Compassion and savagery

Sometimes you can feel good about being a member of the human race: in Dallas (of all places) there’s a big row going on over the best place for a psychologically traumatised elephant to live. That this much care and attention is being given to another sentient species is a fine example of humanity.

Local protesters, world-renowned elephant experts and national animal rights groups are crusading to have her sent to a 2,700-acre sanctuary in Tennessee where 17 other traumatized elephants are kept in seclusion.
“Jenny is a special-needs elephant,” said Margaret Morin, a Dallas nurse who leads Concerned Citizens for Jenny. “She’s unique; she’s afflicted with crippling depression. The elephant sanctuary is the right choice.”

And then of course other events make you despair – here in Britain, a mother of eight (including a disabled three-year-old and a baby) has been jailed for stealing her neighbours’ credit cards and using them to buy groceries. This is obviously a woman who isn’t coping with her life, so let’s lock her up (and put all of her children into care). That’s such a great solution to the situation; it will really sort it out.

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