Tuesday, February 17, 2015

"Opinion: SeaWorld vs. the Whale that Killed Its Trainer"


              Unlike the others, I have never watched any documentaries or movies involving killer whales. I had very little knowledge reading this article. But now I am very tempted to spend some time to watch them. It’s very terrifying to read about such things, but it’s more terrifying knowing we blame the whales we take in for their irrational behaviors. Kenneth Brower said, “These are not bad whales. They just come with all the instincts of predators.” And he couldn’t have said it any better. I strongly believe that to stop the harm being done to the trainers, it be best we leave the whales alone, in the sea. I want to look at it from both sides of the spectrum and try to understand where SeaWorld is coming from. I understand they have goals of saving these whales from being attacked by the others. I understand that it’s exciting to work with a whale and showcase it to the world. I fully understand it all. However, I strongly believe SeaWorld needs to take a look at the damage that’s been done.

              An interesting part I read from this article was SeaWorld’s horseplay theory with Tilikum. I can’t seem to find a balance on what to think about it. It’s heartbreaking that such thing occurred to the trainer. Because I don’t have a full understanding on whales and what their mindsets are, it’s very difficult to pin-point what exactly went wrong during that time. I can’t set my mind on whether it was horseplay or whether Tilikum had homicidal thoughts. Either way it still frightens me to read this article.

              Kenneth Brower did a great job organizing his article about the letter from SeaWorld. It was easy to follow and he continued to describe each argument in great depth. He states his opinion very well from the get go and he shares with his readers an enormous amount of wishes to stop this killer whale training. Just like Brower, I believe this needs to stop. We are only harming the whales and ourselves. As much fun as it is to watch a killer whale do tricks, it’s not worth losing human lives.

No comments:

Post a Comment