The Death of Harambe

The death of Harambe the Gorilla has exposed a very interesting trend in the attitudes of humans throughout the United States. Although I will say that my opinion about the whole thing is probably the majority opinion, there are an alarming number of people that think that the boy who fell into the pen with the ape should have been left to die! Others, of a more naive disposition, believed it was unjust to shoot Harambe to death because he was not harming the child...so they perceived.

There is a petition circulating on the internet where 500,000 people have signed their desire to see Justice for Harambe. Although I understand the heartbreak people have experienced at the destruction of an incredible animal, Harambe was an animal. This little boy was created in the image of God and our priority as humans would be to preserve and protect his life. In terms of justice, the only ones robbed of it was the zoo itself as it was robbed of one of its most valuable assets. Its status in relation to humans is no higher than that of an ox or a dog. Thus, as property, the zoo deserves some sort of compensation for their loss, although they will never receive it.

The Bible says "...God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27). The value of human life is priceless. How can we say that this animal, being created without the ability to reason as people have, could have protected this child? How could anyone say that this boy and his parents should have to suffer because a stupid mistake that took only seconds to accomplish? It takes a cold cold heart to concede that this little boys life was not worth that of one dead gorilla.

After watching the video, above, it is difficult to conclude that this boys life was not in danger. This gorilla was clueless as to what it was doing. According to the experts the gorilla was angry and that there was no choice but to shoot him dead in order to retrieve the boy. As I watched this video, I wondered to myself, "What would I have done if I was a spectator?" I would like to think I would have the courage to spring into action, do something heroic, and save the boy's life. But this was an animal of immense power. My intervention may have resulted in the boys instant demise as this beast could have ripped him in two in the blink of an eye.

It is easy to watch a video where we know the outcome of the situation and say, "This should have been done," or "That should have been done." Could you imagine actually witnessing this event before you knew what was going to happen? It would have been petrifying terror! And as a parent, even more so! If we escalate the situation to a personal level, I couldn't imagine the type of dread that would blanket over me as I watched my little boy being dragged across the water by this massive and immensely powerful creature. Frankly, I would expect to be dead in a matter of minutes because I would not be able to bear the sight of this monster harming my son.

I love animals. I think they are wonderful and that God has gifted them with incredible abilities. I would prefer that both the boy and the ape would have been spared from this horrendous incident. Unfortunately, there was no compromising in this situation. Either the gorilla or the boy was going to be carried out of this situation in a body bag. Shame on you, if you believe it should have been the boy.