Un-Ducking-believable

I posted before about cruelty to animals, specifically a case where a Mallard was stoned by some kids in Elmira, NY. Well, here's another sick case out of St. Paul, Minnesota: a guest at the Embassy Suites hotel killed one of the pet ducks that lives in the lobby. Not by accidentally setting down his oversized American Tourister on top of it, but physically mauling it. Decorum prohibits me from going into details here, but you can read the story at the Star-tribune web site.

A pair of resident Wood Ducks in the lobby
of the Embassy Suites hotel, St. Paul, MN.

I'm not hung up on this kind of thing, I swear. But in these two cases there is a personal attachment. We sometimes visit Eldridge Park in Elmira, so that story hit somewhat close to home. And just a couple of weeks ago I was in St. Paul and stayed at the Embassy Suites. I watched the ducks up close with my three-year-old daughter. We identified the ducks as Green-winged and Cinnamon Teal and a pair of Wood Ducks. As you'd expect, they didn't do much other than paddle around and keep to themselves.

You just have to wonder what is with this guy, even with a system topped off with hard liquor, that would cause him to act this way; to internally process that this was an act that was worthwhile. Or to even come up with the idea of committing this act.

Decorum also prohibits me from describing what I'd like to see as the appropriate punishment, suffice it to say the punishment should fit the crime. Or, in this case, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.