Skip to main content

Thoughts, Honest Thoughts, and Really Honest Thoughts on Harambe The Gorilla


I'm pretty sure what I am about to explain is going to annoy and possibly anger a few readers, but hey, that's life. And quite frankly, more than ever, that's where we are as a society these days - vocal, opinionated, and fiery more than ever.

With that said, I don't quite understand the overall "rage" regarding the shooting of the Cincinnati Gorilla, Harambe. Yes, I am sure your eyes have widened and your blood pressure have soared, but again, I'm being truthful - I just don't understand the fury. 

I am aware, completely sympathetic, and conscious of the fact that a rare Silverback Gorilla was killed in this situation. I'm not at all cold-blooded when it comes to this.
However, was not a child's life saved? Sorry, I keep coming back to this point as it seems those who are outraged continue to point to irrelevant matters in the situation to justify their point. I've heard and read plenty - Why was the child not supervised? Why couldn't the Gorilla be tranquilized? 

Others have gone as far as claiming negligence on the part of the zoo and the parent. 

Again, just my opinion, but non of these questions, reasoning, or accusations trump this fact - a child's life was in danger, and the child was saved. 

You read these stories of the family being threatened via social media with comments such as, "that animal is more important than your s--t kid", "You're a killer!", and "U should've been shot", and again I have to wonder, did we forget a child's life was saved?!

The. Life. Of. A. Child. Was. Saved! 

Let's be honest, I see it everywhere, all the time, everyday - great parents who aren't perfect. Who turn away for a second, or miss a moment, or have a misstep. I'm not making an excuse, but it does happen. It's the part of parenting I hear about that is the most stressful and illicit the most fear. And the part that many swoop judgement down upon parents without understanding or having empathy for this aspect. 

One bad moment doesn't make a bad parent. A series of bad moments makes a bad parent. Regardless, if this parent were great parent, she had her misstep. If this parent were a terrible parent, it fell right in line with her actions. Regardless, the situation happened and could have happened to any parent, especially if the opportunity was there.

And again, the child was not harmed! But the Gorilla...yeah, yeah, I know...

I can you tell that if my child were in a habitat with a 450 pound wild Gorilla, I wouldn't care what happened to said Gorilla, animal, habitat, or the zoo, as long as my child was rescued and not harmed. Judge me all you want. But I would wish as many bullets to fire down upon any Gorilla, beast, or robot, or whatever, that has the potential of hurting my child. Wouldn't we all?  

But, hey, that's where we are today. That's the blessing and curse of the internet.

What would have happened if the Gorilla did in fact, unfortunately, somehow, harm or even kill the child? What would the narrative be then? Still, bad parent? Would we rejoice that the Gorilla's life was spared? I shudder to think... Again, when does the life of the child come into play here? 

Yet, if I'm truly letting the honesty fly here, where was this animal outrage when horses were dropping left and right for sport two weeks ago in the Preakness? Or towards the fact we believe the best welfare for these animals are in captivity in zoos? 

And if you really are asking me to reach down to the depths of my soul and uncover my honest opinion on this: I find it in utter poor taste, thus so predictable, how this country loses it's you-know-what over the (albeit tragic) death of a rare Gorilla, yet, finds alternative campaigns (All Animals Lives Matter - seriously?!)  and is comparably passionless on the issue of brown bodies being killed unwarranted throughout our nation. 

Only in America...

Recent Favorites

Dome Pondering Movie Review: The Incredibles 2 (2018)

What is it about? The Parr family returns to take on a new mission which involves a change in family roles as well as a new villain. Who is in it? Craig T. Nelson - Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible Holly Hunter - Helen Parr/Elastagirl Sarah Powell - Violet Parr Favorite Scene: After trying to contain Jack-Jack, his constant battle with a backyard rodent opens up the family to the multitude of powers that he possesses, or even, can develop. Favorite Quote: "If you wanna get out of the hole, first you gotta put down the shovel." Review: Like many, I LOVED the original Incredibles film. And yes, I too was annoyed whenever a sequel wasn't announced. After all, there were many franchises that debuted, got a sequel, and even moved straight to release on their third installment before our lovable heroic family got their turn! But I digress... Nonetheless, it finally arrived. And if I'm being honest, The Incredibles 2 was good. It just wasn't what I wa

AEW All IN: London (2023) Review: "This large of a crowd for an event that wasn't the WWE!"

I'm obviously registering these thoughts incredibly late, but such is the current state of pro wrestling right now - there is just so much going on, and so much to enjoy. It's a great time to be a fan, regardless of where your tribalism fandom falls - if you carry such allegiances.  I'm sure no matter what product you find entertaining, you circled AEW's All In event from Wembley Stadium as a must-watch. I don't care about someone else's "take" on the attendance total - I couldn't care less if it was the record for a pro wrestling event or not - what AEW was able to accomplish is absolutely amazing! Four years in, and the company produced an event on the levels of Wrestlemania in terms of attendance and business - that's damn impressive! Tony Khan and the entire company deserve loads of credit for taking that leap because it very much could have failed. They took a chance, and absolutely delivered (and so much more), and proved there is a subs

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 9/10/23

3 Up 1. Coco Gauf & Novak Djokovic - The US Open wrapped up this weekend and tennis crowned some deserving champions. Djokovic continues to add to a remarkable career with his 24th (!!) grand slam title win. And of course, Coco Gauff won over America with her win. It's impressive to see the effect that the Williams sisters have had on tennis - wow. Looking forward to seeing the star Gauff will become.  2. Olivia Rodrigo - Her first album was fire. Even this late-thirties male enjoyed it. The sophomore album is always the toughest and Rodrigo apparently (haven't listened to it myself, yet) dropped an absolute banger in "Guts". So much so, that it broke records for debut stream with over 60 million streams!  3. Deion Sanders - There's way to much dialogue around Sanders that isn't needed. Here is what it boils down to for me - Sanders took over a program that was 1-11. He brought in 80+ players. His team is currently 2-0, including victories over a ranked op