Cecil And Slacktivism.

There has been a lot of outrage recently regarding the killing, skinning and beheading of Cecil The Lion, the most famous resident of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.  Cecil was killed by Walter Palmer, a hunter from Minnesota.  Social Media has been the home of pictures of usually rich white people posing with the spoils of their kill for a while now. But not every picture shared contains a member of the British Royal Family, they also contain people who have travelled to Africa to kill animals.

So, what to do with that anger? How can you turn that anger into something positive? Well, there are charities you can get involved with, even the group with whom Cecil was a case study are accepting donations to further fund their work.  However, times are tough and money is tight.  Besides, what you with your money is your business. So what else can you do?

I know, I’ll share and like a Facebook post, that’ll do!

You see, I know you can say that you’re showing support and solidarity for a cause and that’s good.  The issue I have is one of consistency. That’s the thing with principles, if you don’t stick to them 100% of the time, they aren’t principles. They are a hobby.

The other story that is dominating the news and social media is the one about what is happening in Calais. It is commonly referred to as the Migrant Crisis but I won’t be referring to it as that again. This is a humanitarian issue, replace the word migrants with people and start from there.

The dehumanising process has already begun, don’t ever refer to them as people, let alone people in crisis, as other people might start feeling empathy. It helps that a lot of them aren’t white either, they can’t be like us civilised folk can they?

What you are doing is dehumanising them, calling them vermin and suchlike reduces them to something other than a human being, it reduces them to animals. Go the whole hog and call them swarms, they are animals after all.

But these animals are not like Cecil, these animals are ok to shoot. Send the army there to keep these animals in their pens, shoot them if they try and escape, they’re animals! Nameless, stateless animals, not like Cecil. 

Why don’t you share the outrage for domestic violence, or sexual assault, or sexual abuse (apart from when brown people do it)? Where is the horror for Sandra Bland and the other deaths at the hands of racist police? 

There is an oft shared quote from uber bellend Ricky Gervais which says something along the lines of “If you enjoy seeing animals in pain, you are a cunt”.  Well, if you profess to be a lover of living beings but want people desperate for a better life shot, you are a massive massive cunt.

Don’t worry, animal lover, I’ll still “like” the pic of your Sunday roast.

From FarmVille To HarmVille – The Virtual Vigilante

I once got sucked into the addictive world of FarmVille, the Harvest Moon lite game that is on Facebook. It got to the stage where I was timing stuff like crops being ready to harvest when I got home from work. I had a few days offline and gave it up.

It seems as if there has been a few add ons to the game. Worryingly it looks as if they have spread from beyond the FarmVille app to the online farmers Facebook wall. Namely, manure spreaders and pixelated pitchforks. I first noticed this before, and blogged about Winterval and Silly Season, where manure was coming over from FarmVille in the form of ridiculous knee jerk statements about Muslims all hating everything British, despite them being British themselves. I put it down to FarmVille going beyond the parameters of its app.

However, the app has turned into a Silicon Salem Witch hunt over the last fortnight. The pixelated Pitchforks have been lighted and have made their mob handed way to the wall of unsuspecting online farmers.

I’ve noticed a few different pictures of someone who it is claimed, with no proof, is Jon Venables, one of the boys who killed James Bulger. Of course, the virtual vigilante gang don’t refer to the deceased toddler as “James”, but Jamie. Something his family never did. This isn’t the first time that someone has been accused online of being one of the Bulger killers. In a tragic story, a man killed himself after months of abuse.

In true Facebook fashion, if you didn’t share this picture then you are supporting paedophiles, or something. Well, this is why I didn’t share it and why you shouldn’t have. Do you think that there is even a shred of possibility that the bloke(s) in the photo might not be Jon Venables? If there isn’t, what evidence do you have because I’d like to know. Venables has been recalled to prison so why share this info now? Contrary to right wing beliefs, prisoners don’t all have Facebook in their cells.

Do you think that you might be subjecting an innocent man to potential abuse that could lead to his death? Do you think you have done your bit by sharing an unsubstantiated photo? Did you stop and think before hitting the share button? No,of course you didn’t.

I’m not protecting a paedophile by not sharing a picture that I have no idea where it came from. I’m protecting what is probably an innocent man. I’m pretty sure that in a few months, a different picture will emerge, possibly of me, declaring that this is actually Venebles. We got it wrong last time, sorry about that, but this is him, it definitely is.

I won’t be hitting the share button, I’ll be more than likely hitting the “Remove friend” button. Hopefully the next FarmVille update with have a “Contain manure via Snopes” feature.

Put the pitchforks down, or use them to harvest that fresh batch of crops. And no, I don’t want to play FarmVille with you or be your neighbour on FarmVille, because the chances are your farm is run by Tony Martin.

Silly Season – Poppies and Winterval

Ah great,

It’s that wonderful time of the year.  The time where bullshit masquerades as truth.  When the nights draw in and the clocks go back, I brace myself for the cretinocracy tsunami which appears on the Facebook horizon.  It seems to get earlier every year as well.  The two issues that cause it all are Remembrance Day and Christmas.

To me, Remembrance Day is about, well, remembrance.  It’s not about an act of supposed defiance against a supposed threat to our liberty.  I find it quite sad that people try to reappropriate a symbol of respect into a symbol of aggression, it goes against everything that those we remember died for.  I really hate the whole “If my poppy offends you then you know where the border is” mentality that exists.

No, your poppy doesn’t offend me, you and your sensibilities, or lack of, offends me.  93% of people won’t reblog this etc etc…  Piss off with yourself.  The best way to honour war veterans is to stop making new ones, not hating all muslims because 20 pricks burn a poppy every year.

Then, once that has passed and people stop pretending to care, the famous, and debunked Winterval Myth still gets dragged out by dragging knuckled lunkheads. Christ, EVEN THE DAILY MAIL SAID IT WAS A MYTH.  But that isn’t enough proof for some people as it means they might have to think for once.  But then again, if someone on Facebook said it was true, I’d better repost it or like the status as I don’t want to be one of the 7% who don’t have the balls to.  Also, if you give so much of a shit about this being a Christian country, why not go to church once in a while when it isn’t a Christening, a Funeral or a Wedding?

May your Remembrance Day be solemn, may your Christmas be filled with joy.  Nobody is trying to take them from you.