"The buffalo owes his extermination very largely to his own unparalleled stupidity"
I saw that quote and instantly thought someone from FoxNews must have said it. Hannity? O'Reilly? I mean the guys who think Global Warming is fiction could have easily been bashing the harmless buffalo. Turns out the quote is from conservationist William T. Hornaday and written in 1887. Hornaday wasn't just making fun of a furry animal. It's true. The buffalo would literally stand around waiting to get shot.
For some reason this new bit of information has made me uncharacteristically sad. I mean, I saw the movie Dances With Wolves. I know I know, it's the last movie Kevin Costner actually acted in (he's faked it in all of his other movies since). Beyond Costner the main character of that movie was the buffalo. He didn't come off dumb to me -- granted he didn't have a lot of lines.
I've really begun to look inside and try and figure out why the buffalo being stupid has affected me so much. I think it begins with stereotypes. It's too easy, right? The big, beautiful animal is just like the large football players who used to roam my high school -- mindless and only worried about their jock strap. Yeah, I'm saying it...the buffalo is the Biff (Back To The Future Movie reference) of the early American west (McFly!!! Come On McFly!)
Didn't we learn in school that the buffalo lived this symbiotic life with the Native Americans that roamed the Great Plains? And when I say symbiotic I mean, the buffalo ate grass and then the Native Americans ate the buffalo, but not before removing their skin and using it to make their teepees. Ahhh Tatanka!
That's not it. What is it? What made me so sad about some dude in the 1800's calling the buffalo dumb. Because they can't defend themselves? Perhaps the buffalo could have had a better reputation if they would have hired a better PR firm. I mean Hopalong Cassidy had Clarence l. Mulford working for him. Mr. Buffalo probably had the same firm the Native Americans had.
I guess what it is, is that I am just sensitive about my wild west myths. General Custer turned out to be not such a nice guy. We lost at the Alamo. Butch Cassidy killed himself. Wyatt Earp's mustache wasn't real!
And yeah -- the buffalo is stupid. Don't hate me Tatanka.
