Sparrows...

 

Mao Zedong undertook several massive campaigns in an attempt to modernize and improve life in China. between 1958 and 1962. Killing all the sparrows was part of this campaign.

People were mobilized to eradicate the birds. They used beating drums to scare the birds from landing, forcing them to fly until they died of exhaustion. People tore down sparrow nests and shot sparrows down from the sky.

Locust populations boomed and they ate everything in their path. Grain production in most rural areas collapsed and a massive famine began. People ran out of things to eat and millions starved. The official number of fatalities from the Chinese government was 15 million. However, it’s estimated by some scholars that the fatalities were as high as 45  million.

Seeing and acting on one side of the equation. Just a thought.