Just "Monkey-ing" Around

Social media makes big impressions on the public. Within minutes, the next big story might be trending on Twitter and Facebook with a designated hashtag. Just like that and the entire world has coverage on what is happening. The problem is that the public receives so much coverage from social media that sometimes they might not be able to filter through the "trash". Yes, if you don't know by now, there are tons of media that give certain perceptions to the public on a given situation. Either due to lack of information or feeling strongly about a stance regarding the situation, sometimes the public might be drawn to think a certain way. This is exactly what happened throughout this past week with the Cincinnati Zoo incident.

Pictured above is the silverback gorilla, Harambe, that was shot by the Cincinnati Zoo on May 28, 2016. To summarize the events that took place on that Saturday, here is a quick description: A 4-year-old boy climbed over the fence protecting the public from the enclosure and then fell 15 feet into the mote where the gorillas were residing. There has been continuous debate on whether or not the blame should fall on the parents of the child for not watching him closely enough or the zoo for not making the best decision. But honestly, how can we sit here and judge either side when we were not there firsthand to make an informed judgment? Maybe the mother turned around for just a quick second and that is when the little boy decided to take off when he could. Maybe the zoo made the best decision they could based on the given circumstances. To make an informed judgment, you have to filter through all the biased articles. The articles and media that present the evidence in a neutral way is the best way to go. After filtering through the "trash" I found a video that I feel gives a fair depiction of the events:

As stated in the video, the situation was a sad play of events. The zoo was left with little options and did what they had to do. The gorilla had a hard time processing that the people up above the enclosure screaming were actually the child's benefactors. Harambe was doing what he felt natural and that was to protect the child from the loud crowd of people. But there is no room for taking chances, so the zoo unfortunately had to take the life of Harambe in order to assure that the child was safe.

The sad part about this is how much angst and argument this chaos has caused. With social media nowadays, you can post anything you want. So once one person says something then there is bound to be another person coming back with a response. With all of the negative comments regarding the situation, social media has taken a tumble effect and created a persona for the mother of the child and the Cincinnati Zoo. Instead of throwing blame on either party, there should be more talk of how to find a solution to these types of problems. Thinking of ways to make the barriers between the enclosures and the public more safe should be the number one trending topic rather than why the mother shouldn't be allowed to parent children.

Harambe will be missed for sure. For any more information regarding Harambe go to: http://cincinnatizoo.org/new-releases/

Thanks for reading you high societal souls. Keep this lesson in your mind this week: Stop monkey-ing around and reach for the stars!

Word of the Day: Gegenschein
Definition: A faint, elliptical patch of light in the night sky that appears opposite the sun, being a reflection of sunlight by meteoric material in space.

All the best