John Price
Gang Gang
- Sep 19, 2008
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Gorilla put down after boy falls into its habitat
- Thread starter John Price
- Start date
Hippasus
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Dr Pepper
Registered User
Gee, Stephen A. Smith, don't keep us in suspense! We want to know YOUR opinion on this story!
jasonleaffan
Registered User
Zorf
Apparently I'm entitled?
- Jan 4, 2008
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As a father of a 5 year old boy and a 4 year old boy, I can totally understand how it's quite easy to lose track of your kids, even if it is for a split second, they can quickly find a hiding spot or run off to explore something. It's the worst feeling ever as a parent to not know where your kid is, but unless you are a psycho parent and keep your kids on a leash (I've seen this), then chances are at some point they will scamper off. 99.99% of the time they are fine.
If you don't have kids who are this age, or have gone through this age, you'll never understand. They are always faster than you think they are, they are curious as all hell, they want to climb everything in sight, and unless they are laughing or screaming, they move silently.
Just taking a kid into a grocery store is a pain. The WORST is a department store with clothing racks everywhere. Those are pre-built forts that they can hide in!
So if you are at a zoo with your kids, and you stop to look at an animal for more than 10 seconds, does that make you a bad parent because the kids can scamper off?
On top of that, you don't want your kids growing up being scared of everything, because then they will grow up to be vegans. You need to show them some trust, and also let them make mistakes. Showing them trust lets them build confidence in their abilities, and also encourages them to try new things.
Furthermore, since becoming a parent, I've grown to appreciate the value of human life over that of animals. Humans > animals. Any argument otherwise is ridiculous, and I'm generally open to most opinions. We had a pet cat for a while. We liked the cat. It was a good cat. If there was a fire in the house and I could carry my 2 kids or 1 kid and the cat, guess who was getting left behind to burn to death? Yup, Dexter the cat, and I wouldn't give it a second though.
PS. before you vegans get offended, I was making a joke. Guaranteed someone highlights just that one paragraph though. Ha.
If you don't have kids who are this age, or have gone through this age, you'll never understand. They are always faster than you think they are, they are curious as all hell, they want to climb everything in sight, and unless they are laughing or screaming, they move silently.
Just taking a kid into a grocery store is a pain. The WORST is a department store with clothing racks everywhere. Those are pre-built forts that they can hide in!
So if you are at a zoo with your kids, and you stop to look at an animal for more than 10 seconds, does that make you a bad parent because the kids can scamper off?
On top of that, you don't want your kids growing up being scared of everything, because then they will grow up to be vegans. You need to show them some trust, and also let them make mistakes. Showing them trust lets them build confidence in their abilities, and also encourages them to try new things.
Furthermore, since becoming a parent, I've grown to appreciate the value of human life over that of animals. Humans > animals. Any argument otherwise is ridiculous, and I'm generally open to most opinions. We had a pet cat for a while. We liked the cat. It was a good cat. If there was a fire in the house and I could carry my 2 kids or 1 kid and the cat, guess who was getting left behind to burn to death? Yup, Dexter the cat, and I wouldn't give it a second though.
PS. before you vegans get offended, I was making a joke. Guaranteed someone highlights just that one paragraph though. Ha.
whatsbruin
Registered User
So what you are saying is if there is an ant, and you, and one of you had to
die, then it is justified to save the ant, and kill you. Got it.
whatsbruin
Registered User
If you are a parent, you know it only takes seconds for a child to go from a safe environment to a dangerous one. I would imagine most parents have experienced
a few seconds of panic with regards to their children being involved in a potentially dangerous situation. Shopping at the mall, turn a way for a few seconds, and
all the sudden you cannot find your child. Child running up to a dog to pet him.
Accidents swimming. In this Zoo case it was a very sad outcome.
Siamese Dream
Registered User
Exactly, my parents lost me in Legoland once when I was about 4 or 5, I was just in the play park the entire time
BUT BUT IT WAS IN A ZOO! WITH DANGEROUS WILD ANIMALS!
Well you would hope the animals are sufficiently caged and inaccessible, but apparently not
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
Just off the top of my head:
- When my middle son was 4, I took him to the mall. He wanted to run, I kept fussing at him to walk beside me. Eventually he gave into the urge and ran around a corner a few seconds ahead of me. I kept walking at a steady pace, because ****, I'm not going to chase a kid through a mall like a madman. I figured I would find him on the other side of that corner in a few seconds and chew him out. Well, when he turned that corner he kept going and went into a large department store that was close by.... ran all the way through that store and then out a different side door. So he ended up in a completely different part of the mall, alone. Half an hour later a store employee figured out that I was the dad everyone was looking for, and brought me to the mall security office where he was waiting.
- When my youngest was 4, I took him and his brothers to the NC zoo. While we were walking, we spotted a copperhead (poisonous snake) basking in the footpath ahead of us. I said "that's a poisonous snake, don't get close". His brothers stopped and kept their distance, but little man decided he wanted to run and jump OVER the snake for some reason. Another dad happened to see him start running, and intercepted him about 5 feet short of his liftoff point.
That's twice, off the top of my head, that I could have easily been "WOAT dad" in the news. "4 year old kidnapped while dad wanders around mall", "4 year old bitten by copperhead while dad looks on".
**** like this happens with kids that age. In both cases I was paying attention, dialed in to the situation. But that flat out is not enough to keep a 4 year old contained. Nothing is enough, really. The difference between these zoo parents and myself is sheer luck and the charity of strangers. Thus, I'm very reluctant to judge a parent unless there's clear evidence of deliberate negligence.
The Head Crusher
Re-retired
Dogs probably consider humans superior, too. While cats are having none of that nonsense; they know what species is at the top--felines.
Dr Pepper
Registered User
BostonBob
4 Ever The Greatest
Does anybody else think its the parents fault? I haven't heard that opinion before.
I did read that on reddit but it made me laugh.
I did read that on reddit but it made me laugh.
67 others
Registered User
This times 1000. I have been saying the same.
The people jumping on the bandwagon with pitchforks don't have kids and don't have a clue
Siamese Dream
Registered User
One of the most infamous abductions in the UK happened in a shopping mall when a pair of 10 year olds led a 2 year old away from his momentarily distracted mother and murdered him
That mother wasn't branded the worst parent in the world and demonised and blamed, on the contrary there was deep sympathy for her and it was deemed by the general public to be one of the most disgusting contemporary crimes committed, but when a gorilla gets shot everyone is up in arms and blames the parent, it doesn't make any sense
Then on the other end of the scale you've got the parents of Madeleine McCann who deliberately left their children alone in their hotel room in a foreign country while they went out to drink wine and eat tapas with their friends. That is deliberate neglect. Even they did not face any sort of further consequence so assertions that this woman should be prosecuted because a gorilla died are ludicrous
That mother wasn't branded the worst parent in the world and demonised and blamed, on the contrary there was deep sympathy for her and it was deemed by the general public to be one of the most disgusting contemporary crimes committed, but when a gorilla gets shot everyone is up in arms and blames the parent, it doesn't make any sense
Then on the other end of the scale you've got the parents of Madeleine McCann who deliberately left their children alone in their hotel room in a foreign country while they went out to drink wine and eat tapas with their friends. That is deliberate neglect. Even they did not face any sort of further consequence so assertions that this woman should be prosecuted because a gorilla died are ludicrous
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I love when people who don't have kids try to give parenting advice to parents. It's hilarious.
KaseMeOutside
Based
- Oct 18, 2011
- 44,276
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tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
PolishBingo
King Pierogie IV
- Jan 9, 2006
- 5,685
- 2
Completely the dads fault since he wasn't even there at the zoo when the incident happened.
RandV
It's a wolf v2.0
Don't you know? Random childless people on the internet have long been experts at parenting.
yubbers
Grown Menzez
- May 1, 2013
- 36,562
- 5,882
