Monday, August 3, 2015

Cecil Who? Putting Cecil into Perspective



This article is worth reading in its entirety to integrate a Zimbabwean perspective into your

analysis. Again, this issue is not as superficial as who feels or doesn't feel compassion over

the death of ONE or potentially TWO LIONS. The core of this argument centers around who

is framing the Cecil narrative, who benefits/loses from the framing, the irony regarding who

has the power to tell the story, and the ways in which certain narratives elicit visceral

reactions and mobilize resources in the West and the United States in the face of a number

of equally (if not more) compelling domestic and international issues. Lest we forget that an

innocent American was shot in his car by a police officer in Cleveland recently. Conduct a

poll of Americans and ask them HIS name? ‪#‎Crickets‬. In short, should we grieve Cecil's

death? That's a personal decision. Does it warrant a full on sustained international effort? I

would argue not.






Alex Magaisa, Zimbabwean national and teaches law at the University of Kent Law School in the United Kingdom


"I understand why people are upset and angry over his vile act. I love animals. As a small 

boy herding cattle with my friends in a village in Zimbabwe, we fought boys from another 


community for killing defenseless little birds. I despise cruelty in general, particularly toward 


wild creatures.But it is important to put the outrage over Cecil’s death into perspective. We 


Zimbabweans don’t write our stories often enough. We leave them to be written by others 

and complain when our stories are not told properly and accurately. So let me tell my   

Zimbabwean version of the Cecil story."




Read the full article here: