Shoot The Gorilla?

Shoot? Or don't shoot the gorilla?

It's sad. But shoot the gorilla.

Maybe I should've offered a third alternative: shoot the stupid kid.

"Stupid"? Is it possible to made such a judgement about a three-year old?

I just did.

My bad. I forgot the caveat, accurately.

What would your position be if that had been your child?

Shoot the parent.

So, you would shoot yourself rather than the ape?

How about the people who designed a habitat accessible by toddlers?

Throw this fact into the mix: lowland gorillas are endangered, there only about 175,000 alive today.

Three year old boys?  Not endangered. Not even close.

I'm well aware of that. But what difference does it make as to the proper actions in this particular case?

As I asked earlier, what would your preference be if it was your child in the gorilla pit?

I wasn't there. I don't know for certain if Harambe was being aggressive with the boy, or protective. It was a split second decision. Probably not fair to second-guess the zoo based on a couple seconds of video.

The gorilla was a dangerous animal. I know that the big apes are very cool, and their demise is a terrible shame, but they are still dangerous.

I wasn't there either, of course, but I can say that is if was my child I would have wanted the animal shot. Hell, if it was the world's last gorilla, I would have wanted it shot before it could kill my kid.

Now the police are investigating to see if criminal charges should be brought against the parents.

They should investigate the zoo. It has the responsibility for the safety of the patrons and the animals. In this case, it seems they may have been negligent.

Is this the first kid that climbed into the enclosure?  Might not be smart to make policy based upon exception.

I mean, we still take off our shoes for the TSA.

Do you really think that the zoo designers and management did not know that the enclosure was accessible? I find that hard to believe.

I don't like zoos in any case. Painful to see those animals locked up.

I guess what bothers me, frankly, is the AUTOMATIC assumption by many people that the little boy's life OF COURSE is more important than the gorilla's.

Such "speciesism" is out of place in today's world.

You seem to be making the opposite assumption, simply because there are fewer gorillas. I have made no assumption either way. How can you possibly evaluate the "importance" of either life? The question was what I would do in this case. If it was my kid, I would would say shoot the gorilla.

What if it was your gorilla and somebody else's kid?

Would I stand there and watch a gorilla tear a child apart in some profane effort to ameliorate the sins of his fathers? No, I wouldn't.