The Price of Male Pride
Lisa Colafrancesco
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People have the capability to absolutely amaze me. Whether it be the sheer audacity of some individuals or the extreme reactions some people can have, sometimes I just look at people with my jaw on the floor, flabbergasted that they have the ability to act so, well to be honest, stupid. 
Take for instance, Jonathan Porter, 20 from Half Moon Bay. Porter recently pleaded no contest for felony animal abuse after killing an ostrich named Gaylord as well as for being a convicted felon who was in possession of a firearm. This story obviously does not start off well if the man is smart enough to wield a firearm while knowingly on probation for grand theft (awesome, maybe he got the idea from the video game).
But why kill an ostrich? Maybe Porter was unaware of how aggressive and potentially violent an ostrich can be, but in reality, Porter's pride got in the way of any rational that would have talked him out of killing a really big bird. Apparently, the fact that the girl Porter was trying to impress had a thing for really big birds (seriously big - around 220 to 287 pounds, around 9 feet tall with claws that can grow up to 4 inches on each foot). So Porter took her to see the ostriches at a local farm after a Halloween party and the girl actually found it hilarious when Porter and his little buddy started getting rustled up by the ostrich. Not even just rustled up, like beat up with scrapes and bruises from the ostrich kicking him.
While that will bruise any man's pride, Porter took it to a whole new level. After dropping off the girls, Porter and his friend armed themselves with a rifle as well as a shotgun, went back to the farm and proceeded to fire at least 7 shots at Gaylord. While Porter reportedly regrets what he did, he also claims that he knew what had to be done. In other words, kill an animal that was just trying to defend itself from a couple of drunk guys in order to gain some of their pride (and perhaps even self respect) back. Hopefully Porter got a lot out of the killing because common sense will tell anyone that it is not the best idea to commit a crime while on probation.
Take for instance, Jonathan Porter, 20 from Half Moon Bay. Porter recently pleaded no contest for felony animal abuse after killing an ostrich named Gaylord as well as for being a convicted felon who was in possession of a firearm. This story obviously does not start off well if the man is smart enough to wield a firearm while knowingly on probation for grand theft (awesome, maybe he got the idea from the video game).
But why kill an ostrich? Maybe Porter was unaware of how aggressive and potentially violent an ostrich can be, but in reality, Porter's pride got in the way of any rational that would have talked him out of killing a really big bird. Apparently, the fact that the girl Porter was trying to impress had a thing for really big birds (seriously big - around 220 to 287 pounds, around 9 feet tall with claws that can grow up to 4 inches on each foot). So Porter took her to see the ostriches at a local farm after a Halloween party and the girl actually found it hilarious when Porter and his little buddy started getting rustled up by the ostrich. Not even just rustled up, like beat up with scrapes and bruises from the ostrich kicking him.
While that will bruise any man's pride, Porter took it to a whole new level. After dropping off the girls, Porter and his friend armed themselves with a rifle as well as a shotgun, went back to the farm and proceeded to fire at least 7 shots at Gaylord. While Porter reportedly regrets what he did, he also claims that he knew what had to be done. In other words, kill an animal that was just trying to defend itself from a couple of drunk guys in order to gain some of their pride (and perhaps even self respect) back. Hopefully Porter got a lot out of the killing because common sense will tell anyone that it is not the best idea to commit a crime while on probation.