April 26, 2019

Brittany Longoria Explains Her Controversial Leopard Photo

45 minutes

In 2018, Brittany Hosmer Longoria was swept up in a social media firestorm with these trending hashtags:

#disgusting

#cuntress

#findThisBitch

#huntTheHunter

#Monstress

#immoral

#murderHer

#KillHer

#poacher

What had she done to induce such a vicious reaction?

The surprising answer is nothing that remarkable.

What she had done was to hunt a leopard in Namibia and take a photo of her holding the dead leopard. Here's why that's unremarkable:

First, she was not a poacher. She spent nearly $40,000 to get all the permits to legally hunt that old, male leopard. I could understand that people would get worked up if she were a poacher. She was not. She did everything by the book. Nobody disagrees with that.

Second, she didn't post the photo on Instagram. She submitted it to the Safari Club International (SCI) when they solicited photos that exhibited a "hunting heritage."

She uploaded the photo to SCI's private server. SCI would evaluate these photos. But before they could, an animal activist got a hold of the photo and released it to the public.

In other words, it's not like Brittany illegally shot a leopard and then bragged about it.

On the contrary, she went through all the legal steps and then took a pretty standard post-hunt photo. This sort of thing happens thousands of times every day. In that sense, was Brittany did was thoroughly unremarkable.

Therefore, it's a bit hard to understand why she, out of all the legal hunters who post photos of their trophies, would get targetted by social media is such a harsh way.

I met with her in 2019 at the SCI conference to talk with Brittany. Listen to this podcast and tell me what you think in the comments below.

Although I met her briefly, she's clearly a shy and humble person. Introverts dislike the spotlight. I commend her for her courage of facing the spotlight in an effort to dispel some myths and misunderstandings about hunting.

I warned her that I would hit her hard with tough and uncomfortable questions which a journalist must do if they want to capture all sides of a story. Indeed, you'll hear that at one point in the interview, she nearly shuts down, seemingly exhausted by my barrage of questions.

As always, she kept her cool and her composure, which her hysterical enemies often do not. I commend Brittany.

Moreover, I wanted to give her a chance to answer some thought-provoking and provocative questions that people who dislike hunting may have.

Meanwhile, people who hate hunting should listen to her pro-hunting arguments. Many people who have a knee-jerk negative reaction to hunting have never given much thought about it. Ignorance leads to misunderstandings.

So if you hate hunting, listen to this podcast. I don't expect to convert you.

In fact, I am a part-time vegan (I only eat animals when I'm traveling or when I'm a guest at someone's house). So I'm not a hunter. However, I believe many people who disapprove of hunting don't see the nuance in this complex subject.

I don't claim to be an expert. I just like to listen and learn. I hope you do too. If so, share this episode and comment below.

If you want to leave a comment, here's a tip: the less emotional and savage your comment is, the more convincing it will be. If you want to turn people off from your argument, scream and swear often.

Brittany Longoria Explains Her Controversial Leopard Photo

45 minutes

In 2018, Brittany Hosmer Longoria was swept up in a social media firestorm with these trending hashtags:

#disgusting

#cuntress

#findThisBitch

#huntTheHunter

#Monstress

#immoral

#murderHer

#KillHer

#poacher