The reason I can't get enough of NATGEO is it is non-stop programming of animal documentaries.
Earlier today, I watched a show called, "Caught in the Act". Basically, the show is a random display of videos filmed by people who happen to be out on African safaris. The videos showcase unusual animal behaviors or rarely seen acts of animal aggression.
Today's episode had the usual scenes: lions and hyenas fighting over a carcass, two giraffes fighting, an angry rhino, lions killing a wildebeest and so on.
But one video really caught my attention: It was a pride of lions attacking and killing an elephant.
As this rare attack was being filmed, you could hear all of the women in the safari crying; begging for the lions to leave the poor elephant alone.
I admit I was rooting for the elephant, too.
After this highly emotional video was played, the next video showed some lions attacking a zebra. The reaction by those people in the safari was quite different. Nobody was crying. Nobody was rooting for the zebra.
Of course, the human connection to elephants is much stronger than that of a zebra. Hell, as children we learn to love elephants because they sit in chairs and perform other human like acts at the circus.
Zebras, on the other hand, are basically striped horses. And we all know, horses are boring.
Anyway, it always intrigues me how selective we, as humans, are when it comes to our sympathies.
Suburban white kids vs. Poor white kids or minority children
When a child is kidnapped and murdered and he/she happens to be white, he/she will get a lot more press than one who happens to fall into a different economic and racial bracket.
It's been 15 years and Jon Benet Ramsey is still in the news today.
Dolphins vs. Tuna
Animal rights people have strived to make certain we are all eating dolphin safe tuna (basically, tuna that was not caught in the types of nets that commonly kill dolphins).
Animal rights people seem to be more sympathetic towards dolphins than tuna. Aren't tuna as much a living being as dolphins? I guess dolphins are just cuter than tuna so we care a little more about them.
Really, tuna are simply the
Not only are we selective when it comes to our sympathies, we tend to be selective when it comes to forgiveness.
A preacher can commit adultery and his congregation will be much quicker to forgive than say if our local politician commits the same act.Many preachers have actually seen their "ministries" become more profitable after a scandal.
Our prisons are filled with murderers and rapists who receive hundreds of letters a week from doting single men and women.
It's almost like we are selective in who we forgive as long as it fits our own needs.Personally, I am certain that I have held grudges over the years with those who didn't suit any of my other needs. I am much more willing to forgive the attractive woman who screws me over than I am at forgiving the "unattractive" friend that commits the same act against me.
But I suppose that's human nature.
Even in the online world, we see loyalties change rapidly. Public opinion turns on one person and others will quickly delete that online friend.
I will bet that just about everyone has deleted someone from their friends list because they did them wrong or said something to piss you off. And I will also guess that remaining on your friends list are other people who have said or done something quite similarly.
Just like in the real world, we are selective in who we forgive and who we eliminate from our lives.
Recently, Lance Armstrong appeared on Oprah to finally admit that he used performance enhancing drugs during his cycling career.
Despite several witnesses and former friends claiming they have personally watched him using these drugs, he vehemently denied it. He even claimed a failed drug test was the result of a conspiracy to ruin his reputation and career. For 15 years, he blatantly lied about his drug use, denied ever cheating and even sued several people for libel.
His lies and denial, ironically, ruined the careers and reputations of some of his rivals.
So here we are, the voices of world opinion are now reacting. Some are angry. Others, now view him in a more favorable light.
A good looking rich athlete who used his fame and fortune in the cancer charity called LiveStrong is now, once again, center stage but this time for doing something cowardly or courageous; depending on your perspective.
Humans are typically very forgiving; especially if it will serve our own needs or agenda or perception.
We are selective in our sympathies and even more so, in who we forgive.
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