Free Pablo

Enough already with the gloom and doom. You think we as a country are facing hard choices? Well, here's something that puts our problems into perspective. It's a story about a small group of children faced with a real life-or-death decision.

The students of Ella Baker School in New York City are about to face a hard decision when it comes to the fate of their classroom pet, a tilapia named Pablo.

First of all, who the hell thinks a tilapia makes a good pet. That particular critter is better suited to eating.

Oh, wait...

Now the children must decide whether or not they should eat the 13-inch fish.

Pablo - free creature or future entree?

Thank goodness they didn't adopt a kitten.

Opinions varied among the potential fish-fryers. Many want Pablo to live:

“He makes the room feel alive when everyone’s just there doing their work.”

“Since I put him in the tank he’s like, my own little child. Just because he’s a fish doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a life.”

Those would be the feel-good progressives. Now let's hear from the pragmatic conservatives.

“What is the point of us doing all this work raising him to plate size and just deciding to let him live?”

That kid has a promising future as a businessman.

Then we have the compassionate conservatives.

According to a few of the students, Pablo “doesn’t seem that healthy” because his scales are falling off. Killing the tilapia would be merciful, in a way:

‘He’s uncomfortable in the tank. It’s basically torture. He doesn’t look happy in there. I think we should put him out of his misery.’

Ah yes. In order to save the fish, we must eat him.

On a smaller scale this reminds me of the movie "Free Willy."