Clarence the Cross Eyed Hunting Trophy

So, some wealthy dentist has shot Clarence the Cross Eyed Lion and taken his head for a trophy, so now the entire world is up in arms about it, forcing him into hiding.  They should set Tarzan on his trail - he'd be bound to be able to track down the bastard, with his jungle skills and the assistance of his animal friends.  Then Marshall Thompson could shoot the dentist with his tranquiliser dart gun to subdue him before handing him over to the relevant authorities.  Apparently this dentist has claimed that he thought he was engaged in a legal hunt.  Oh come on!  Surely the fact that the lion was wearing bloody glasses should have told him that it wasn't a regular big cat?  Maybe that's what those locals who helped him did - knock Clarence's glasses off so that he couldn't see?  The bugger wouldn't have stood a chance - they call that sport?  Mind you, I might have got some of that wrong -  I might be confusing childhood memories of Daktari and that Ron Ely Tarzan series which used to be on at Saturday tea time, with current events.  Perhaps the lion in question doesn't wear glasses, but I'm pretty sure it had a name beginning with 'C'.  Back in my day, lions didn't have human names.  They were called things like Leo, if they had names at all.  If nothing else, this whole business just goes to show that you can't trust dentists.  I mean, they've got form for this sort of thing: Doc Holliday was a dentist by training and he was a cold blooded killer. At least he shot cowboys rather than lions, though.

Perhaps I shouldn't be trying to make light of this situation.  The lion killing has certainly got people around the world up in arms.  Quite rightly, too.  What's happened is pretty disgraceful - that wealth can allow an individual to indulge their anti-social urges and, simply for their own twisted pleasure, kill a much loved wild animal which has given pleasure to the many thousands who saw him.  The hue and cry which has followed has been laudable.  The individual concerned should be condemned and should be held to account for their actions.  What fascinates me, though, is that those pouring opprobrium upon the dentist can't seem to see that his actions represent a good analogy for what is happening in the wider world: a wealthy elite are, increasingly, ensuring that their wealth puts them outside of normal legal constraints, enabling them to treat the rest of us as serfs.  Their influence over governments and unaccountable financial institutions means that they have been able to gradually erode our rights and legal protections, so that now, they can do pretty much as they please.  Like shooting endangered species for sport.  So, if all these people are prepared to take up arms (metaphorically speaking) against this lion-killing dentist, why aren't they prepared to get out on the streets and protest at the growing inequalities in our society, the increasing gap between rich and poor, the erosion of living standards and the destruction of the welfare state?