The world has gone stupid.

You know, with all the far-reaching political subjects I talk about, sometimes it's little stories like this that make me question the future of humanity.  The headline: "Auburn Man Facing Charges After Kiling Bear in His Backyard."  So a crazy guy shot a bear that was rummaging around the trash or something, right?  Wrong.  A 76 year old guy was being chased by a 400 pound, 7-foot enraged bear that had cubs, right up until the point that he blasted it in the face with his shotgun.

I kid you not, he is being charged for an act of obvious self-defense.

Let me go through the charges one by one:

Charge #1: Illegally killing a bear.  First, there's the saying, "Better to be tried by twelve than carried by six."  Second - it was self-defense.  I'm no expert on Massachusetts law, but my understanding is that even in that incomprehensible state, lethal force is permitted if something poses an imminent threat to your life.  Let me repeat: 7-foot, 400 pound bear vs. 76 year old.  He would have had his face eaten off if he hadn't shot the animal.

Charge #2: Illegally baiting a bear.  Apparently, putting food in a bird feeder on your own property is considered baiting a bear now.  Of course, the bear came out as he was putting food in the feeder, meaning that the bear was not, in fact, after the food, but after him.

Charge #3: Illegal possession of a firearm.  Even in MA, it's still legal to own most shotguns, so unless he was packing a freaking Saiga 12, I don't really see what the problem is.  The article makes no mention of any history of violent crime that would disqualify him, either.  He was also on his own property.

Charge #4: Failing to secure a firearm.  Ah, no.  It was in his hands, it really doesn't get more secure than that.  As noted in #2 and #3, he was on his own property, as well.  Apparently, in MA, "safe storage" of a firearm means never taking it out of a safe, EVER.

You know, that last sentence was supposed to be sarcastic, but I can't help but wonder if it isn't actual policy.

As the icing on the cake, the cops have decided that the bear "wasn't a threat."  Yes, I absolutely agree.  The furious, four-hundred-pound mass of muscle, claws and teeth that was actively chasing a man was not a threat.

Let me remind the reader of something else: authorites say the thing had cubs.  If there's one thing we all know about bears, it's that mother bears most definitely do not approve of the existence of anything larger than a Chihuahua on the same plane of existence as her cubs.

If any of the Auburn cops are reading this for some reason, the sarcasm probably went over their heads, so, other readers, I will spell it out for these cops: the angry bear was, in fact, a threat.

It used to be a moment like this would be considered a great story, if not an outright act of heroism, removing a threat to public safety.  Instead, this guy is viewed by the authorities (at best) as a man who defended himself but still needs to be mercilessly attacked for killing a creature by means of a legal firearm.

What a sad, sad place this country is becoming.