to think internet shaming people for legal behaviour is shitty behaviour

[KeflavikAirport]

My FB is awash with petitions to ban some South African woman for posting pictures of giraffe hunting. People are calling her murderous scum and all sorts. Now I'm not a fan of trophy hunting personally but like it or not, it's legal. AIBU to think that joining a baying internet mob to hound a woman who has done nothing illegal is pretty shitty behaviour in its own right? And no I won't be signing your petition. Lobby to make trophy hunting illegal if you care that much.

A worldwide pile on is not illegal, and apparently we only care about things that are illegal

The woman in question has fully admitted she posted the pictures to wind up animal rights activists. She knew the backlash she would get

The law does not equate to morality. There are lots of awful things people can do within the law in different places, it doesn't mean they shouldn't be pilloried for doing so.

Personally I think killing animals for fun is abhorrent, I think the same about fox hunting and game bird shooting and am happy to say it.

She's gloating about killing an innocent animal for fun. So what if its legal, its a pretty fucking sick thing to be proud of. She brought this upon herself.

Why goady? I do think the reaction is totally disproportionate. People in Maidenhead saying they'd like to see this woman in South Africa facing a lion or whatever is not illegal, of course, and they're allowed to do it. I just think internet witch hunts are a shitty thing to join in with.

Personally I think killing animals for fun is abhorrent, I think the same about fox hunting and game bird shooting and am happy to say it.

Aren't game birds eaten ?

She's bought it on herself. I'm not going to post my feelings on what this woman deserves as I'd probably get banned from Mumsnet.

I'm a bit confused - it's the internet.
Aren't people trolled and bullied all day long for perfectly legal things that other people disagree with? Like parenting styles, or whether you're vegan or not? Etc.

Not saying any of it is right but hardly shocking.

What's the quote? "If you don't speak up for what is right, you are part of the problem". It is by speaking out that laws get changed.

I used to think this, but to see the other side of trophy hunting:

I visited a village on safari which allowed trophy hunting. They had a huge problem with the big cats hunting their livestock - sheep and goats etc being killed, the wild elephants would ruin water supply and damage property. These were people living in very basic, tiny huts and was literally a matter of life and death for them to have lost livestock and / or water because of the wild animals.

There was a conservation set up to pay people who had lost livestock / access to water but this had to make money somehow. All the charitable donations, local sponsorship etc accounted for a tiny tiny proportion of income. Whereas allowing a very small amount of trophy hunting could generate 10s of £thousands.

I think it’s incredibly easy to sit in our comfortable, privileged homes and judge those who allow this to happen, but the reality is somewhat different and more complex

(That said, I think trophy hunters themselves are scum but understand why some conservation areas allow it)

Why? Are you worried it hurts her feelings?

I just think internet witch hunts are a shitty thing to join in with.

It's not a witch hunt though. It's a highly emotive subject where millions of people will have the same opinion

Just because something is 'legal' doesn't make it morally ok, and we have this little thing called repercussions which people seem to forget about. You do something people deem abhorrent they are allowed to speak out about it. If you don't like being shamed for the morally reprehensible stuff you, stop doing it.

Illegal and immoral are not the same thing, so I think your argument is shaky at best. There are plenty of things I think are morally fine which are illegal, many things I think are wrong which are entirely legal. The idea that joining mass expression of extreme disapproval somehow means you lose all right to share your opinion of the morality of someone's actions is really strange.

I hate online bullying and agree that it would make more sense to campaign for this so-called sport to be banned, rather than hurling abuse at this one individual. But I have absolutely no sympathy for the woman in question, what kind of reaction did she expect???

OP, in some countries the age of consent is as young as 8. Do you think that it would be wrong to judge someone for having sex with an eight year old if it was in the country where it is legal to do so?

Plenty of legal things are horrendous. FGM is legal in many places but I'm sure you wouldn't say someone speaking up against that is demonstrating 'shitty behaviour'. Your logic is flawed.

@ShirleyPhallus

I used to think this, but to see the other side of trophy hunting:

I visited a village on safari which allowed trophy hunting. They had a huge problem with the big cats hunting their livestock - sheep and goats etc being killed, the wild elephants would ruin water supply and damage property. These were people living in very basic, tiny huts and was literally a matter of life and death for them to have lost livestock and / or water because of the wild animals.

There was a conservation set up to pay people who had lost livestock / access to water but this had to make money somehow. All the charitable donations, local sponsorship etc accounted for a tiny tiny proportion of income. Whereas allowing a very small amount of trophy hunting could generate 10s of £thousands.

I think it’s incredibly easy to sit in our comfortable, privileged homes and judge those who allow this to happen, but the reality is somewhat different and more complex

(That said, I think trophy hunters themselves are scum but understand why some conservation areas allow it)

But that's not really trophy hunting then. It's more culling for environmental reasons ?

I guess it's a weird hinterland where animals need culling, but you can make money from selling the right that can be used to preserve wildlife elsewhere. But ultimately we all come from a culture which does that en masse with farming.

All of which being said, I find killing purely because you can, not for protection food or clothing quite barbaric along with the people that undertake it. (Looks at fox hunting in the UK).

I have just read your history OP

You are not averse to a pile on yourself!!

It’s legal in certain countries to discriminate against women on the basis of their sex. Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it fucking okay.

If your post was AIBU to think internet shaming or abuse is wrong you would have got different answers.

Instead you linked it to shaming things are are legal and specifically mentioned trophy hunting. So you got a different set of answers.

Randomly shaming or abusing people for something like what they look like is different to shaming people for immoral behaviour.

Some behaviour is shameful.

@Chewingle

I have just read your history OP

You are not averse to a pile on yourself!!

Personally I think killing animals for fun is abhorrent, I think the same about fox hunting and game bird shooting and am happy to say it.

The reason this is worse and has provoked such outrage (apart from giraffes being such big beautiful animals) is they are also on the ‘vulnerable to extinction’ list. Other animals are culled as they are too numerous for their habitat and game birds are at least eaten. Personally, I can’t believe shooting giraffes is legal, and feel it should be outlawed. This woman knew what she was doing and deserves all the criticism she gets.

OP, in some countries the age of consent is as young as 8. Do you think that it would be wrong to judge someone for having sex with an eight year old if it was in the country where it is legal to do so?

^This in spades.

I was prepared to agree with you as baying internet mobs are truly awful. But big game hunting? They can fuck off. It's legal to marry children in some countries, I'll sign a petition to ban that too. Lots of stuff is legal in countries which shouldn't be and big game hunting is disgusting.

@Chewingle

I have just read your history OP

You are not averse to a pile on yourself!!