The Lions and the Water Buffalo-An Analogy

There is a video on Youtube going across the Internet currently. Shot in Africa, it shows a pride of lions attacking a herd of water buffalo that have come to drink at a body of water. As the buffalo flee (as they generally do), a calf is caught by the lions at the edge of the water. As the lions work on killing the calf, a crocodile tries to get in on the action, grabbing the calf from the rear and engaging the lions in a tug of war, eventually won by the lions. Then, as the lions try to finish off the calf, something unusual happens. The herd of buffalo suddenly decide they have had enough and return to the scene to save their calf. For the next several minutes, the buffalo herd does battle with the outnumbered lions and actually prevail in driving off the predators after flipping a few of them into the air with their horns. The calf is saved and the lions retreat to lick their wounds and ponder their defeat.

This reminds me of an incident I observed in Berlin many years ago (1970). I was walking down one of the city's main streets when I observed an altercation at a stop light. Two big biker-type dirtbags were in a car waiting for the light to turn green. Yet, when the light changed, they were not paying attention causing the driver behind them to toot his horn. Taking offense, the two thugs got out of their car and confronted the other driver, a small wimpy looking guy in glasses and a suit. After a few threats, one of the hoodlums began chasing the poor guy across the street into a park. Finally cornered, the little guy cowered in fear awaiting the knockout blow. At this point, the bad guy wound up and threw a roundhouse right that not only missed its target, but caused him to fall to the ground in a scene reminiscient of Laurel and Hardy. Suddenly, the little guy realized he could stand up for himself. Now, I watched the lion being chased back across the street by the water buffalo. Back to the original scene, the bad guy was cowering against the wall while Mr Peepers was threatening to thrash him. The other bad guy stood by sheepishly, afraid to help out his buddy. Final result? The good guy won, and I had a good laugh. True story-I am not making this up, but then again, Germany is not the US.

Why do I relate these two stories? Because they carry a message. First of all, bullies are cowards. More importantly, there is an analogy to the current problems we face in the world today, first in regards to the criminal predators in our society, and secondly to international terrorism. In both instances, we have the numbers and the ability to stand up to these two menaces. The question is-do we have the will? Do we feel the anger that would enable us to rise up and defeat these foes? Sometimes I wonder. When I see the outrageous actions of British Muslims and the seeming desire of British politicians to appease them, a la Neville Chamberlain, I wonder. When I see a similar attitude by other European countries who are faced with a genuinely hostile Muslim minority, I wonder. When I see hateful demonstrations by Muslim activists on US campuses, directed not only at Israel, but also against America and Jews in general, demonstrations that are "tolerated" by university leaders, such as the school where I teach (UC Irvine), I wonder. When I see the silence of peaceful Muslims and the reluctance of most to confront and defeat the Jihadists in their midst, I wonder. When I see a group of Imams, clearly orchestrating an incident designed to get them thrown off a plane and sue the airline and the passengers who reported them, I wonder. When I see our own national leaders unwilling to control our borders and maintain our sovreignty, I wonder. When I see our local leaders, like Mayor Villaraigosa in LA and other cities like Newark, declare themselves sanctuary cities, even at the cost of having their own people murdered by an illegal alien, as in the case of the latter, I wonder. When I see a town like Hazelton, Pa, try to pass regulations designed at driving out illegal aliens, only to be told by the federal courts that they have no right to do so, I wonder. When I see liberal judges putting us at risk by not putting violent predators, especially those who prey against our children, in jail, I wonder.

Is it not time for the water buffalo of the world to realize that we can and must stand up to the lions? This is not a call for vigilanteism. We have the laws and the structure necessary to deal with these problems. All we need is the will.