My Thoughts On Harambe The Gorilla

Hi Loves,

 I hope you all had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend.  As most of you know over the weekend a 3-year-old boy slipped into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. The boy had gotten into the enclosure by going under a rail, through wires and over a moat wall, according reports from the zoo.  Zoo officials made the decision to shoot the gorilla named Harambe because they felt the boy would be in more danger due to a tranquilizer taking longer to kick in, and it may have agitated the gorilla. A child was injured and a animal that is an endangered species, lost its life because of an accident.

With all the facts above being said I can see both sides of the coin and wanted to give my take on the matter, being I am a mother myself. I understand that as a mother our attention can be easily distracted when dealing with multiple children. Witness accounts state that the little boy was adamant on going in the water and the mother  kept brushing him off and telling him no. As a parent I know when my daughter wants to do something she goes to great lengths to do it even if I say no, so my eyes are on her like white on rice to make sure she abides by my decision. We as parents have to really understand it takes 1 second for a child to get into trouble, they don’t know any better, but we do.

 My mother loves to tell me a story that I almost caused her to have a heart attack because I disappeared from her side for 20 minutes, which I’m sure felt like an eternity to her. She was a careful good mom and simply picked up my brothers to put them on a bench and when she turned to get me I was gone. Obviously they found me and I was ok, but I’m sure the other moms at that lake passed judgment on her and said exactly what everyone has been saying this whole weekend about this mom “ she should have been watching her kid” or “oh that would never happen to my child”. Let me tell you something people, it could happen to any of us, because it only takes a second. I am a paranoid mom that needs to feel my child’s hand to know they’re safe, but reality is sometimes you have to let that hand go and they can get into trouble.

 I feel for the poor animal, it lost its life because of a human error and as a animal lover it truly hurts my heart, but a child’s life was at stake and you just can’t go on an assumption that the animal may stay calm from a tranquilizer. This is a lesson for all parents that if you know your child likes to go off, you may want  to strap your child in a stroller or a leash which by the way I hate, but if it must be done, do it. I can’t pass judgment on this mother because I wasn’t there to see the facts of the matter, but I will say once again we can ALL learn from this and change the way we are with our children or even when you see a child alone. I know there have been many times I have been out and seen a child alone and I follow that child to make sure that child is ok and with their parent at some point. Does a situation like that annoy me, hell yeah it does but I will continue to do it because that’s just who I am.

I hope I helped you guys look at both sides of this argument and hope you choose not to judge this mom, because it is very easy to  judge, but much harder to understand.

 Peace & Love

 Rest In Peace Harambe

 Lissette