I recently posted about a man in Tamil Nadu named P. Selvakumar who was advised by his astrologer to marry a dog to atone for his past cruelty; when he was younger, he had stoned a pair of mating dogs and then hung them from a tree, to die. After his deplorable act, he apparently lost his hearing and became paralyzed.
If only he had been the son of a powerful politician in Amreeka. Then he would have blessed enough to get away with it, grow up and continue to display very disturbing behavior!
You see, once upon a time mutineers, in a state far, far away…okay, it was Arkansas, but still, there was a teen who was wicked. His name was David Huckabee and while he was leading a boy scout camp in 1998, he murdered a defenseless dog.
Do you see where I’m going with this? Of course you do, clever readers. Because while some of you impugned my decision to post about P. Selvakumar’s wedding to Selvi the canine as an “about-as-veiled-as-that-one-belly-dancer-at-Prince-Cafe” dig at Hinduism, most of you realized that what haunted me was how the whole thing occurred because two dogs had been stoned and then strung from a tree. I love dogs. I’ve had three, all of whom sadly are gone. Out of an overwhelming sense of loss, I now stop and pet every pup who will have me; that is how much I love dogs. They are fiercely loving, ever adoring, loyal, fuzzy angels with paws.
Once, when I was a senior in college and considerably angst-ridden (for very good reason), I put “Strangeways Here We Come” on my turntable, dropped the needle and then dropped myself down on the lush, odd red carpet we were infamous for having installed in our ENTIRE Home. It was time for some emotional bloodletting, though I didn’t have any Johnette nearby.
When Morrissey started keening, I went still, except for the unceasing crying, of course. A few songs in to the album, I was vaguely aware of a strange noise but I was too morose to move. My eyes were closed. I was despondent. I really didn’t care.
But my wolf-German shepherd hybrid did. He had broke through the once-sturdy patio screen door in his haste and worry to get to me. I opened my eyes because of the oddest sensation—a very concerned puppy was licking all the NaCl off my face. Torn between being utterly grossed out (it was my first pet!) and utterly in love with such love (it was my first pet!), I chose the latter and sat up, as my dog visibly relaxed at my not-being-dead.
That’s what kind of sweetness dogs contain.
And maybe, just perhaps, the dog that David Huckabee executed had licked away some other kid’s tears. Even if it hadn’t, I’m sure it would have been inclined to, if it hadn’t been hung from a tree and left to choke to death by the son of a Preacher man.
Via Newsweek:
As Mike Huckabee gains in the polls, the former Arkansas governor is finding that his record in office is getting more scrutiny. One issue likely to get attention is his handling of a sensitive family matter: allegations that one of his sons was involved in the hanging of a stray dog at a Boy Scout camp in 1998. The incident led to the dismissal of David Huckabee, then 17, from his job as a counselor at Camp Pioneer in Hatfield, Ark. It also prompted the local prosecuting attorney— bombarded with complaints generated by a national animal-rights group—to write a letter to the Arkansas state police seeking help investigating whether David and another teenager had violated state animal-cruelty laws.
That prosecutor had about the same chance the murdered dog did, not that such a fact is shocking.
The state police never granted the request, and no charges were ever filed. But John Bailey, then the director of Arkansas’s state police, tells NEWSWEEK that Governor Huckabee’s chief of staff and personal lawyer both leaned on him to write a letter officially denying the local prosecutor’s request. Bailey, a career officer who had been appointed chief by Huckabee’s Democratic predecessor, said he viewed the lawyer’s intervention as improper and terminated the conversation.
Wait— so why does India have the bad rep for “democracy which is all corrupt and isht”, again? America! Nepotism! Eff yeah!
Seven months later, he was called into Huckabee’s office and fired. “I’ve lost confidence in your ability to do your job,” Bailey says Huckabee told him. One reason Huckabee cited was “I couldn’t get you to help me with my son when I had that problem,” according to Bailey. “Without question, [Huckabee] was making a conscious attempt to keep the state police from investigating his son,” says I. C. Smith, the former FBI chief in Little Rock, who worked closely with Bailey and called him a “courageous” and “very solid” professional.
Huckabee called Bailey’s account “totally untrue” and described him as a “bitter” exemployee. “I asked him to resign because he had so alienated the entire state police,” he said. “It had nothing to do with my son.”
Come on, now Reverend. Heed those ten commandments. Thou shall not bear false witness, lest our Lord smite you! If only you were Catholic…then perhaps you would think of the legacy of St. Francis, who saw the divine in animals, including dogs.
Here’s a shocker:
David Huckabee did not respond to requests for comment.
People who harm defenseless animals are often disturbed and dangerous. Oh, look!
In April of this year, he was arrested—and paid a fine—when he forgot to remove a loaded gun from his carry-on luggage at Little Rock airport.
Why can’t politicians just own it? Enough with the excuses. And if you’re a minister, a man of faith, a man who should know better, how do you condone such behavior? How do you ruthlessly make it all go away and THEN walk in to church without it collapsing on you, as my Mother would ask?
His father told NEWSWEEK that his son did not engage in “intentional torture.” “There was a dog that apparently had mange and was absolutely, I guess, emaciated.” A campaign official says David “regrets” the incident and notes that he later made Eagle Scout.
Didn’t engage in INTENTIONAL torture? So tormenting a vulnerable creature is allowable if it is unintentional? If you’re hanging someone or something from a tree, in order to see them/it writhe in pain and then die, I’d consider that rather intentional. But wait! I forgot the dog’s appearance. Apparently since the animal was emaciated, it’s fine. Frankly, all of this is an insult to eagle scouts, who are the kindest of their kind.
So.
A few of you thought that the Selvakumar/Selvi alliance was an “elegant” bit of justice; I would agree, especially if by some miracle*, this man could be similarly “saved”. His father would appreciate that, right? Saved is good! Truth is good! NOT KILLING DOGS IS GOOD.
While most of the presidential candidates on either side of the aisle aren’t thrilling, there are a few who are extremely disturbing; children learn at home, and if this douche learned that it was okay to torture and murder from his family, then I want that family nowhere near me— I’m walking distance from the White House, after all.
*Hey, I’m Christian. I believe in tons o’ miracles, aight?
