Just another one of those days where you open up Facebook to kill a few minutes and BAM instant disappointment. What one might call an opinion I would call ilogical banter.
To give you some context around what has been going viral on social media, about a week ago a little boy fell into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. A video of the horrifying experience went viral across different platforms of social media and news stories worldwide. The four-year old boy was handled by the Silverback for what seemed like the longest 30 seconds ever recorded. The gorilla, named Harambe, did not show any overly aggressive signs or actions towards the boy, in fact its natural animalistic actions could have been interpreted as Harambe protecting the child while being taken aback by the boisterous onlookers. Harambe was destroyed by zoo officials to save the boy's life. Multitudes of people were outraged by the incident and took to social media to express their opinion, which is fine and pretty much the point of social media - share "what's on your mind"! Most incongruous and absurd were messages from people believing Harambe's shooting was an act of racism in that the method used to save the boy was an act of white privilege.
It baffles me that people are would take that approach. That 'white privilege' was a driving force that caused zoo officials to get a gun out rather than pluck another solution out of thin air while a 400-pound gorilla dominates a four year old; Yeah sure!
The boy could have been killed in a matter of seconds but oh no, it was the colour of their skin, and in the gorilla's case fur, that influenced how the situation should be handled. Are these people really lining up a gorilla to be compared to a black person? Throwing into that situation a helpless white child so they have means for an illogical and ridiculous racism rant. Seems like anything that anyone does nowadays can be flip turned into some form of racial debate. As sad as it is, the zoo was right to shoot Harambe in my opinion. Perhaps finding a tranquilliser gun may not have been an option as that could have agitated the gorilla resulting in far more tragic injuries for the child. According to zoo officials "it was a life or death situation" and the risk was far too great. Greater than any ludicrous argument regarding racism and white privilege.
Social media is a platform for liberal thought and expression. But sometimes I feel like there is more garbage and irrelevant content on there than there is meaningful. With real issues facing the world, why are racist zoos something people want to focus their energy on? Firstly these people are incorrect and secondly those that keep enforcing that everything is racist when there was no racist motive involved are clearly un-evolved and have a limited understanding of racism.
I think your point here is right-- injecting this story with race is really missing the point. A gorilla is a gorilla-- race isn't a factor for gorillas. It simply amazes me that this story hit the news and suddenly everyone was an expert zookeeper! I think that the reactions to this story show less that we have any actual problems with zoos, or gorillas, or parenting, or whatever, but more that relations in the United States are at an absolute breaking point right now. Claiming that race had anything to do with this situation is ridiculous, but it does go to show that people are feeling defensive and angry right now. With politics how they are in the United States, the country as torn and hurt as it is, it wouldn't surprise me if we saw more and more ridiculous and explosive reactions to stories like this one.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comment that trying to endow a 'black' social identity to a gorilla is ludicrous and potentially more problematic than the shooting of the animal itself (black people = monkeys? Seriously?). Therefore, I would hope any comments on the gorilla being killed because of it's 'race' are simply attempts at humour- to bring stories of police brutality and unfair racial discrimination into focus. Whether such comments would be progressive or regressive depends on their intention, speaker and audience- but that's another issue!
ReplyDeleteWhat I really wanted to point out here was the sheer AMOUNT of news coverage for this story. Sure, it was shocking and saddening, and I am deeply sorry for the family, the zoo and Harambe- yet I cannot help feel anger upon learning of another news event, occurring in just a day or two before Harambe's death on the 28th.
As reported by Aljazeera, an estimate of over 700 refugees drown in the Mediterranean during three shipwrecks over the 25-27th of May. That's seven hundred lives. Seven hundred funerals, seven hundred tragedies. Yet where are their Facebook posts, their tweets, their memorials? The issue, I believe is not with the users of these social media sites, but rather the mainstream media which provide the information to fuel such posts. Without aware and educated media, we cannot expect much more of ordinary citizens.
I believe this is an example of racism and xenophobia, as the life of one gorilla residing in the west has been valued more than the hundreds of lives of refugees fleeing countries in the east. It is here the romanticising of the Orient fades away, and we are left with the grim reality that Said predicted- people outside of the west have continued to be othered and devalued because of their 'race'. The fact I (and other media outlets) can say "refugees" within such posts is an example of cultural flattening in itself and how we strip Others of individuality and humanity.
Sources:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/700-refugees-feared-drowned-italy-160529085357124.html
There is always that one part of the internet that will grab a chance to crack a racist remark or racist joke. This aspect of the whole situation really surprised me because, how did an issue about human vs animal suddenly become about race vs race. Some people are choosing to focus on the wrong things. This story had NOTHING to do with race at all. Because of all the racism that happens to POC, i feel like this was just an opportunity to spark a racial debate even though it wasn't needed. Good read.
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