Another timeless struggle has been that over the years, time and time again, a sexy not -so -real issue will always trump a non -sexy, yet very real issue. A few of these issues have washed through the news cycle in recent weeks and they have attracted news coverage that's exaggerated compared to more important topics. One of the most notable has been the potential changing of the Canadian national anthem. While there are plenty of major issues ongoing in Canada, Liberal MP Mauril Belanger has introduced a bill that will make the anthem gender -neutral, changing the line "in all thy sons command" in order to accomplish this. The subject is attention -grabbing, but really, in the end, it's a relative non -issue. With so much going on in the world, in Canada and in Ontario, there are more important things our government can be focusing on — but they're arguing over changing the words to the national anthem. And while things like budgets and the policies that dictate our everyday lives are much more important — they're boring. The anthem is something with which everyone can relate and provide their two cents. It's also part of a larger debate over being an inclusive society — a notion that has ignited fierce discussion. But if the words to the anthem are changed, no one will die, no one will lose a job and Canada's international reputation won't take a hit. Another massive misuse of time and resources may be carried out by Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur, who has suggested that she's prepared to investigate why it was so hard for fans to find tickets to see The Tragically Hip on their upcoming final tour. The tour was announced after the news came of lead singer Gord Downie's terminal brain cancer and tickets suddenly became extremely hard to find. While I can sympathize with fans who weren't able to get tickets (although, not fully, as I was able to secure my tickets to the London show with relative ease) this is not an appropriate use of the government's time. Again, no one has died as a result of not obtaining Tragically Hip tickets. The situation has made scalpers some extra money and resulted in people whining about it on their Facebook or Twitter pages — that's about it. In fact, perhaps fans should focus on the sadness associated with one of their heroes having to stare down death every morning after a terminal cancer diagnosis, rather than complaining about how horrible their lives are because they couldn't buy concert tickets. That, however, is a discussion for another day. The same thing is happening in the United States. I have written before about the bathroom bill, which, in reality affects a relatively small group of people. It has dominated news cycles and coffee shop discussion, however, as one of the most hotly -debated issues in years. With the United States still at war, on the cusp of perhaps the most important election in the country's history and with its finances in rough shape, political leaders spend their time debating who should use which bathroom and under which circumstances. Whether it's done intentionally to draw attention away from the real issues, or if it just happens organically, as citizens we need to focus on important issues and allow the unimportant to simply fall by the wayside.