Dying For Pleasure and Power
/A Visual Feast For Wealth
Drenched in water, the drugged tiger is forced back into the tiny cage. The lasso around his neck tightens as he attempts to roar. The wealthy Chinese businessmen are laughing and drinking as they watch their symbol of power try to turn around in the small cage.
A tiger just like the one pictured here was killed by Chinese businessmen for power and pleasure.
Barely able to stand up, the tiger is resisting the metal rod that is attached to the wires that will soon shoot the electricity through his body. Quickly, the worker finds the opening as the tiger roars that allows the rod to be inserted into the tiger’s mouth. Excitement builds as the businessmen visually take in the abundance of pain, suffering, crying and moaning the tiger is experiencing. The signal is sent forth to turn on the switch. Within seconds, the tiger’s spirit gives up and his once strong, powerful body collapses. The auctioning immediately begins for the freshly killed body parts as the businessmen compete for their tokens of power and how they will use them. It is a common practice for business men to purchase the meat, bones and body parts and give them as gifts to civil servants and officials.
A Show of Power
The above scenario played out last week in the southern province of Guangdong. Police in Zhanjiang discovered the body a freshly killed tiger during a raid.
Guangdong (credit: wikipedia.org)
The above scenario played out last week in the southern province of Guangdong. Police in Zhanjiang discovered the body a freshly killed tiger during a raid. Even though the slaughter of tigers is nothing new in China, this particular tiger, along with others over the last few years, were killed for their entertainment value and show of power among wealthy Chinese businessmen. The transaction is simple and well organized. The buyers are guaranteed the tiger is alive upon its arrival, and a butcher is on the scene to ensure the body parts are cut with precision so no value is lost. Local officials are at the scene to participate in the entertainment that wealth can buy.
Understanding the Demand For Tiger Body Parts
Even though China issued a regulation in 1993 banning the use and trade of tiger products, the slaughter has continued. The profits are worth the risk of buying a captive raised tiger and expanding their underground business.
Tigers killed for power and pleasure in China. (Credit: China Daily Reuters)
Presence Power
The number of tigers left in the wild are rapidly declining to the point of extinction. We are seeing “living history” every time we look at a tiger unless there is a shift in consciousness. In reality, we may be past the point of no return for the tiger living in its natural environment. Humanity, in its lack of awareness of emotional consequences and desire for instant gratification, has lost its ability to empathize with others including animals. We are constantly searching for something out there that will satisfy something we have no name for. We look for symbols of strength and power in external things not realizing that strength and power lies within. When we are in the presence of a tiger, we feel their power. We feel a presence about them that we long for. We want to connect with that power and unfortunately, not discerning what the truth is, we often attack, brutalize, hold captive and kill for that external power. It is this primitive thinking that no longer serves us, the animals or the planet.
We are at a turning point. There is no future prediction if the tigers will survive in the wild or not because we are creating a collective reality right now. The first question we have to ask ourselves is, are we going to be willing to entertain the possibility of letting go of symbols we have given power to? If we are, the next question is, are we going to acknowledge and accept the power that we are seeking that lies within? If we do, our responsibility as a global family is to stop seeking external power in the form of killing in all areas of life and to seek peace and cooperation. If we do not, are we willing to continue to keep slowly dying for pleasure and power at the expense of others?
© 2014 Laura LassiterAll Rights Reserved
