“Opinion: SeaWorld vs. the Whale That Killed Its Trainer”

I have never paid much attention to the news or to many articles, but I do recall one case in particular that I heard by word of mouth.  It wasn’t anything specific, but I remember hearing about controversy on SeaWorld and how they treat their animals.  I find it funny, yet appropriate, that I encounter it here.  Like our blog leader, Molly, I think that the “These are not bad whales” comment was important and impactful, but the one I found strangely impactful was where Brower says “The only place killer whales ever kill and injure humans is here, in the confines of tanks like these.”  The sentence caught my interest, but I didn’t know why until I thought about it.  The reason I found was that it is implying that we are basically bringing this “danger” upon ourselves.  These orcas would leave us be for the most part were we to do the same, so by bringing them to our own confines, we are the cause of the incidents. 

While as I mentioned, it was not the most impactful thing Brower said for me, but I would like to bring up the “these are not bad whales” comment.  I think here may be more behind what is said here than maybe even the author realizes.  The concepts of good and bad are completely man made and not a structural way of how the world is and simply exists in the minds of humans.  Therefore, we cannot hold that same standard in any way, shape, or form to another creature, especially one that runs mostly on instinct.  We cannot judge anything it is doing as good or bad behavior. People are arrogant to think that can impose and control such a thing as natural instinct and expect all to go well for their own convenience.