How could George Orwell shoot and elephant?

In "Shooting an Elephant" written in 1936, was George Orwell a coward for shooting the elephant? Is he a racist?
I believe that he was not a coward for shooting the elephant. After reading the narration, you have to picture yourself during this time in Burma. The British had forced themselves upon the indigenous people of Burma in the hunt for natural resources. Their excuse was justified by the belief that their culture was superior to the people of Burma. This act against these people created tension and a feeling of revenge or humiliation against any "European whites" especially from the older Burman priests who had nothing better to do than insult the British when they came near. George Orwell held the position of sub-divisional police officer in the town of Moulmein in lower Burma and was a witness and protector of the British imperialistic activities that had been bestowed on the Burman people. As a result, he became a continual target of harassment and humiliation from the yellow faced Burmans; which eventually turned his original feelings of pity for these people into a rage of disgust. On that day when he was called out to settle the problem with a raged elephant, he was quite sure in his mind that killing this elephant was not the right thing to do, nor did he really have the heart to kill such a praised animal in this kingdom. The Burmans used the elephant for work and the elephant was of great money value to the people of Burma. Besides, if he killed the animal, he was surely going to hear it from the owner. As it turned out, the elephant was tormenting the village only because of being "must" or "that time of the month" situation which usually wears off after a day or so. If you are woman, you can imagine what that town looked like. During the rampage, George Burman had run across a Burman worker that had been trampled by the elephant and killed. It was then decided that he had better get a larger weapon that could kill the elephant just in case he did not have any options; kill or be killed. At this time, all the town people had gathered to see what the outcome was going to turn into, especially since elephant meat could mean good eating for the Burmans. As Orwell approached the animal which was eating grass in a rice field, an enormous crowd had approached to the rear and intimidated him to the point that he had no choice but to shoot the beast or look like a fool for the activities he had stirred amongst the town. Not to shoot would make him look like a coward and the people would have humiliated him and disrespected him for the rest of his days in Moulmein.
He was not a racist. If you were spat on and humiliated by any group of people, you would have similar feelings of George Orwell. If he would have been a racist then he might have shown more aggression against these people than expressed in his narration. He was just trying to suppress the "already established" aura which was present in everyday life in Burma for the white Europeans.

Do you believe that a homemaker who has never been a wage earner should be entitled to a Social Security death benefit for her survivors?

I believe that whether a person should receive the benefits should be determined from her marriage status, whether her spouse was paying into the benefits and the term for which both persons were considered married. I believe that the benefit should also be a onetime benefit for to help with the burial or just money to help out during the death of the loved one. Even if she hadn't worked as a wage earner and was not married, a benefit would help for burial or relief at the time of death for whoever is responsible for the remains.

If she were married for better than three years and the spouse was a wage earner paying into the social security system, then she will receive benefits upon his death. For most of the people that receive these benefits, there is hardly enough money to survive. I mean you have all the household bills; gas, electric, cable, food and repairs that come around more often than needed. In some cases, the mortgage will not even be paid. After the person has buried the spouse, all these burdens will start and then there will be very little funds to pay for it all. Over a period of time, this person will have very little money so all the responsibility will fall on someone else when they pass away. The death benefit would help to resolve this issue when this sad day comes.

A Trip to Niagara Falls

I took a vacation three years ago and decided to visit the state of New York to see Niagara Falls which is located north of Buffalo and east of Canada. I have seen the falls on television and from pictures in books, but the visit there was no comparison to standing three feet from an avalanche of brute force from one of mother earths’ natural wonders of the world. I will never forget this breathtaking sight and I highly recommend this trip to anyone who is looking for great three-day weekend or vacation in the state of New York.
As I drove from Buffalo toward the city of Niagara Falls, New York, I could see the Niagara River running like a snake during the hunt for prey. The river was quite wide and seemed to be so calm just sitting there as if there was no movement at all. The suns’ reflection across the waters edge gave way to the beautiful bluish color that all this water displayed as I drove to my destination. Just before I drove into Niagara Falls, I could tell that the rivers banks seemed to get wider as I closed in on the falls and I could see a hint of watery mist that looked like flowing clouds on a windy day. I knew that I was minutes away from the final destination and could hardly wait to see the sights.
I picked some information from the park entrance and found out that there were three islands on the American side of the falls that were named “Three Sisters Islands” from the historical past of discovery of the falls and that is where I started with my visit. As I walked into the park next to the river, I could here a huge rumbling sound like that of thunder coming from this enormous body of water as it made its way to the drop-off point. The boiling of the water as it made its way to the falls reminded me of the waves generated by a wave pool. All this rushing water looked similar to the waves at the beach when the tops of the waves break into the edge. I was also amazed at the intensity of the water flow even before its death roll to the bottom of the falls. At the falls edge, I could see the most amazing colors of green and blue haze from the water leaving the top of the falls. For all the beauty that this natural wonder displayed, I could only think of how devastating such a body of water could create which I found to be true from the rocks and erosion that was displayed at the base of the falls.
After the full tour of the park and the visitation of the Canadian side, I can say that I have never been to a place where there is such a beautiful display of water from a water fall and, at the same time, witness the violent descent as millions of gallons flow downstream.