You can’t fix stupid . . .

A video has just surfaced of Wayne LaPierre, the President of the National Rifle Association, killing an African savannah elephant in Botswana in 2013. Actually, two elephants, as his wife apparently needed to kill one of the magnificent animals as well. It seems he paid guides to track an elephant so he could shoot it at close range. Apparently, Mr. LaPierre was so incompetent that after three shots at almost point blank range, a guide had to step in and put the elephant out of its misery.

The NRA has never been weaker. They filed for bankruptcy protection just a few months ago, are plagued with scandal, infighting and are the target of a sprawling investigation. Prosecutors in New York state sued the NRA last summer, claiming it was “fraught with fraud and abuse.”

Just when you think you’ve seen it all; when and you scratch your head when a juvenile criminal films himself committing a crime, this comes up. I would have thought that a man of LaPierre’s stature and position would first understand that killing elephants would be an unpopular thing to do. I cannot fathom why he would allow video evidence of what many people would consider to be a crime against nature. You would think he would have known better than to do something like this. Even if it were legal to do this in Botswana in 2013, why would you?

I for one will not watch the video. I cannot bear to watch an innocent animal being slaughtered. Why are people still hunting these magnificent creatures? Isn’t everyone aware that their numbers are dwindling and they need to be saved instead of slaughtered?

This entire event is disgraceful. Filming it shows a complete lack of understanding of popular opinion and it’s just plain stupid to boot.

It’s all about the optics. And a lack of sportsmanship or humanity, and outright stupidity.

I want to be objective, but I am having a real problem with this one. Mr. LaPierre, I think you have done irreparable damage to the NRA. But hey, you got to kill defenseless animals, so maybe it was worth it to you.

Just another dead elephant.