Tuesday, May 31, 2016

The rise of social media, the fall of society...

Social media has done great things. It's connected people who normally wouldn't be connected. It's allowed access to untold volumes of information and ideas. It's allowed old friends to reconnect, and new friends to be made.

And it's given us crazy cat videos. So so many crazy cat videos.

It's also given a voice to the idiots of the world. The ones who really shouldn't be allowed to have an opinion, yet now they can freely, and anonymously, snap judgement in an instant to situations they think they know everything about. Yet know nothing about.

Never before has such a loud example of this occurred than when the timelines of a 17 year old gorilla and a 4 year old boy intersected.

It is a tragedy. I will concede that. A very unfortunate situation that your peoples god willing I'll never find myself in. Or know anyone who will be in such a situation. But it happened and all we know is the outcome of it. A 4 year old survived, and a 17 year old gorilla died.

Here's the part everyone needs to take note of: You and I don't know shit about what happened.

I'll say that again and fragment it so it really sinks in: You and I. DON'T KNOW SHIT!!! About what happened.

A 4 year old someone ended up in the pen with a large gorilla. Again, without knowing shit about what happened, the masses of the anonymous took time out of their busy jerk off sessions in their parents basement to quickly pass judgement onto the parent for losing track of their child and allowing him to wander into this mess and now because of that a gorilla is dead. The comments have been beyond vile and repulsive. It makes me truly sick to think there are people out there who hold a 17 year old captive gorilla's life above that of a 4 year olds. What has happened to our society?

I'll share a story with you. A few months ago Elli and I took the kids to the children's museum. It was a particularly busy day. We were enjoying one of the water works areas and happened across a fun little set up where you turn a handle and a marble is randomly launched into a series of twists and turns. There was something like 4 different routes that marble could take. There really wasn't a crowd over by this because it was off to the side. Elli and I were playing with it along with Aksel. A few minutes go bye and Elli and I are still having a fun time with it when we realized Aksel was no longer there. And he was no where to be seen. For about 2 mins we frantically searched, splitting into 2 directions. We found him happily playing in one of the other sections of the water area. It happens in an instant.

You and I don't know shit about what happened.

Parents are vigilant of their children. Well, most are at least. But it's impossible to be vigilant 100% of the time. Momentary distractions occur. What's the whole point of a zoo exhibit? To make you look. That exhibit exists to hold your attention. That's the purpose of a "display". Otherwise why have it out? Parents get distracted as well. We're all human. It only takes a min or less and those little legs venture off. Most of the time you find your kid the next aisle over in the store. The worst case scenario plays out as this did.

I carry a .357 magnum while walking the woods. I have this to protect myself from large predators. Where I grouse hunt there are 500+ lb black bears roaming around. There's wolf tracks that overtake half of my size 13 hunting boot. Now that my kids are with me on my hunting adventures, I'm not leaving anything to chance. If I come across one of these animals I would love to just let it be. If it acts aggressively at all, I'm drawing that .357 and dropping it without hesitation. I'm exercising my right, and my kids right, to exist over that of an animal.

It is indeed a shame that with this species of gorilla endangered or close to it that one had to die. But that argument is somewhat of a mute point. A 17 year old captive animal is going to do little, if anything, to further the species. Best to focus your efforts of continued lineage elsewhere.

I don't carry that gun I mentioned earlier outside of the woods. However, if for some reason I had it on me, and I found myself in the situation of being at some zoo exhibit and a child, or any person of any age falls into a pen with a large animal, the second that animal touched said person I'd scatter that animals head all over the pen. I hope others would do the same.

You and I don't know shit about what happened. But somehow, someway, a 4 year old fell into a pen with a gorilla that was 6X's it's size. And the 4 year old lived.

To me, that's an acceptable outcome.

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