Punishment is futile

[wolf]

Originally Posted by slang

If Bradley Smith had equipped himself with a sensible defensive handgun, he would not have been harmed. He may have been able to host one helluva beach party with a skewered shark rotating over a crackling fire as well.

Hmmmm ....

Shark attacks tend to happen off the coast of Australia.

And New Jersey.

And California.

All places where one can't equip oneself with a sensible defensive handgun ...

Oh my god.

The sharks are behind gun control.

Run!!

Run for your lives!!!!

[wolf]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

I've seen some interesting documentaries on polar bears.

There was this one guy who actually interacted with them as if he were a polar bear... and they reciprocated.

IIRC, he got eaten by them.

Just checked. He did, and it was Alaska, but it was brown bears.

[jaguar]

I bar my windows when the sharks come by too
(I know what you mean..)

[ladysycamore]

Originally Posted by Catwoman

The ability to show such humanity in the face of sheer emotional trauma, and the recognition that punishment is futile.

*Could've sworn I posted my reply earlier...guess not*


Actually, this is the part that had me puzzled:
""What we actually need is a public education campaign to teach people how to live with sharks," she said. "They are a fact of life, they rarely attack humans, but occasionally it does happen. Instead of avoiding the issue, let's start educating the public about it."

Why on earth would anyone want to purposely surf/live/swim among/deal with sharks outside of perhaps being a marine biologist? As much as I miss swimming in the ocean, I also know that there is too much danger in it for me to go back in it. I don't care how rare shark attacks are, the bottom line is this: they will freaking try to eat you if they see you and think you are food...period! I really think man needs to stop trying so hard to get up into the ass of Mother Nature all of the time and just stay safe!

People lose clarity when someone is attacked, calling immediately for the perpetrator to be destroyed. When will we realise we have no more right to be here than any other creature?

When people stop swimming among sharks?

Thank god there are some people who realise how stupid and arrogant it is to return like for like. This relates back to every punishment issue I can think of. I know a lot of you disagree with me on this one, but if this family can show some sense, why can't you?

Well, if that works for you, great. However, that was the family's choice and I'm sure that some people have wondered why they chose to not have the sharks killed. I say that's their business, just like if I were to have choosen to say go ahead and kill them is MY business. It's not for anyone to wonder "why" and so forth.

And I'm going to leave it at that.

[wolf]

There seem to be wackos who think that swimming with sharks is a vacation destination. It's all the fault of the Discovery Channel, making them seem cuddly.

[jaguar]

I've got a scuba licence and I know a fair few experienced divers. Most have had at least one shark experience ranging from seeing them having a nap on the bottom to curious grey nurse sharks circling around. If you spend enough time diving (and I don't) you wil come across them sooner or later. It's still safer than driving.

Well, if that works for you, great. However, that was the family's choice and I'm sure that some people have wondered why they chose to not have the sharks killed. I say that's their business, just like if I were to have choosen to say go ahead and kill them is MY business. It's not for anyone to wonder "why" and so forth.

Well yes, it is other people's business. You're not going to go out there in a dingy with a .45 yourself and do it are you? They have to send out teams of people to scour large areas to kill a member of an endangered species so that someone can feel a sense of revenge.

[Elspode]

{Christian} All the creatures and plants of the Earth are under the dominion of Man, to serve him as Man serves God. Therefore, Man may do as it pleases with these lesser creations. {/Christian}

It really isn't all that difficult to find the source of mankind's arrogance about Mother Earth and her children, IMHO. Oh...and there's a lot of other bad stuff that occurs sociologically because of that same damn book and the people who have obviously misread it, but that's another thread.

WE all take risks every day we are alive. Even just crossing a street means that we are risking being hit by an out of control truck or a drunk driver. If we decide to take an airplane, there's a risk it might crash. If we get in our cars, there's a risk we might have an accident. Swimming in the ocean or walking in the wood is no different. I think its foolish to take it out on the animals. We know that they may be there, we access the possibilities, and take the risk. I agree that its pointless to go around killing sharks. They'll never figure out which ones were responsible for the attack, anyhow.

I go out in the back country often, and the animal which concerns me the most around here is the cougar. When it comes to cougars, there are no good statistics on "repeat offenders." Generally, a cougar which kills a human is hunted down and destroyed. There are a couple of instances where the animal was caught and relocated and never attacked anyone again. Most cougars which attack people are either yearlings who have not found a hunting territory of their own or animals which are sick. 80% of all cougar attacks were found to have been carried out by under weight animals. When I'm in cougar country, I take certain precautions. I avoid activities at dawn or dusk - a cougar's prime hunting hours. I avoid acting like prey - jogging in the woods, etc. I carry mace, and I know that if I encounter a cougar, I need to act like a predator - jump on a rock if possible, shout, throw rocks, and wave my arms around while looking at the cougar the entire time. Cougars don't really consider humans to be a tasty treat, and would much prefer to go eat a nice deer or elk. You need to remind them of this if you encounter one. The worst possible thing to do is to act like prey and try to run from one. They're too fast anyhow. It's damn hard to out pace a cougar.

If I ever were to be killed by one, I'd just as soon Fish and Wildlife let it go unless it was proved to be a threat to other humans. Its a risk, but its a very small one. I'll take my chances and accept the consequences if I loose through my own foolishness.

[ladysycamore]

Originally Posted by marichiko

WE all take risks every day we are alive. Even just crossing a street means that we are risking being hit by an out of control truck or a drunk driver. If we decide to take an airplane, there's a risk it might crash. If we get in our cars, there's a risk we might have an accident. Swimming in the ocean or walking in the wood is no different. I think its foolish to take it out on the animals. We know that they may be there, we access the possibilities, and take the risk. I agree that its pointless to go around killing sharks. They'll never figure out which ones were responsible for the attack, anyhow.

My thing is there are risks that one *HAS* to take, and those that people voluntarily CHOOSE to take. Driving (at least for me) is something I MUST do in order to get around on a daily basis. Swimming in the ocean full of dangerous animals is something I do not HAVE to do, nor does anyone else for that matter. It's something they WANT to do. After a car accident, nobody is asking, "Well why was she even driving?" but I'm sure that many people, after hearing the news, have asked, "Well why was that young man surfing around a bunch of sharks???"

Wolf was right by saying:
There seem to be wackos who think that swimming with sharks is a vacation destination. It's all the fault of the Discovery Channel, making them seem cuddly.

Don't get it.

[ladysycamore]

Originally Posted by jaguar

I've got a scuba licence and I know a fair few experienced divers. Most have had at least one shark experience ranging from seeing them having a nap on the bottom to curious grey nurse sharks circling around. If you spend enough time diving (and I don't) you wil come across them sooner or later. It's still safer than driving.

Well, I don't anticipate doing any diving soon, so I'll take my chances driving because that's what I have to do to get around (and no public transit isn't an option for me because of my health, and those here who are in the Philly area know how f***ed up SEPTA is).

Well yes, it is other people's business. You're not going to go out there in a dingy with a .45 yourself and do it are you? They have to send out teams of people to scour large areas to kill a member of an endangered species so that someone can feel a sense of revenge.

Erm what I meant was that it's my business how I would feel about the matter, what I would have wanted to have happen and that people need to stop wondering the "why" about every little thing in the world.

"Why ask why" isn't just a ad slogan.

[jaclyn8700]

Originally Posted by jaguar

I've got a scuba licence and I know a fair few experienced divers. Most have had at least one shark experience ranging from seeing them having a nap on the bottom to curious grey nurse sharks circling around. If you spend enough time diving (and I don't) you wil come across them sooner or later. It's still safer than driving.

Well yes, it is other people's business. You're not going to go out there in a dingy with a .45 yourself and do it are you? They have to send out teams of people to scour large areas to kill a member of an endangered species so that someone can feel a sense of revenge.

I have eaten freshly caught shark and it tasts disgusting.

[jaguar]

My point was that staying out of the oceans is not really an answer. People that bait sharks on the other hand deserve what they get, or lose as the case may be.

I think I misinterpreted what you said, my bad.

[ladysycamore]

Originally Posted by jaguar

My point was that staying out of the oceans is not really an answer. People that bait sharks on the other hand deserve what they get, or lose as the case may be.

Heh, staying out of the ocean works for me: haven't been biten by a shark ever.

I think I misinterpreted what you said, my bad.

Fuggitaboutit.

[wolf]

There's a lot that I don't get, including some of the more extreme piercings and bungie jumping.

[Clodfobble]

Wolf, is there a waterproof gun on the market that he could have kept in a little wetsuit holster, or would he really have had to be on a boat to shoot the shark?