Have we lost it?
Sometimes the stupidity of the general public (myself included) is astounding. The hottest topic in the world right now is Dawn Brancheau, the trainer of Shamu the killer whale. Shamu killed Dawn Brancheau. Grabbed her from the side of the pool. It is sad, and my heart goes out to her family. But before we canonize the woman, let’s remember one small detail…. the woman lived as an idiot.
Aside from being stupid, we have rather short memories. Does anyone remember a few years back, when the gay guy got mauled by his tiger? Or (apologies to my Australian brothers here) Steve Irwin got killed some time ago by a stingray or some damn thing, after years of poking, prodding, and teasing things that could eat him. And now Shamu takes out Dawn Brancheau.
Why are we so damned surprised here? They don’t let people swim with Shamu from the crowd. Why? Because this is a killer whale. They don’t want it to killer anyone. Ever seen what these things do to seals on the Discovery channel? You want some of that? Of course not. Which is why you and I don’t swim with Killer Whales or poke 20 foot crocodiles.
Do none of us have any common sense here? This is Sea World. Not sure if you’ve been there, but Sea World is jail for things that live in the water. I’m not saying I’m for or against it; in the overall scheme of things, I couldn’t care less. But they keep this Killer Whale… an animal the size of a camper, mind you… Jaws in black and white… in a pen, and we’re surprised when it acts like… a killer whale?
So lets not make a saint out of the lady. She was a glorified warden. We don’t make a big deal when the warden is taken out by an inmate in our society, why must we now? Yeah, a killer whale killed its trainer. But there are young men who died today defending your way of life. Quit worrying about a show off warden…. take a few minutes to find the names of these few men instead.
great share 
LOL I definitely got a laugh out of this article for several reasons!
To start, I agree that Sea World is a bunch of crap…sticking these GIGANTIC animals in pens that are way too small for them and having them perform for thousands is ridiculous.
And I also agree that people like Steve Irwin (who poked and prodded at crocs and the sort) had to know that one day would be their last!
Are these people idiots as you say? In Steve Irwin\’s case…for sure…you poke me, I poke you back.
In Dawn Brancheau\’s case? I don\’t believe so. Her job was to educate, she did not poke or prod the whale…he grabbed her and dragged her underwater (official cause of death is by drowning) versus your comparison to Jaws (she was not eaten)!
I truly have to believe (and maybe I\’m being naive) that the whale did not intentionally kill her. These animals do not know their own strength…the trainers PLAY with them to get them to perform, and I think the animal was trying to play.
On a side note, to BradONeill, the \”killing\” that you discussed…if you heard or read the reports, the gentleman that was found dead had stayed in the park AFTER park closing, stripped down naked and jumped into FREEZING cold water.
The man died of hypothermia from the freezing water. He was not bitten by the whale, he was found lying across the whale out of water. Media sensationalized this as another killing…but it\’s not the whale\’s fault this jack*ss decided to jump into ICE CUBE cold water.
So maybe you should get YOUR \”facts\” straight.
Welcome to Authspot, the spot for creative writing.
Read some stories and poems, and be sure to subscribe to our feed!
