Quote:
Anti-Hunting Groups Should Stop Bullying Sick Children
By Michelle Malkin
Times Editorial Columnist
Make-A-Wish fund-raiser
On Friday, KVI radio will host a fund-raising radiothon for Make-A-Wish of Washington State. For more information about the foundation, call 1-800-304-9474. Donations to the national headquarters can be mailed to: 100 W. Clarendon Ave., Suite 2200, Phoenix AZ 85013. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "SELFISHNESS is not living as one wishes to live," wrote Oscar Wilde, "it is asking others to live as one wishes to live."
To paraphrase Wilde, selfishness is not living one's wishes, it is asking others to renounce their wishes in favor of one's own. And that is just what a number of animal-rights groups have demanded of Erik, a 17-year-old Minnesota boy afflicted with brain cancer whose dying wish is to hunt a brown bear in Alaska.
Erik and his dad are scheduled to take a once-in-a-lifetime hunting trip to Kodiak Island this month thanks to the charitable efforts of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The organization's Minnesota chapter made the arrangements with voluntary help and advice from Safari Club International, a hunters' association. Over 500 Safari Club members attended a fund-raising dinner in Erik's honor; they raised $4,000 for gear, clothing and travel.
Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has organized thousands of volunteers from around the world in an effort to fulfill the wishes of children with terminal illnesses or life-threatening medical conditions. It now has 82 chapters in the U.S., including one in Seattle (which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year), as well as 13 international affiliates.
As long as the child gets the green light from his or her doctors, the wish is limited only by the child's imagination - and, of course, the law. No dream is too silly or weird or politically incorrect. "It is our pledge never to deny a wish to an eligible child," Make-a-Wish officials say. For 16 years, they've kept their promises.
Enter the Fund for the Animals, Ark Trust, Inc., the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Minnesota-based Earth Protector. In recent months, these anti-hunting groups have pressured Make-A-Wish to break its pledge to Erik. Jessica Glatzer, outreach coordinator of the Fund For Animals, issued this thinly veiled threat: "This young man's wish, which calls for the death of an innocent bear, has the strong potential to dissuade many of your donors from continuing to give money."
Gretchen Wyler, president of Ark Trust, Inc. (which is supported by a constellation of wealthy movie stars), also hinted at a boycott: "The foundation will never be able to sustain the damage this will do to their image, especially in the Hollywood community. . . . They will rue the day they ever let the Safari Club be a partner."
Susan Houk-McConnell, spokeswoman for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Washington state, told me these groups "certainly have the right to express their opinion." But some activists have crossed the line from expression to intimidation. They are waging a telecommunications war against Make-A-Wish. They have harassed the Minnesota chapter by tying up its phone lines with protest calls. And they want to take the campaign nationwide.
Leslie Davis, president of the Minneapolis-based Earth Protector, told the Associated Press last week: "We're going to hit the streets with signs and pamphlets and bloody their noses, and they won't recover." In a phone interview, Davis explained to me: "Our beef isn't with the kid and his father now. It's with Make-A-Wish." He says his group and others will picket local chapters, and then move into "action mode" by disrupting benefits for the foundation.
"Action Alerts" - complete with the foundation's phone and fax numbers - have been posted by various animal-rights groups on the Internet as well.
The zeal with which this battle is being carried out is disgraceful. According to Don McMillan, one of the organizers of Erik's trip, some callers to Make-A-Wish Minnesota "even expressed a wish that something would happen to Erik so that he couldn't take such a hunt." While flacks for the animal-rights groups express sympathy for Erik and support for Make-A-Wish, the words and actions of activists are clearly aimed at bringing the private charity to its knees.
Such extremist bullying cannot stand in a humane society, no matter how one feels about hunting. Erik's wish is heartfelt - and legal. As Make-A-Wish Foundation president James E. Gordon notes, the boy's request "is the wish of a youngster (that) reflects a lifelong involvement in family hunting and fishing trips."
Protesters have lost their sense of civility - and priorities. Make-A-Wish is a remarkable example of the power of private philanthropy. Through individual contributions, corporate donations, in-kind contributions and special events fund-raisers, the foundation has been able to grant some 40,000 wishes to kids worldwide. Major corporate sponsors include Microsoft, American Airlines, Toys 'R Us, Gillette and Discover Card.
Trips to Disneyworld and Disneyland are among the most popular requests. Meetings with movie stars, rock stars (such as Seattle's own Soundgarden) and athletes (including the Mariners' Ken Griffey Jr.) are also high on the list. Among the more creative requests granted: 14-year-old Matthew, a Kansan with bone cancer, wished for his own fishing pond in Kansas (stocked with crappie, bass and channel catfish). Other recipients have been able to visit the Central Intelligence Agency, donate Christmas presents to homeless children, and even swim with the dolphins.
Animal-rights activists who wish to "bloody the noses" of Make-A-Wish donors who make this all possible are wasting their energy - and their moral capital - over a single boy's dying wish. My check is in the mail.
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A tough business decision for sure..........
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