Spin:I find myself unable to be outraged by the shooting of the gorilla. Animals can and should be treated humanely not because they are humane but because we are. By the same token, he cannot receive “justice” from anyone. The gorilla cannot be held legally or morally liable for his actions because he is a dumb beast. Suppose the gorilla had climbed out of the enclosure and grabbed the boy? Would his advocates demand that he be tried for assault? Of course not. Those demanding “justice” for a gorilla are saying something nonsensical. “Justice” is not something to which animals are entitled because animals are not moral agents. What’s so off about the reactions to this sad tale is the confusion about who has moral standing. Some serious people argue that zoos and aquariums are inherently cruel, and they deserve a hearing. “It is not related to the operation or safety of the Cincinnati Zoo, authorities said.” Well, that’s completely backwards.Ĭoncern for animal welfare is not decadent.
“Cincinnati police said Tuesday that their review will focus on the actions of the boy’s parents and family,” CNN reported.
It was not a scene from Curious George.Īn online petition calling for “Justice for Harambe” has received 100,000 signatures, CNN informs us that the name Harambe is Swahili for “come together for a common cause,” and the Cincinnati police are reportedly investigating the little boy’s family. Harambe, the 450-pound male gorilla, at first treated the little boy gently, but then, perhaps agitated by the crowd’s cries, dragged the child by the ankle through the water and into another section of the exhibit.
Do with that what you will.” Here’s what I do with it: I look at what happened after the first few seconds. If you watch the footage, you see this gorgeous animal holding the child’s hand.
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Where are all these parenting police when parents do truly awful things, like giving their children drugs, or guns, or letting them watch TV 10 hours a day? I have no idea whether Michelle Gregg, the boy’s mother, is a good parent or not, but I do know that the fact that he was out of her sight for a few seconds doesn’t answer that question.Īctress Kaley Cuoco posted that “Once again, another animal being killed over people not using their brains. Those of us who do are aware that as watchful as we are, children can still put themselves in danger sometimes. Actor Trevor Donovan tweeted “’17 yr old Harambe the gorilla was shot dead after boy falls into Ohio zoo enclosure’ Where were the parents?!”ĭonovan must not have children. A string of silly celebrities wailed that the gorilla had been killed due to poor parenting. The death of the animal – a shame, to be sure – is being called a “tragedy.” Oh yes, the White House spokesman himself said so. Thank God a tragedy was averted by the quick action of zoo officials, who did the only thing they could do by shooting the gorilla (and good shot, by the way), but it could have been much worse.īut wait, in an avalanche of moral confusion, many people seem to have their heads screwed on wrong. So if the fence wasn’t secure enough to prevent a three-year-old from squeezing through, someone should lose his job. One criticism of the zoo seems entirely sensible and understandable: Why was the enclosure not child proof? At every zoo I’ve visited, visitors are kept safely away from dangerous animals. Zoo officials explained that under these circumstances, they could not risk attempting to tranquilize the animal, because 1) tranquilizer darts take time to work and 2) the dart could have angered the ape and 3) it would have taken only a matter of seconds for the gorilla to kill the child. A three-year-old child managed to slip into the gorilla enclosure while his mother was distracted. To recap: A family visited the gorilla exhibit over Memorial Day weekend. I nearly wrote “who,” but that would be to commit the error so many are making in this case – confusing animals with people. In fact, of course, I refer to the actual gorilla that was (if you take the word of some of the more unhinged commenters on social media) “assassinated” by zoo officials in Cincinnati. Firefighters rescued a three-year-old who was dragged by a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo.Ī gorilla has taken control of your TV set.
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