a woman is in a critical condition & you say it
was in self defence/ the public doesn't believe
you dumb cop/ & now the media is down your
back/ she was mentally ill it is true/ silly to be
anywhere near you in the first place/ this is
the scenario/ the 'schizophrenic' was running
backwards towards the police/ cutting into her
own forearms/ then they opened fire/ i would
like to say at this point/ when shooting someone
in self defence/ it is very important to shoot
them in the chest rather than in the back/
otherwise one could have the impression/ that
the person (in this case the woman)/ was actually
running away rather than on the attack/ what
have i learnt if anything?/ i ask myself would i
be prepared to kill someone?/ yes/ under what
circumstances?/ everyone in the room but the
cop could admit to saying that they could kill
someone/ but he was taught never to admit to
anything/ he said 'i am shocked'/ this meant
that he was incapable of being honest & caring/
that he lacked insight into himself/ i asked 'did
you pull your gun?'/ he said 'fucking oath i did/
i pulled the fucking gun all the fucking time/
especially when we were sent to a scene where
the odds where 20 to 1'/ being working class i
know what he means/ he said 'i've also got a
rifle/ on the weekends i enjoy spearfishing &
shooting animals/ i shot that fucking much the
backfire from the gun nearly blew my fucking
shoulder off/ i'd prefer to carry a knife/ they
call it 'the silent death'/ dumb cop/ i met one
who took his 38 revolver & shot a pelican/ he
said 'i guess i like the thrill of it'/ i said 'if you
were really concerned about the environment
you would look into fertility control management
for introduced animals/ & to go vegan/ because
of the damage that livestock does to the land/ it
outweighs the so called feral animals a million
to one'/ but when it comes down to it they like it/
it's not just the target practice/ it's more personal
than that/ they like the thrill of the kill/ could
it be a numbers game?/ i recently met someone
whom i liked from a distance or to say hello to/
then she told me she was a shooter/ a killer of
life/ she said 'i love to shoot/ i've had a gun in
my hand since i was nine/ i shoot anything foxes,
rabbits, ducks, kangaroos, cockatoos/ we eat
cockatoos i love them'/ i thought no you don't
love them/ you love to eat them/ why is it that i
can live my life without eating cockatoos?/ whilst
some people are compelled to hunt down & eat
every non-human animal that moves/ animals
have no face for us/ when we look at an animal
we stare into the eyes of fear & caution/ these
beautiful animals alongside us/ that have no life
of their own/ no inherent worth, no soul, no
personality/ i represent them in this society/ i
have confronted people on their shooting
addiction/ is it as simple as a moving target?/
no/ she said 'i shoot because i love it & i eat
meat because i love the taste of it'/ this is the
only argument/ what it all boils down to/ i was
confronted with someone who loved to kill/ who
enjoyed the thrill of it/ the absolute satisfaction
of wiping life off the face of the earth/ perhaps
they could work at the animal shelters where
they can indulge by knocking off a couple of
hundred animals a week/ but they prefer the
violence of the firearm the power of it/ the
terror of the animal trying to escape or the
cry of a body emptying itself/ they like to feel
the animals fear as their own upon the point
of death/ they like to feel it again & again as
each new personality dies in front of them/ by
placing the animal in the role of the mortal
they have become immortal/ they have 'out-
lived, out-smarted and out-manuveured/ the
murder has proven the animal's mortality &
they who have cowardly survived it/ when
the killer runs out of animals they will beat up
children & kick into dogs/ will open fire on
the mentally ill & the public in general/ expect
mothers, the differently abled and the elderly/
there are no boundaries/ weekend fishing rods
are replaced by canes in schools on week days/
i have suffered for the perpetrators of cruelty/
humiliated in the classroom/ my psyche shot to
pieces although i look alright on the surface/ i
cannot help but feel that it is a numbers game/
that this is where our power lies?/ that every-
thing we do in every moment is kind/ to humans
and all other animals/ but realistically speaking
i can't afford to/ & i'm all fucked up/ what have
i got left to give?
