"Shooting An Elephant" by George Orwell is a powerful essay that was originally published in the compilation "Inside The Whale and Other Essays". It is a tale of ugliness, misunderstanding, alienation, enforced cruelty, and social (if not peer) pressure.
It is well worth reading on many levels, and is probably relevant even today.
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/shooting-an-elephant/summary
After re-reading Orwell's essay, it seems to this author that--if a trial in the USA is only a fair trial if the jury is a jury of the defendant's peers-- then any trial of a policeman or policewoman, National Guard officer, Border Patrol officer, or ICE officer is only a fair trial by their peers if the jury consists of other law enforcement personnel... just as there is a separate legal system for the military.
George Orwell makes it clear that he did not want to shoot the elephant, did not consider shooting the elephant to be justified (but it was excusable because the elephant had stomped and skinned a coolie and thereby killed the unfortunate coolie).
The elephant's rage was apparently temporary.
According to one internet commentator, elephants are deeply afraid of causing harm and possess a noble nature. Allegedly scientists have studied the elephant’s brain and discovered spindle cells—rare neurons also found in humans-- which are said to be associated with self-awareness, empathy, and complex social perception.
Spindle cells are also found in other primates to greater or lesser degrees, particularly Bonobo. Spindle cells are also associated with cancer.
Leonardo da Vinci is credited with the opinion that, “The elephant embodies righteousness, reason, and temperance.”
Before starting a new enterprise, some Hindus are said to pray to Ganesha, the Elephant-headed god of Beginnings, Prosperity, and Wisdom. Ganesha is the patron of intellectuals, authors, bankers, and scribes.
For more on elephants: https://www.britannica.com/animal/elephant-mammal/Reproduction-and-life-cycle
All the best,
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