I am sure by now you have heard the case of Harambe, the silver-back gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo, who had to be shot in a quick decision to save a child who managed to get into its enclosure. I am also sure you have heard the internet comments on social media and in the comments sections of the news outlets that have reported on it. By and large, these comments ask for the head of the mother of the child, and incredible compassion and sadness for the passing of Harambe, the 17 year-old gorilla.
While it's nice and noble to feel sad for the gorilla, where is the sympathy for the child? For the parents? Yes, silver-back gorillas are endangered species. Yes, it seems like a harsh response to kill Harambe, but it is actually harsh to judge the child's mother, just like it is harsh to ask for her incarceration for negligence.
Here's my beef with all this.
If Harambe had been hit with a tranquilizer dart, there's a good chance that the tranquilizer would have agitated him, further putting the child's life in danger, before the tranquilizer went into effect. This would have been very risky to the child, who could have been easily killed by Harambe. So, in order to save the child, the gorilla had to be put down. There should be no question about that. I feel really sad and really bad and sorry for the gorilla, who didn't know any better, or he wouldn't have shaken and dragged the child through poop-infested waters.
Now, people are asking for the mother's head. Where is the equality in all this? The father would be as culpable as the mother for losing sight of the child. With that out of the way, let's address the next two issues: the negligence bit, and the fact that children can and will squirm away in the blink of an eye.
So the parents were negligent for a few minutes or a few seconds. Whatever the case, the kid managed to get down there, somehow. What parent is able to maintain eye contact over their child(ren) 24/7? Are parents not allowed to blink anymore? Is parenthood grounds for being unable to get distracted, even for a few seconds? Does parenthood mean *never* sleeping again so you can be watching your kid, making sure he or she doesn't fall off the bed, or being there to wake them up when they are having a nightmare?
I am the mother of a 7 year-old, and I consider myself to be pretty watchful. My son hardly ever gets into trouble. But, for example, we were at Brookfield Zoo over the Memorial Day weekend. We were walking together, but we weren't holding hands. I got lost in thought for a couple of seconds, and next thing I hear is my son yelling "I'm lost! I'm lost!" He was only a couple of feet away, but there were so many people that he lost sight of me. His yelling brought me back from my thoughts, and I was able to immediately turn around and tell him "You're not lost," and holding his warm little hand back into the safety of my arms. Was I negligent? Was I suddenly a terrible mother? I don't think so. I am human, and I make mistakes. Just as these parents are human and they make mistakes. (And a toddler is a tiny human that has the ability to disappear in seconds.)
And lastly, children squirm away, especially little toddlers. I am no developmental specialist, but I know from watching my son and nephew and niece grow up, that toddlers like to push limits and will often "not listen" to what parents are saying because, well, they're busy pushing limits. It's possible that the parents were busy with other children, or lost in thought (like I suddenly was), or whatever the reason - the child managed to fall into the enclosure. Even under a parent's watchful eye, toddlers have accidents, some light, some grave, and some even fatal.
So let's be more compassionate for the parents and the shaken child (who, btw, could have died from the shaking alone, had it been more vigorous). And yes, let's mourn Harambe, but let's not judge the circumstances of his death. I don't think that the life of a child should be above the life of a gorilla or any other animal - however endangered they might be.
While it's nice and noble to feel sad for the gorilla, where is the sympathy for the child? For the parents? Yes, silver-back gorillas are endangered species. Yes, it seems like a harsh response to kill Harambe, but it is actually harsh to judge the child's mother, just like it is harsh to ask for her incarceration for negligence.
Here's my beef with all this.
If Harambe had been hit with a tranquilizer dart, there's a good chance that the tranquilizer would have agitated him, further putting the child's life in danger, before the tranquilizer went into effect. This would have been very risky to the child, who could have been easily killed by Harambe. So, in order to save the child, the gorilla had to be put down. There should be no question about that. I feel really sad and really bad and sorry for the gorilla, who didn't know any better, or he wouldn't have shaken and dragged the child through poop-infested waters.
Now, people are asking for the mother's head. Where is the equality in all this? The father would be as culpable as the mother for losing sight of the child. With that out of the way, let's address the next two issues: the negligence bit, and the fact that children can and will squirm away in the blink of an eye.
So the parents were negligent for a few minutes or a few seconds. Whatever the case, the kid managed to get down there, somehow. What parent is able to maintain eye contact over their child(ren) 24/7? Are parents not allowed to blink anymore? Is parenthood grounds for being unable to get distracted, even for a few seconds? Does parenthood mean *never* sleeping again so you can be watching your kid, making sure he or she doesn't fall off the bed, or being there to wake them up when they are having a nightmare?
I am the mother of a 7 year-old, and I consider myself to be pretty watchful. My son hardly ever gets into trouble. But, for example, we were at Brookfield Zoo over the Memorial Day weekend. We were walking together, but we weren't holding hands. I got lost in thought for a couple of seconds, and next thing I hear is my son yelling "I'm lost! I'm lost!" He was only a couple of feet away, but there were so many people that he lost sight of me. His yelling brought me back from my thoughts, and I was able to immediately turn around and tell him "You're not lost," and holding his warm little hand back into the safety of my arms. Was I negligent? Was I suddenly a terrible mother? I don't think so. I am human, and I make mistakes. Just as these parents are human and they make mistakes. (And a toddler is a tiny human that has the ability to disappear in seconds.)
And lastly, children squirm away, especially little toddlers. I am no developmental specialist, but I know from watching my son and nephew and niece grow up, that toddlers like to push limits and will often "not listen" to what parents are saying because, well, they're busy pushing limits. It's possible that the parents were busy with other children, or lost in thought (like I suddenly was), or whatever the reason - the child managed to fall into the enclosure. Even under a parent's watchful eye, toddlers have accidents, some light, some grave, and some even fatal.
So let's be more compassionate for the parents and the shaken child (who, btw, could have died from the shaking alone, had it been more vigorous). And yes, let's mourn Harambe, but let's not judge the circumstances of his death. I don't think that the life of a child should be above the life of a gorilla or any other animal - however endangered they might be.
No comments:
Post a Comment