RIP HARAMBE :(

[Maggot]

Everyone heading to a BBQ is kicking their own asses now.

[HairOfTheDog]

OP Update

The Cincinnati Zoo's Gorilla World exhibit will re-open tomorrow.

Though they stand by their statement that the zoo's previous barriers were safe and in compliance with regulations, the zoo administrators have increased the wall height to 42 inches and add netted rope underneath it to make it "even more difficult" to penetrate.

The parents have cooperated in the police investigation, declined donations, and stated that they have no plans to try to sue the zoo.

Police are holding a press conference in a couple of hours to announce whether or not they will charge the parents with neglect, after which the family is expected to release a public statement.

Story: http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/06/us/harambe...index.html

[Maggot]

The powers that be should think about the door they may open if they try and charge the family. It was an accident, move on people.

[Midwest Spy]

Just finished up with my daughter's class at our local zoo.

Checked all of the enclosures to see if there was any way possible into any of them.

There wasn't any way I could see that anybody could get into the exhibits (other than scaling a fence).

I now feel like the Cincinnati zoo is mostly to blame for having a way in.

I also blame the mom as well for allowing her kid out of her sight.

[HairOfTheDog]

The powers that be should think about the door they may open if they try and charge the family. It was an accident, move on people.

I hope people move on as well, Mags.

I didn't see the press conference, but read that the police investigation concluded that no charges against the parents were warranted.

The prosecutor said that the 3-year-old was out of the mother's sight for a matter of seconds while she was attending her three other kids.

He added that anyone who doesn't understand how quickly a small child can scamper off doesn't have children and there was no evidence of any kind of neglect by the parents.

Story: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/201.../85491968/

[Duchess]

anyone who doesn't understand how quickly a small child can scamper off doesn't have children

I've been alone with little ones and every time it has been a nerve wracking experience. I'm intimidated & afraid to take my eyes off them. I don't do it anymore, I can't handle the pressure.

[HairOfTheDog]

I've been alone with little ones and every time it has been a nerve wracking experience. I'm intimidated & afraid to take my eyes off them. I don't do it anymore, I can't handle the pressure.

I understand...some of them are quick and crafty little suckers!

I'm not technically a parent. But, I agree with the decision by the police and prosecutor not to press charges based on my experience with kids and what the witnesses, the mother, and the zoo video reportedly revealed.

I don't agree with what the prosecutor said about people who hold the parents responsible obviously not being parents. Plenty of parents have weighed in to criticize the parents in the Harambe case -- they're entitled to their opinions based on their experiences, just like I am. I think he probably made that comment in attempt to get some of the most rabid critics to step back and lay off the family.

[Blindgreed1]

I've been alone with little ones and every time it has been a nerve wracking experience. I'm intimidated & afraid to take my eyes off them. I don't do it anymore, I can't handle the pressure.

I understand...some of them are quick and crafty little suckers!

I'm not technically a parent. But, I agree with the decision by the police and prosecutor not to press charges based on my experience with kids and what the witnesses, the mother, and the zoo video reportedly revealed.

I don't agree with what the prosecutor said about people who hold the parents responsible obviously not being parents. Plenty of parents have weighed in to criticize the parents in the Harambe case -- they're entitled to their opinions based on their experiences, just like I am. I think he probably made that comment in attempt to get some of the most rabid critics to step back and lay off the family.

He didn't say that exactly. He said anyone who doesn't understand how quickly kids can scamper off isn't a parent. I would agree with that. If you're a parent, you know how quickly it can happen.

[HairOfTheDog]

That's true -- I was paraphrasing not quoting, Gunnar.

It boils down to the same point -- you understand how quickly a child can scamper off in such a situation (as do I) and you're a parent.

A lot of other parents have weighed in and they don't understand how a parent could have allowed this child to scamper off under the circumstances and find it neglectful.

In any case, I hope those parents and non-parents who've been threatening and virtually attacking Isiah's parents will move on.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think this assessment is such bullshit.

This week, at the Disney World Resort in Florida, a 2-year-old white boy was killed by an alligator. Last month, a 3-year-old Black child fell into a Gorilla exhibit.

Two similar tragedies, two DISTURBINGLY different responses from the public.

But this isn’t about gorillas and alligators. Nor is it about news media describing Matt Graves, the father of the white child, as an employee of a “tech company and a board member of the Chamber of Commerce” while depicting Deonne Dickerson, the father of the Black child, as an absent father with a lengthy criminal record.

Nah.

This is about our country’s OBSESSION with invalidating, patronizing and racializing Black parents. ALL BLACK PARENTS.

Take a good look at how we talk about Black parents in the news and across social media:

- White America invented the “welfare queen” caricature to depict Black mothers as lazy and opportunistic, while slut-shaming them with myths of “multiple fathers.”

- We constantly joke in our movies, TV shows and Youtube videos about absent Black fathers.

- Just a few months ago, we shamed Will and Jada Pinkett Smith because their son, Jaden Smith, was seen wearing a skirt. People questioned their parenting and placed blame on their association with Scientology.

- When Mike Brown was murdered by Darren Wilson in 2014, people shamed Mike’s mother for raising “a thug” and never gave her the opportunity to mourn the loss of her son.

ALL OF THIS BULLSHIT is a way to disprove the humanity of Black parents — to prove that Black people aren’t responsible for themselves or their children. By doing this, we validate our legacy of oppression towards Black people.

In the eyes of white supremacy, who cares if we gentrify Black neighborhoods and push out Black families? Who cares if we zone Black children into schools that are horribly underfunded? Who cares if we provide inferior healthcare to Black children? Who cares if police officers murder Black kids?

In the eyes of white supremacy, because Black parents are bad parents, they don’t deserve those civil rights. They don’t deserve to eat, to be taken care of by a physician, to study at a decent public school, nor do they deserve to live.

Funny...

White people are mortified about this 2-year-old being eaten alive by an alligator yet, during slavery, white people fed the local alligators Black babies.

I guess the outrage over Black lives has a statute of limitations...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ranier-man...11692.html

[HairOfTheDog]

There's still too much disparity in judgment, sentencing, and such based on race. In my opinion.

But, I don't think that's why the reaction to the parents in the two cases was initially so different.

I had no idea about the race of either family when the stories broke and people started expressing their opinions on social media. I don't think professional media even mentioned race until long after people started posting their judgments.

It's more likely to me that the majority of different reactions towards the parents in the gorilla case and the alligator case are due to the difference in situations, not the race of the parents.

In the Harambe case, the parents knew there were gorillas in the enclave and there were signs to stay clear all over the zoo. The little boy didn't have any eyes on him for a very brief time and breached the barriers.

In the alligator case, the parents had no way of knowing there were alligators in the resort lagoon. There were no warning signs or barriers and the parents were watching their son play at the shoreline when the alligator snatched him up.

[BigMark]

I believe there was and are signs warning of alligators.

[blueberryhill]

I believe there was and are signs warning of alligators.

Well, dang, I just deleted my 2^nd post by mistake....WTF.....
O.K. there were only signs saying "no swimming" in the area, however, there was sand and most of the amenities of a regular beach. The boy was wading, not swimming.
Why would you expect an alligator in a children's fantasy playground?

Disney was remiss here....they should have had posted signs which warned of gators, and "do not feed the wildlife." The staff had complained to Management that they were having to fend off too many gators in that area possibly caused by people feeding them. Still, no signs.......so gators continue to feed and meet in this area to be fed, they have poor eyesight.....In any case, if you feed the wildlife, you enable that animal to associate humans with food and will eventually lead to their demise if they get too familiar (safety issues for public).

This was a tragedy waiting to happen and I cannot understand why a large Corporation like Disney with all of their fancy lawyers, didn't see this as a liability and post signs like other nearby resorts......of course, they didn't want to scare off their guests, but did they not realize that a vicious cycle was going on......feed the gators, here they come for more food, and oops, a child is killed. Those parents will blame themselves for the rest of their lives and because of the negligence of the Disney resort, they are minus their beloved son....

In addition to signs, they needed a fence, barrier, etc. which I think has been done.
They need to enforce the no feeding thing....and rake the water areas frequently in addition to the signs......this will help the inevitable drunk who might pass out in the water.....

[blueberryhill]

P.S. My original post commented on race issue. When you visit a zoo, you know there are dangerous animals behind barriers and signs to further affirm risky behaviors......In other words, watch your children, but I think the public agreed that the zoo could have had a more effective barrier in place....If a child can squeeze through it, it is not effective....

On the other hand, you don't expect to find alligators on Disney property....yeah, most people know they hang out in FL, but there
aren't supposed to be creatures in Disneyland which can harm kids......and all they get is a "no swimming" sign.......

Why would anyone think there would be a difference in how the two cases were perceived? The social media in both cases attacked the parents, some supported the parents. I don't see any racial issue here......I think there are more people supporting the Nebraska couple, not because they are white, but because of the implied danger between the two facilities.

[HairOfTheDog]

I believe there was and are signs warning of alligators.

Blueberry is right; there were no alligator warning signs posted at the Disney Grand Floridian lagoon -- only "no swimming" signs.

Disney closed the water access at their Orlando resorts for a few days following the little boy's death. They just re-opened them after putting up alligator warning signs.

[Maggot]

Now a Burmese Python will come along and grab some families dog. Can dogs even get into Disney?

[Duchess]

Only service dogs.

[sally]

Now a Burmese Python will come along and grab some families dog. Can dogs even get into Disney?

That's already happened. Except grandma got the shit end of the stick, not the dog.

http://fox2now.com/2016/01/29/family-thr...ers-death/

[F.U.]

It must be to soon. What I am talking about is . . . we have two stuffed alligator heads in our shop. I want to put a little baby doll, covered in spots of red paint, hanging out of the bigger ones mouth. My Bro says it probably wouldn't be a good idea because some buddy will get pissed. Funny or not funny, what say you?

[sally]

Well it's not my style of humor and it probably wouldn't be funny to the parents of the dead kid.