Saturday, May 5, 2012

Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Trolls

No matter where you go online, it seems there are always people trying to start trouble. I'm a watcher of the Raptor Resource Project's Decorah Eagles Nest. I don't involve myself in the chat room or the social stream. I just enjoy watching the eagle babies for a few minutes every day.

Last week the social stream was closed down for a few days. It became infested with trolls. I seriously don't understand what people get out of that kind of behavior. There were threats made against the baby eagles in the nest, against the tree itself, and just plain hateful racist comments made to members who use the social stream to learn more about the eagles. There seems to be absolutely no place that one can go online without seeing this kind of stupid behavior.

I've drawn a few conclusions about that type of person. I've begun to believe that anonymity simply allows an all ready existing hate to find a voice. I used to think that people were putting on an act, and that act was what would allow them to voice things that they might not feel in reality. Now, I'm not so sure. I've wondered if the anger, the frustration and the hate we see online is actually who these people are, and in real life, they wear a mask. One that makes them appear to be kind, considerate and caring human beings.

Life in the wild for these birds is hard enough without people adding to it. I also was watching a hummingbird cam. Unfortunately, the little hummer laid her eggs somewhere around April 24, and crows got both of them this past Thursday morning. No one has seen little Phoebe since. Whether she just abandoned her nest or has been taken by a predator no one knows. It's sad that the crows got the eggs, but they didn't do that for the fun of it, it's food for them. It seems that only people do malicious things for the fun of it, and we think we're the superior animal?

No matter how hard I try, I simply can't understand how anyone could threaten a nest of eagles, or the tree the nest is in, especially when they look like this:


(Picture *borrowed* from the Decorah Web Cam blog)

Of course they've grown quite a bit bigger, and they have lost much of their baby down this past week. They should be big enough to leave home somewhere near the end of June, and next year the process will start all over again. Mama Eagle will lay her eggs again and hopefully she'll manage to keep her babies safe until they grow up and leave. 

Watching nature at work is an enjoyable pursuit. Too bad it has to be tarnished by the behavior of people. 

6 comments:

  1. Stupidity is unlimited. Intelligence must be learned.

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  2. I recently received an e-mail supposedly from a friend in Alaska - when I opened it it was a spam advertisement. The message reproduced itself in my address book and sent itself out to all my addressees. I cleaned my computer and deleted my entire address book to insure it won't happen again. I ask myself why do people do this? But then, we find vandalism common among young adults. Perhaps it is just part of our nature.
    the Ol'Buzzard

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    Replies
    1. I think it is part of some people's nature. Sad, isn't it?

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  3. I seriously don't understand what people get out of that kind of behavior.

    With all apologies to the "Dark Knight" script writer for changing his or her words, but to varying degrees most people want to see the world burn.

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    Replies
    1. Ummm, how about burning just the GOP? LOL

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