RIP, Harambe

 You know what they say about opinions being like ass holes, everyone has one?  Well if you know me then you figure I have numerous opinions about the Gorilla that was killed at the Cincinnati Zoo a few days ago. But I don’t have numerous ass h…that's a horrible joke.  I love animals, and I love the zoo but I have reservations about animals being confined in small spaces their entire lives.  I like to hope that the positive outweighs the tragic.  I love the zoo’s conservation efforts and the fact that they are so “green.”  They even have adorable messages about keeping sewage "green" in the bathrooms!  Children can be up close with animals at zoos and have the opportunity to ask questions and learn about different species.  Perhaps they can understand from these experiences that animals are not just meat on a plate that came from the grocery.  However zoos don’t give an animal the opportunity to live the way nature intends; and while animals are free from predators in zoos they are often also bored, nervous and confused.  It breaks my heart that as humans we place an animal in an enclosure, then shoot and kill it because a human went into the enclosure we trapped it in. 

 This gorilla issue (like so many in today's hyper socialized world) has become polarizing.  One side vehemently defends the child’s parents arguing that children do crazy things and we can’t prevent all accidents.  This group also argues that human life is more important than any other lives so killing the gorilla was an easy choice.  The extreme other side seems to be arguing that the child should have been watched and that the mother should be held criminally liable for the gorilla’s death.  I fall somewhere in between.  All of the personal attacks against the mother combined with the horror of having to watch your child in a life threatening situation is more punishment than this family should have to endure.  But I don’t empathize with them either. 

 I was at the Cincinnati Zoo on Thursday with my niece (2 yrs) and nephew (5yrs.)  We spent a good amount of time in the Gorilla exhibit because Jack likes to observe their behavior (since it is so much like ours) and ask questions.  He giggled as the “daddy” gorilla took a stick away from one of the babies who was hitting another with it.  And during that whole time in the exhibit there was an adult hand or close eyes on both children at all times.  Why?  Because there is a fence in front of a huge moat that any child, given the time, ability and curiosity, could crawl into.  In my backyard, kids are free to run, in the park, they don’t have to hold my hand and in the zoo walkways, they can skip along as they like.  Could an accident happen in those places? Absolutely.  But in situations where there is a more likely and obvious threat, hands on.  

 Some kids are more mischievous than others, some more curious or hyper and some are simply clumsy.  As parents, aunts, caregivers, grandparents, etc, we know these traits in our kids and we adjust our care accordingly.  Accidents happen, but could this particular accident have been prevented?  Those who are angered by the outcome here feel it probably could have. It was suggested by someone claiming to be an eye witness that the child simply “flopped” over the railing.  There would be no way to flop.  There is a set of railings they would have to climb on top of first, and then they would have to fall down onto the grass area, cross through a fence and then jump into the moat.  A child can run off in a split second, but they simply could not have accomplished all of that in the time it takes to glance away.  

No one intended for this to happen, no one wanted to make that decision to kill a beautiful gorilla, no one wanted to shoot him, no one wanted to take their kid to the hospital after a terrifying experience
and no one should have to “pay.”  But how many times have you witnessed parents who are simply letting society parent for them?  How many times do you see entitled people at the zoo, amusement parks, restaurants and movie theaters who are busy doing anything but holding themselves responsible for their kid’s actions.  I think a lot of people (although unfair) are heaping their frustration over widespread entitlement on this kid’s mom.  Nearly every time I am at the zoo I see a kid banging on the glass enclosures, yelling at the animals, hitting the goats in the petting zoo, pushing kids on the playground, throwing food at the penguins, etc.  Why aren’t these obviously inappropriate behaviors being corrected?  People’s belief that their kids/time/family/weekend/money/zoo-visit is more important than other’s is one of my biggest pet peeves.  Your kid is special yes, but they still have to be taught to follow the rules lest they grow up to be the person who parks in the fire lane at the grocery store.  

 I understand that every situation and every child is different.  I understand that I don’t have children but I still have a right to my opinions about them.  If anything I should be analyzing my experiences and observations of parents around me (good and bad) so that I am better prepared for parenthood when I am finally given that gift. I will never be able to guarantee that my child won’t accidentally end up somewhere they shouldn’t be, no one can.  But we should be doing everything we can to teach our children to be respectful and to set an example of respect for each other, our planet and the
animals who share it with us.