I smell a rat fink

Earlier today, I read a news story that is most disturbing. Apparently a group of students from Western Carolina University are being investigated for their role in an "incident" that is vile and disgusting and demonstrative of the very worst in human stupidity.

The school officials are claiming that this is nothing more than a stupid, college prank. You can read the university's website statement here.

The university claims that a group of students were innocently camping on Saturday night . . . when looking for firewood happened upon a dead black bear cub (weighing 75 pounds) that had been shot in the head. They decided to pick up the dead bear and toss it into the bed of their truck. Fast forward to Sunday evening when the students attended a party with the dead bear still in their truck. The students at the party decided the most appropriate thing to do with this bear was to prop it up at the entrance to the university and put a Obama sign on it.

Yeah, I'll wait while you gasp in disbelief and possibly run to throw up.

The university says that the students meant no racism or political statement because a) there was a black student in the group and b) they just put the Obama sign on the bear to cover up the head wound and to keep the bear from bleeding into the truck bed.

This is one smelly story. First of all, I doubt the bear was freshly killed when they happened upon it . . . unless they killed it themselves. Secondly, if they were so concerned about the bear bleeding into the truck bed, why did they toss it in there in the first place. It also totally doesn't ring true that 24 hours after they tossed the dead bear into the truck, they then became concerned about bleeding. If the bear had been dead more than 24 hours, it should not have been actively bleeding. In fact, rigor should have set in by that time. Also, when a body dies, the blood pools to the lowest levels of the body . . . if the bear was being proped up-right, and the heart was not beating . . . no blood should have moved against gravity and up through a head wound.

But lastly, do they really think that we believe that the ONLY object available to cover the head wound was a Obama yard sign? None of those students had a towel? Spare t-shirt? Hell, I carried a blanket and towels in my car all the time when I was a student.

Yes, it was a stupid stupid stupid thing to do. But, I absolutely believe that this cock-and-bull story about why the Obama sign ended up in the picture was fabricated because once caught, these students suddenly realized that this sort of hate demonstration could get them into those really unfashionable orange onsies. . . and a hate demonstration directed at a candidate for president might mean they never wear anything but the orange onsie ever again.

Western Carolina University should expell the students, open a dialogue about racism and hate on their campus, and clear a path for prosecutors to take over the case. And, if they shield these students . . . make excuses for them . . . minimize the hate in their actions . . . then the people who run Western Carolina University are no better than these stupid, stupid, stupid students.