Wolves. Sheep. Sheepdogs. And something else...
After glossing over the article, I came back to THR to read the commentary. That's when I read about the deceased's sister posting, and I went back to read the comments. I've seen this kind of commentary a thousand times, but I finally recognized and
named something that never registered.
We speak of "sheep". Sheeple-people so in denial of reality, of human nature, that they are incapable of self-defense until it is too late, if at all.
We speak of "wolves", carnivores who prey on the sheep, criminals who look for the weak (although "wolf" is too high a compliment, since few criminals can really work together as a wolfpack does).
And we speak of "sheepdogs", tireless, but often lonely, defenders of the sheep, who really can't help what they are, because the illusion of safety in modern society is so pervasive.
But as I read the comments to the story on the newspaper's site, and compared the one's leading up to the sister's, and the ones after it, I thought of other animals:
Jackals.
Jackals don't make the kill. They just wait until the real predator finishes filling his belly, then slink in, wallow in the blood, and eat the scraps, all the while bragging about the zebra
they would've gotten, if they'd only been there. Laughing scavengers before the sister shows up, and then they scatter, leaving a few intelligent, thinking people to debate the issue.
The Deer Hunter said:
Nice.
i would do that too.
But i would stab the intruder just below the armpit so i get into the heart/lung area in one stab.
Or i would just cut his throat. I dont think i would be able to deal with a man bleeding to death out of his throat, all the gargling and such.
One of the things I like so much about THR is the low ratio of jackals. There are still a few here, as The Deer "Hunter" illustrates, but I noticed it only because it's such a Scavenger thing to say.
I feel bad for both families, the sister, the 17 yo. I recognize that under the worst circumstances there was a good outcome (only one person died, and that was the attacker), but only the jackals, the faceless jeers in the mob, would celebrate it.
