The Human Condition

Hello My Dear Friends! In my 80+ Cat years (that's 15+ human years), I've struggled to understand what make people tick. You're really not all that complicated. Most of you just plain suck. No further study required. Some of you though, are products of the Human Condition. That's a theory made popular in the late 1950's in the book of the same name by Hannah Arendt. It basically says that characteristics, key events and situations create the essentials of human existence. Blah, Blah, Blah. I think it is far more simple than that. People are far more simple than that.  I think, in it's most basic form, people want to be happy, accepted and appreciated. This fully explains our obsession with social media. People in need can find all three, happiness, acceptance and appreciation, all by seeing a "like" on a Farcebook post or a "retweet" on Twitter. This brings me to thought for the day; Easy Outrage. This is a trend that, for me, makes my head hurt. What is Easy Outrage? It's simple. It's getting all fired up about something that, when put in to perspective, is a non-issue. Take, for example, the recent killing of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe. Now, before you turn your easy outrage on me, let me say that I love animals. All animals. Especially those in the Cat family, for obvious reasons. The killing of this majestic animal was sad. The fact that it happens every day appears to be irrelevant. I can explain that. The reason the death of Cecil drew hundreds of millions of Farcebook shares and comments and millions of Tweets, Retweets and hashtags is simple. Cecil had a name. It wasn't just a big game hunter killing a lion. It was an American Dentist offing Cecil! It's an outrage! Yes it is. It's an easy outrage. You can write about, post pictures of lions and lament about the senseless killing of animals. Who's gonna argue with you? Pile up the "likes" and "shares". The real tragedy is that the people of Zimbabwe are suffering. Fungai Machirori, a Zimbabwe-based journalist, wrote that, prior to the international outcry, the vast majority of people in Zimbabwe had never heard of Cecil. Why? Because nearly 73% of the people in Zimbabwe live in poverty. They eat lion. Who wants to be outraged over that? The GDP per capita in Zimbabwe is $2000. That's 25 times less than what Robert Palmer paid to kill that lion. Do you see the conflict with the Human Condition? If you posted that on your Farcebook page with the picture of a starving child you probably wouldn't get the same reaction. We want to be outraged at the injustices of the world as long as they're not controversial. Easy outrage. It's the new social Consciousness!
In an unrelated note, I've been trying to teach the new captive Nava Bleu, how to blog. You know, passing on the power, handing over the reins. I am, after all, getting up there in years. So, I sit the girl down and explain the rules and, well....

It doesn't look too promising! I'll keep at it. Enjoy the day!

Po