The Sad, Sad Truth

editorial-logo3The news item of the week appears to center around the death of a gorilla and people are lining up on both sides of the question to make their opinions known. There are a few facts about the shooting that cannot be escaped. The death was tragic. Most experts(and I in no way purport to be an expert) agree that the zoo keepers had little choice but to fatally shot the gorilla in order to save a young child who somehow ended up in the gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo. There was not a good outcome for the situation. My question is this-how on earth did that child end up in the gorilla exhibit? This child was little more than a toddler. Why did his parents not have hands on him and, at the very least, how did they miss him trying to finagle himself into the protected area?

Anyone who has had a young energetic child knows that sometime things happen. They take a bad fall just out of arm’s reach or they reach up and touch something hot despite the fact that everything else in the house is child proofed to the point that even the adults can’t open the doors on the cabinets. I remember when my son was just barely walking. We were visiting relatives and they had a wood stove. It was a pretty nice unit and was cool to the touch everywhere except one small bar that ran across the bottom of the unit. I watched in horror as my child, just outside of my reach, laid his hand on the one hot part of the stove. He cried. I cried. We went to Children’s Hospital, traveling at the speed of light. The hospital staff questioned my husband and me at length about the burn, even separating us at one point. Of course, they eventually determined that it was nothing more than an accident and, with medication and care, my son’s hand healed properly, leaving only a small dark spot as a reminder that sometimes stuff happens. So, I know that sometimes stuff happens but a young child ending up in a gorilla exhibit is not just the average, everyday stuff.

In the midst of the debate about shooting the gorilla is a more compelling and impacting question than should they or shouldn’t they. Buried deep inside is the question of responsibility. It is one that we seem to sidestep a lot lately. If I went through the inquisition over a burn on the hand, should we not be expecting some answers from these parents. After all, it isn’t everyday that a child ends up in a gorilla exhibit. Just how long does it take for something like that to happen? A burn can happen before the word No can get out of your mouth. I am not so sure about this situation. I would think that the security is such that it would take quite a bit of maneuvering for anyone to get in with the gorillas.

Who knows? Someone does, that is for sure. There is one thing that I do know for sure. The gorilla is the only one that is absolutely not at fault. He was simply doing what he does. His was performing his duties as the male and anything less would have put his family at risk. The actions of the zoo keepers were right. The actions of the gorilla were right. With all these rights it makes one wonder just who was wrong. Because we have one dead gorilla. In all the supposition and suspicion that is the one indisputable fact. Sad, though it is. And it is very, very sad.

Source: K. Depew, News Director