Why Is No One Coming For The Parents Of Toddler For Death of 5 Alligators?

[Starry Messenger]

I was just talking about this to a friend of mine last night.

http://wearyourvoicemag.com/identities/race/no-one-coming-parents-white-toddler-death-4-alligators

In all this passionate frustration over the killing of Harambe the gorilla, I cannot recall seeing anyone — not one person — issue a prayer for the family of black toddler, thank their God for granting the child’s safe return to his parents.

I cannot recall seeing any posts expressing empathy for the mother and father of that Black child.

I cannot recall anyone blaming the zoo in the way that people are blaming Disney for not warning tourists about the presence of alligators in the lagoon.

The sad, painful and frustrating truth is that no one seemed capable or willing to identify with those Black parents.

Like every other institution in America informed by race, that inability to identify with pain and suffering of black families involved in animal tragedies is neither accidental nor incidental. It’s national heritage.

[forjusticethunders]

1. If anything people were bashing the black parents and saying they were negligent

Cultural memes affect people's thinking even if you don't think they do.

[Starry Messenger]

2. The contrast couldn't be more stark.

People were horrible, I think I read another piece last night that said that some in the media even said the little Black toddler had some evil master plan--at age TWO--to commit mayhem.

[Warpy]

5. That bothered the hell out of me

because no one was taking the zoo to task for having an enclosure vulnerable to toddlers.

I guess one of the other differences is that gorillas are endangered and alligators are not.

I am a little surprised that no one is calling the parents of the kid killed by an alligator out for having a toddler out at 9 PM and not keeping a closer eye on him.

I guess being white means it's never your fault and being black means that it's never anyone else's fault.

[Number23]

17. I too think that the zoo bears the brunt of the blame. If there was ever a location that's supposed

to be custom made for children, including very young ones, it's a zoo. If you have enclosures that children are sliding right through them and into harms' way you need to do a redesign yesterday.

[bonemachine]

3. I wonder how a person would respond if you asked them point blank

about their differing responses.

My gut says that the answer, rationalizing or no, is that most people would say on first examination that the difference was that one was an animal in a zoo, the other a wild animal attack.

[Starry Messenger]

6. Take the aggregate of the bulk of pubilc responses though--

I think the piece is less about individual opinions and about the tide of social opinion.

[bonemachine]

10. Yeah, the OP is on point

But the bulk of responses are made up of individual opinions, right?

People rationalize all sorts of things in all sorts of interesting ways, I suppose...

[elehhhhna]

4. look around beyond du. tons of blaming the parents going on.

And the gator kid DIED. Apple vs. Orange.

[LanternWaste]

8. Ounces rather than tons when the one is compared to the other.

Ounces rather than tons when the one is compared to the other.

"Apple vs. Orange." I'd rationalize negligence vs. negligence the same way as well... if compelled to by my biases.

[Starry Messenger]

11. I just did a brief search of media reactions and hot takes.

The bulk of the sympathy (as it should be) is with the family.

In the first instance, the police actually investigated the family for possible criminal responsibility. http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/31/us/gorilla-shot-harambe/

[hedda_foil]

7. One problem. The family is white.

Found a photo but it won't post.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/15/child-reportedly-dragged-into-lagoon-by-alligator-near-disney-resort.html#

[liberal N proud]

9. No one wants to take responsiblity for their or their kids actions

It is too easy to blame someone else in todays society. It's never me!



A lot of people here love to demonize any corporation for anything they can.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

12. You and I both know why.

[librarylu]

13. Well, for one thing

alligators aren't currently endangered. For another they aren't cute. I remember when they were about to be listed there were claims conservationists cared more about alligators than about black children.

It's sad that innocent alligators had to be euthanized and searched for remains but they're, you know, reptiles.

I noticed things seemed to settle down here when it turned out the gorilla kid's parents were black.

At least no one at the zoo has been reported as saying, "Oh, it's only a black kid. Shoot the kid."

[bluestateguy]

14. I don't believe every act of poor judgement needs to be criminalized

Letting your 3 year old accidently slip away at a gorilla exhibit, or swimming with a 2 year old at 9PM in a zone marked no swimming, are both acts of slightly careless judgement that don't rise to the level of criminality.

[anoNY42]

15. My life is oddly backwards

Preface: Warning, anecdote follows.


I am a Florida resident and parent of a 2 year old, and the Disney thing is one of my nightmares. However, my wife hard-heartedly blamed the parents for letting the kid get too close to water in Florida. As to the gorilla incident, my wife blamed the zoo and empathized with the parent, since we know how toddlers wander.

Maybe that just means my wife is not a racist?

[JustAnotherGen]

16. Your wife would get along great with my husband

He was hard hearted as hell towards that little boys parents.

[Stellar]

18. This has been weighing on me too.

Different strokes, I guess.

[Travis_0004]

19. A zoo is an obvious known danger

Its not a secret that there is a gorilla in the gorilla cage, and maybe you should watch your kid.

I can understand somebody not realizing the danger in a beach, at disney.

[JI7]

20. both are attractions for families with kids

Zoos are places with animals taken out of their natural habitat and put in cages and other enclosures.

Most parents would assume things are set up so a small child can't easily get into dangerous places.

The same shit you say about the mother at the zoo could be said about the parents in Orlando.

[JustAnotherGen]

22. Amen

It would be like someone going to Costa Rica and saying - but I didn't know they had snakes here or crocodiles - because I'm not from here.

Stay out of the marsh and the jungle - that's what 'common sense' dictates.

I don't discount the need for Disney to install signs - but I'm getting really perturbed with the idea that common sense wasn't used because of the 'region' one is from.

Who the fuck travels without knowing the dangers? And I'm talking anywhere in the country - or the world. Oh fiddle dee - I didn't realize there were terrorism alerts, water alerts, zika alerts, etc .etc.

[JI7]

23. i tHink it's because they are within Disney space

And the brand has a lot behind it. Especially for those who want to travel with kids.

People see the whole thing as a set up make believe without the dangers you would face in the"real world".

[Travis_0004]

25. And the other issue is the killing of the Gorilla

The Gorilla is an endangered species, and the killing of the Gorilla broke as the news was released.

Aligators not not endangerd, they might just be a bit overpopulated. I can understand most not caring if the gator was killed. Also, since a few suspected gators were not killed until hours after the incident, that did not make a lot of headlines. Some people even now don't realize that a few alligators have been killed since the incident.

[JustAnotherGen]

30. I've been quite a few times with small kids

I treated as a cesspool of stranger danger. But - I'm very well traveled. Jungle smart if you will.

[Nay]

29. Exactly right, JI7. Under any kind of reasonable expectations,

both sets of parents were correct to expect that:

A 4-yr-old who gets separated from his parents cannot accidentally fall into, or get into, an animal pit.

A toddler on a groomed, man-made beach(with beach chairs and umbrellas, and kids' movie night on the beach) at Disney World cannot be snatched by an alligator.

[gollygee]

21. I would never think of a zoo as a danger

I would assume they were set up so no one could get in or out of the enclosures.

On the other hand, I would expect alligators - wild creatures and not enclosed or controlled in any way - in any fresh water in Florida.

[Starry Messenger]

24. I'm glad Disney is improving their signage

but FL is famous for gators. They get acclimated to humans and are often spotted in public.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

35. that's the dumbest thing i have read today. zoos are supposed to be safe. your kids are supposed to

be safe.

i can understand a drunk adult being able to get into a cage, but a zoo should be designed such that a kid cannot.

[Orrex]

26. My small town's FB page blew up with praise for God for protecting the child from Harambe

But then again, they praise God when raccoons are chased out of the dumpster at the local McDonalds.

They're a bit God-happy, is what I'm saying.


But you and the article make a brilliant point.

K/R

[Ms. Yertle]

27. To begin with,

the child in Cincinnati lived, and the Nebraska child did not.

OTOH, do you remember when the mom put the child on the railing at the Pittsburgh Zoo, and he fell into the wild dog exhibit and was ripped to shreds in front of his mother? There was PLENTY of criticism of that (white) mother.

I think it depends more on the situation than the color of skin.

[MFM008]

28. Alligators just doing what they do

Anyone remember the scene in Crocodile Dundee with the woman at the edge of the lake and it grabs her water bottle around her neck?
Disney should fence off all water areas rather than kill all the gators, they will get through and
people will continue to IGNORE signs.
Gators haven't survived for millions of years because they are stupid.

[pnwmom]

37. There were never any alligator warning signs to ignore .

And Disney lured the families down to the beach for a "Beach Night" during prime alligator feeding time.

Disney also rents little boats and kayaks and rafts that they let families use on that body of water.

Disney was NOT disclosing the risk.

[heaven05]

31. +1000

there is no empathy overall because black life, child or adult, to the majority, is worth much less than white life. Just a fact of american living. Always has been a fact for over 300 years now and always will be.

[UMTerp01]

32. Also....did they look into the criminal history of this White father?

I saw articles written about the criminal history of the father of the little boy in the zoo incident and the father wasn't even f*cking present when it happened. Did they look into the background of this Disney incident father? Seriously doubt it.

[gollygee]

33. That was horrible.

And then they investigated whether to charge the parents with anything - parents plural including the dad who wasn't there. They might have been hoping to find some excuse to claim he had a parole violation and stick him back in prison.

Horrible.

[Starry Messenger]

34. This.

[JustAnotherGen]

38. That's a good point

[pnwmom]

36. The premise isn't accurate, IMO. I encountered a bunch of witch hunters here on DU

who were outraged that, due to the awful, ignorant parents at Disney, five alligators had lost their lives.

And I strongly blamed the zoo for not having barriers that could keep a toddler out. Both the zoo and Disney were to blame. The mothers in both cases were doing their best, but no parent can be 100% perfect 100% of the time.