A few weeks ago a little boy fell into the gorilla exhibit at a zoo in Ohio. A gorilla grabbed him and dragged him through the water before being shot to protect the boy from being killed. By now we all know this story and have set opinions on how it should have unfolded; yet this story has already unfolded, no matter how much we discuss what should or should not have happened.
The truth of the matter is a gorilla died and a little boy did not. Is there a chance the boy could have survived without the gorilla being shot? Yes. While that chance may be ideal to dwell on, the fact is that little boy very easily could have been killed. As long as that is a possibility there should be absolutely no questioning of that shot.
It is very sad that this took place to begin with. No mother would want this to happen to her child. No one who goes to the zoo would want an animal to die. No zoo worker would want to shoot the animal they dedicate their lives to working with and caring for. Due to the tragedy of this story, it was all people talked about Memorial Day weekend.
Lets take a look at some other things that happened at the same time and were not nearly as important in the public eye. In the same town, sixty-nine people were shot and six died. Eleven people died in car accidents in Alabama. Six people died during flooding in Texas. Lastly, fifty thousand innocent people were trapped by ISIS and used as human shields in a bloody battle. Yet, this animal managed to stay at the top of our news feed and dominate thousands of conversations.
Why is it so easy for us to value objects, plants, or animals more than people? We refuse to get our own oil for fear of hurting animals, while funding agencies that kill infants in the womb. We put up signs and protest businesses for cutting down trees, while people are slaughtered by terrorists. We spend hours watching television, playing games, or checking Facebook as families fall apart.
Those other stories from Memorial Day weekend may still come as a surprise to many of us. We dedicate our time to how unfair life can be to the animals we were given dominion over, and struggle to stop and think about how scared that child and mother must have been. We forget to acknowledge the lives of the family members of those lost in shootings, wrecks, floods, and wars the very same weekend one animal was shot to save a child.
Be sad a gorilla died, but do not forget to value people just as much. As sad as it is that this gorilla had to die, the people we do life with ultimately matter more, and any one of those news stories could have been one of our loved ones, and we would hope they would have more value than a gorilla.
