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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to feel quite sorry for Walter Palmer?

270 replies

TwistInMySobriety · 29/07/2015 08:40

Not very sorry what with him being a humungous twat for liking big game hunting, obviously. But seriously, worldwide opprobium and trial by media for partaking in a legal activity (he claims his permits were legit) that is a significant income stream for an impoverished third world country?

Also, while I'm at it, the death of a lion makes headlines? When did you last see a headline about the deaths of six million people in the civil war in the DRC?

OP posts:
Idontseeanydragons · 30/07/2015 11:38

Probably Twist.

squoosh · 30/07/2015 11:38

Is he at the point of suicide?

You can't very well chastise people for going over the top with their fantasy Walt killings when you're embellishing the situation yourself.

Sparklingbrook · 30/07/2015 11:44

All I can say us that if Walt hadn't done what he did none of this shitstorm would be happening. At all.

Original poster
TwistInMySobriety · 30/07/2015 11:44

Dunno, I have no special insight into the case, which is why I'm advocating letting the justice system do its work. But hey, he's already been hung drawn and quartered by public opinion so who needs pesky details like a trial?

It's hardly beyond the realms of possibility, though, is it? It wouldn't be the first time someone committed suicide after social media harrassment, would it?

OP posts:
BeautifulBatman · 30/07/2015 11:47

Not sure if happy is the word. But I definitely think the world would be a better pace without him. Maybe he and Cecil could have a return match in the afterlife.

squoosh · 30/07/2015 11:52

The lovely thing about being metaphorically hung, drawn and quartered is that it isn't terminal. In 6 months time Walter's affluent life will be pootling along as it's always done.

But hopefully in future he'll think twice before slaying an animal like Cecil. Although I won't hold my breath, seeing as being found guilty of illegal killing a bear didn't seem to do anything to quell his appetite.

coffeeisnectar · 30/07/2015 12:01

I hope he loses his income and therefore his ability to pay to go and kill animals.

I also hope he is fined massively with the money going to the conservation area where he shot the lion.

Finally, I hope he loses all his weapons licenses meaning he can't shoot anything ever again. Anywhere.

SpecificOcean · 30/07/2015 12:14

He will always be a nasty vile little man however long he lives and deep down he knows it and probably secretly hates himself.
Poor Cecil's torment is over.
WP's living hell is not. His choice.

Sirzy · 30/07/2015 12:17

You can't go out and behave like that and then not expect to have to face he repercussions of your behaviour.

Seriouslyffs · 30/07/2015 12:17

I'm very sad about Cecil.
I think Walter is a revolting killer and wouldn't be in the same room as him. I wouldn't be sad if he lost his livelihood and firearms certificates.
But I am also concerned about proportionality and the internet. The woman who wrote horrible things about, not to the Mcanns was exposed and then killed herself, the breastfeeding Primark mother, there frightening momentum which gathers after an event.

ChrisQuean · 30/07/2015 12:20

Read what Louis Theroux posted on facebook. Sums everything up nicely.

I particularly like him saying that Walter whatshisname might now understand what it it like to be hunted.

The man deserves everything he gets.

shadowfax07 · 30/07/2015 12:44

I don't feel sorry for Walter Palmer at all. He's a dentist, so presumably he has a modicum of intelligence, and would have known what he was doing was wrong. Leaving any animal to suffer for that long is immoral, IMO.

I do feel sorry for the lion he killed and his cubs. I also feel sorry for his employees, who are now facing an uncertain future because of this twat's behaviour.

ElkeDagMeisje · 30/07/2015 12:45

YABU. He is addicted to hunting and made a conscious decision to use a service that he didn't bother to research the legality of. I don't believe that he thought it was legal, he has a past conviction in his own country.

He has poor professional standards as his activities bring his profession into disrepute by his being associated with criminal activities (poaching).

And he is a bad hunter - he didn't get a clean kill, and someone else in his group had to finish off the animal for him 40 hours later, so he could arrange for his trophy to be shipped home. He must also be remarkably short sighted, as he didn't see the research collar the lion was wearing.

I think re proportionality seriously, poaching, treating African countries as a playground and decimating a quantifiable percentage of the healthy wild lion population is a much bigger issue than Walter Palmer being a bit upset due to his own poor life choices. Oh, and he also ruined a research project, into which funding has been put in.

Mamiof3 · 30/07/2015 12:50

The tragedy of the death of Cecil aside I agree with ElkeDag in that the way Africa is treated like some kind of playground where rules don't apply to rich foreigners is what grates on me so much. It's the complete arrogance of it. It's a very Colonial mindset.

Capricorn76 · 30/07/2015 13:10

Mamiof3. I agree. I really wish Africa would become wealthier and thus be in a financial position to turn away this type of tourist and countries like China who prop up the Ivory trade.

FineDamBeaver · 30/07/2015 13:37

This is a scary thread.

Personally, I started out thinking "that Walter Palmer, how the hell can someone behave like that?", and finding it hard not to have horrific images of what he had done. Although it never occurred to me to wish actual harm and suffering on him in return.

I'm now much more horrified about some of the imagined attacks people seem to be actually enjoying inflicting on an actual, real live person. And seemingly thinking it reflects their moral superiority...?

squoosh · 30/07/2015 13:43

You're more horrified by people's internet steam releasing ramblings than you are by something that actually happened?

Egosumquisum · 30/07/2015 13:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

runlulurun · 30/07/2015 13:47

I don't feel sorry for him. I think if he is that big twat in this respect, he is likely to be a massive twat in all areas and probably got his just desserts.

squoosh · 30/07/2015 13:53

Yes the internet is full of the weird and creepy and I'm glad that people are starting to realise that it isn't a place where you can troll and harass without consequence. But someone on MN saying they'd like to give Walter some of his own medicine doesn't make me worry for his safety.

People just have a visceral reaction to images of dead lions and the grinning fools who've killed them for sport. What did he expect? This isn't a new thing.

Hopefully he's now learnt a vigorous lesson about actions and consequences.

seagreengirl · 30/07/2015 13:57

I don't actually feel sorry for him either, however this kind of awful internet pitchfork waving is very scary, and gets completely out of proportion.

It really worries me that people who behave like this can sit on juries.

runlulurun · 30/07/2015 14:01

Well to be honest I didn't read any replies beyond the OP as all very predictable.

IrianofWay · 30/07/2015 14:04

YAB very U.

I wish someone would take his fucking bow off him and feed him to something with very big teeth and a bad attitude. Twat!

runlulurun · 30/07/2015 14:05

It really worries me that people who behave like this can sit on juries.

I think that the pitchfork waving is easy to do when someone is anonymous, but harder to do when they are sitting right in front of you.

seagreengirl · 30/07/2015 14:10

Well to be honest I didn't read any replies beyond the OP as all very predictable.

"feed him to a big lion and see how he likes it"