jfh
Member.
unfortunately, irrationalism knows no bounds,
as the accuracy of the emotional responses to this situation demonstrate.
Let's try it again:
1. The principal did NOT bring a gun to school. The feral mother had been killed in a trap near his residence and he chose to dispatch two nursing kittens who refused to leave the body.
2. His residence was in a district-supplied mobile home, but away from the school campus by, IIRC, some three hundred feet. There was no dispute about his firing a gun at school, in the direction of the school, or during school hours. There were some students still on campus for after-school activities--but how many remain after school in a k-12 district of, I believe, some 240 students?
3. The campus is in a remote area of Northern Minnesota, in a VERY small town. Had he chosen to try to turn them over to a local humane society, not only is the nearest one some distance away, but his experience would have been similar to countertop's experience with his barn cats: If the kittens are to be taken (for adoption) at all, requirements of neutering and getting in line exist.
4. Several people do not differentiate between abandoned pets with litters perhaps one generation removed from domesticity and the problems of feral cats in the wild for several generations.
Some of you may recall the controversy earlier this year in the WI state legislature, when a feral-cat bill was instroduced. If you don't, then a google will suffice to demonstrate that the feral-cat issues in rural areas can be a real problem.
Uncontrolled breeding of domestic cats can result in wildly-varying genetically-based behavior. My current cat (adopted from the Humane society, a neutered male and strictly an inside cat) is the most affectionate cat I have ever had. BUT, his 'hunting instincts' are right below the surface behavior. It is not uncommon for him to be purring--even trilling while being petted--and to spin around and bite, and continue to become more aggressive until contact is broken.
5. Note The principal is a cat lover, and owns two cats (apparently kept at his home in another town).
The various AP edits on this situation indicated that the story was not only the "killing kittens" angle (and on SCHOOL PROPERTY!), but also called out was the fact that 'the district authorities' did not apparently respond 'promptly' to government authorities.
Given the AP's reportorial bias, there seems to be little doubt that this story got some legs simply because they wanted to sensationalize it.
There is no doubt the principal exercised poor judgement is deciding to dispatch these kittens by shooting them, for any number of reasons.
However, the issues involved that make it being a newsworthy story suggest to me that the notoriety and loss of job the principal has experienced far exceeds ANY issues of legality and appropriate sanctions.
I'll be curious to see if there is any continuing reporting on this subject. In the meantime, the comments in this thread do seem to indicate that pro-gun people can be as irrational as antigunnies.
as the accuracy of the emotional responses to this situation demonstrate.
Let's try it again:
1. The principal did NOT bring a gun to school. The feral mother had been killed in a trap near his residence and he chose to dispatch two nursing kittens who refused to leave the body.
2. His residence was in a district-supplied mobile home, but away from the school campus by, IIRC, some three hundred feet. There was no dispute about his firing a gun at school, in the direction of the school, or during school hours. There were some students still on campus for after-school activities--but how many remain after school in a k-12 district of, I believe, some 240 students?
3. The campus is in a remote area of Northern Minnesota, in a VERY small town. Had he chosen to try to turn them over to a local humane society, not only is the nearest one some distance away, but his experience would have been similar to countertop's experience with his barn cats: If the kittens are to be taken (for adoption) at all, requirements of neutering and getting in line exist.
4. Several people do not differentiate between abandoned pets with litters perhaps one generation removed from domesticity and the problems of feral cats in the wild for several generations.
Some of you may recall the controversy earlier this year in the WI state legislature, when a feral-cat bill was instroduced. If you don't, then a google will suffice to demonstrate that the feral-cat issues in rural areas can be a real problem.
Uncontrolled breeding of domestic cats can result in wildly-varying genetically-based behavior. My current cat (adopted from the Humane society, a neutered male and strictly an inside cat) is the most affectionate cat I have ever had. BUT, his 'hunting instincts' are right below the surface behavior. It is not uncommon for him to be purring--even trilling while being petted--and to spin around and bite, and continue to become more aggressive until contact is broken.
5. Note The principal is a cat lover, and owns two cats (apparently kept at his home in another town).
The various AP edits on this situation indicated that the story was not only the "killing kittens" angle (and on SCHOOL PROPERTY!), but also called out was the fact that 'the district authorities' did not apparently respond 'promptly' to government authorities.
Given the AP's reportorial bias, there seems to be little doubt that this story got some legs simply because they wanted to sensationalize it.
There is no doubt the principal exercised poor judgement is deciding to dispatch these kittens by shooting them, for any number of reasons.
However, the issues involved that make it being a newsworthy story suggest to me that the notoriety and loss of job the principal has experienced far exceeds ANY issues of legality and appropriate sanctions.
I'll be curious to see if there is any continuing reporting on this subject. In the meantime, the comments in this thread do seem to indicate that pro-gun people can be as irrational as antigunnies.
