Blind Man With One Arm and One Leg Bags a Deer

By Robert Paul Reyes  

"Columbia -- Dennis Thompson finally bagged a buck. This feat is all the more amazing because Thompson is missing his right leg, right arm and is blind as a result of a motorcycle accident in 2001, when he collided head-on with a car at 45 mph and fell into a coma lasting more than two months.

After nine months in a hospital, Thompson began his quest to normalcy. He was fitted with a prosthetic leg and arm. Previously right-handed, he learned to do everything with his left hand. And he learned how to "see blind." It was a painful adjustment, but he refused to feel sorry for himself." http://www.news-leader.com/article/20081129/NEWS01/811290343/0/ARCHIVES

Thompson is a profile in courage, nobody would have blamed him if he just gave up after losing his right leg, right arm and his sight as a result of a horrific motorcycle accident. Thompson refused to give up or to feel sorry for himself, he is gainfully employed answering phones for his family's company.

But a blind man with only one arm has no business bagging deer, the only hunting he should be doing is in the morning when he's searching for his prosthetic leg. To quote Clint Eastwood's famous character Dirty Harry: A man has got to know his limitations.

It is silly and patronizing to pretend that Thompson killed a deer. The blind man's rifle was equipped with a scope hooked up to a video monitor, and a spotter instructed Thompson to move left, right etc before pulling the trigger. That's like a hack writer claiming to win a Pulitzer Prize for an essay that was dictated to him by an English professor.

If Thompson ever picks up a rifle again he should be immediately arrested, along with the fool who is spotting him. To avoid a deer from suffering needlessly, a hunter will attempt to kill him with one shot. A blind man can't deliver such a clean hit on a regular basis, he is liable to only injure the deer and cause it undue torment.

This should have been a heartwarming story about a man who overcame horrific injuries to live a normal life. Instead it's a sad story about a disabled man who puts his selfish interests ahead of any pain and torment he may cause his hapless prey.

Robert Paul Reyes is a NewsBlaze writer on Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontificating. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.