Rescue Journal

us against them

Carol  ·  May 29, 2016

i find it interesting that we who love animals and can not only feel their pain but can forgive them when they make a mistake or do something bad.

yet for our own species, we callously ignore pain or fear. we not only do not forgive but we rage and say horrible things.

case in point....
4 yr old child falls into the gorilla enclosure at a zoo. the child is seriously injured, the gorilla was shot and killed.

incredibly sad that the child was injured.
incredibly sad that the gorilla was killed.
incredibly sad and scary for the parents.
incredibly sad and stressful for the zoo staff as they shot the gorilla to give the child the safest and quickest way to rescue.

granted...
gorilla's should not be in zoo's..they should be free.
parents should watch their children, esp. inquistive toddlers, carefully.

however...
the gorilla did live in a zoo and the child in a moment of inattention did slipped under his parents radar.

there was no calculated malice, no pre-planning of harm.
there is no need to say terrible and hurtful things about the child, his parents, the zoo staff over what happened. it happened and everyone suffered...
and yes that poor gorilla, most of all.

we have choices....
we can advocate for animal's rights to live natural lives in freedom and we can feel respect and empathy for all living beings...including our own.

or we can be angry, hurtful and mean when we see other humans who made mistakes or are active participants in accidents waiting to happen because all humans at some moment in life are intrinsically flawed.

we need to get this....
its not a choice between caring for animals or caring for humans...
it is not us against them...
all of us: human and animal, are "them."
we are all the living, feeling inhabitants of this world.
in good times, in bad and when really sad shit happens.

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