Friday, January 7, 2011

Order Matter Word Does

From Carl Pope's Sierra Club blog, on values in Kenya regarding various animals:

To kill a lion that was killing a cow with a spear is a badge of courage and honor.

I sincerely hope I never encounter a cow with a spear, or a spear-wielding lion killing it...

4 comments:

  1. If it can see Russia from its lair----RUN!

    ReplyDelete
  2. mandt, that would be imPalin the lion, wouldn't it? :-)

    There are many sensible grammatical solutions; here's mine: "Using a spear to kill a lion that was killing a cow is a badge of courage and honor." Proximity resolves any potential ambiguity!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I take it that the native was defending his property.

    Silly me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kay - That, or if the cow were not involved, perhaps it's a rite of passage? I recall a Star Trek story (TOS, either as an episode or possibly as a novel) in which Lt. Uhura, carrying a spear, stalks and "kills" a "lion" (a robot, actually). Some time after the "kill," the "lion" gets up, shakes itself off and walks away. Clearly, in the 23rd Century, Uhura's tribe displays a sensitivity about needless killing, but has a need nonetheless to preserve an ancient coming-of-age ritual.

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