Cultural Differences and Pets
Faye the Mute Swan
From CNY Central
It was not as much of a shock to some in Central New York when Trump mentioned that immigrants (refugees) were eating pets because of what happened to Faye the mute swan in Manlius, New York. This village keeps a small swan (and duck) pond, where one beloved swan has lived and contributed to the enjoyment of many local citizens for years. This swan, Faye, has a mate and she produced four baby swans (cygnets) in 2024. In 2024 she and her babies disappeared from the pond, and it was later determined that they had been kidnapped.
Faye and her babies were taken by three teens, refugees from Burma (not Haiti) who did not understand her status as a symbol or mascot to local villagers. It was quite shocking to learn that Fay had been eaten for a holiday dinner. The cygnets were located and returned unharmed. This was in no way a cultural trend and it has never happened before or since in our area.
Here are some news articles about the incident:
Faye the Swan
https://cnycentral.com/news/local/teen-who-admitted-to-killing-beloved-manlius-swan-faye-sentenced
Teen who admitted to killing beloved Manlius swan Faye sentenced to probation
by CNY Central
Thu, February 15th 2024 at 7:48 PM
"MANLIUS, N.Y. — The 18-year-old involved in the death of mute swan Faye was in court Thursday night for his sentencing.
The judge sentenced Eman Hussen to three years of probation and 45 hours of community service. No restitution has to be paid to the village, the judge ruled.
Hussen's defense attorney, Jeremy Cali, gave a brief statement to CNY Central after the sentencing.
This case was a clash of cultures. A young man whose family fled genocide from Burma and had no concept whatsoever of a swan that couldn't fly away that this village obviously cares a lot about. I think the right thing happened here. He is a good kid and this was a mistake."
"Three teenagers trespassed into the Manlius Swan Pond in late May and killed the community’s beloved female swan named Faye. Unaware that the swan belonged to the Village of Manlius, they allegedly took her home, cooked and ate her, and also took her four cygnets from the pond to raise as pets."
It is possible that people who are in America, newly arrived from a different culture and perhaps used to eating animals that we see as pets, might turn to hunting for meat to save money. However, there is no proof that this happened in Springfield, Ohio, or that Haitians would make the same cultural mistake as the CNY refugee from Burma.
Trump enjoyed shocking everyone with his fake news and it has entered the unhallowed halls of social media conspiracy theory. However, most of the people watching the debate had the same reaction as Kamala Harris - we grinned and moved on - well accustomed to Trump's drumbeat against immigrants. The problem is that Trump's insensitive judgments, which are exaggerated to beat up his opponent (in this case Kamala Harris) as too liberal on immigration, are having negative consequences in the real world, (Springfield, Ohio) where schools have had to adjust to bomb threats and violence has been threatened.
Most of us, even after experiencing the fate of poor Faye, categorized Trump's Springfield tale as another way to make us afraid of immigrants and to keep immigration at the Southern border as a cudgel to use against Democrats. We need to remember that a bill designed to address issues at the border failed to get Republican votes so that it could be implemented as law, and it failed at Trump's request. Bill S.4361, the National Security and Border Act of 2024 failed to get enough votes in the House. The vote was 215 to 199, with 5 Democrats voting against it along with the Republicans. It is believed that Trump wanted to be able to use the lack of solutions at the Southern border against the Democrats in the 2024 election. Well, he is, and as usual it is generating a lot of press. His peeps know a call to action when they hear it.