Saturday, July 12, 2014

FaceBook Fans Outraged by Dinosaur Hunter Steven Spielberg Safari Photo

by Nomad


Most people have heard that some fundamental Christians in the US have a few pretty crazy ideas about creation and evolution. 
Two years ago, evangelist Pat Robertson made headlines by throwing cold water on the long-standing notion that the Earth was only 6,000 years. His followers must have been gasping in sheer disbelief when he announced:
(T)here was a time when these giant reptiles were on the Earth and it was before the time of the Bible. So, don’t try and cover it up and make like everything was 6,000 years. That’s not the Bible.”
“If you fight science, you’re going to lose your children, and I believe in telling it the way it was.”
The end of that quote suggests that Robertson might actually remember "the way it was."

In battle of science and ignorance- religiously inspired or not- it seems as though, the dark side might have already won. If you need any more evidence than Fox News programming, then take this story by Ella Alexander, writing for the Irish Independent

According to an article, a Facebook member, Jay Branscomb, thought it would be a hoot to attach an absurd caption to a photo one of his Jurassic Park films. 

It was, in fact, a sly comment on Facebook decision to delete photos from a cheerleader who had posted safari shots of animals that she had killed, including a leopard and a lion.

The photo in question (right) shows Spielberg posed beside a dinosaur model- a mechanical Triceratops, to be exact.
Clever prankster Branscomb wrote:
“Disgraceful photo of recreational hunter happily posing next to a Triceratops he just slaughtered. Please share so the world can name and shame this despicable man.”
Branscomb was amazed, amused and appalled by the reaction from some of his followers.

Incredibly, a fair few members of the public didn’t grasp that the picture was taken from the Jurassic Park set, believing that Spielberg had actually poached a dinosaur; dinosaurs, a breed of animals that became extinct 66 million years ago.
The image, shared over 33,000 times, attracting thousands of comments. In typical Internet fashion, the first replies came from low-information users who had missed the class where the science teacher explained the concept of extinction. 

Said one person,“This is no sport!!” and another called Spielberg a "a worthless son of a b****!” 

One comment read, “I am not only outraged, but disgusted!!”

Another person wrote:
“He’s a disgusting inhumane p***k... I’d love to see these hunters be stopped. I think zoos are the best way to keep these innocent animals safe… assholes like this piece of s**t are going into these beautiful animals’ homes… and killing them. It’s no different to someone coming into your home and murdering you… I’m not watching any of your movies again ANIMAL KILLER.”
(Admittedly it's hard to know whether the commenters were simply joining in on the prank or not. From the sample, it's a little hard to determine. We can only hope so.)

Yet another decried the insensitivity of Spielberg's safari.
“One day we realise that we are killing all animals on this planet and we need them to survive. But, when we realise it will be too late.”
Too late, indeed... by only about 65 million years.