Over Memorial Day weekend, a four-year-old boy slipped by his mother and dropped into the gorilla cage at the Cincinnati Zoo. Zookeepers shot and killed Harambe, the gorilla who seemed to be either protecting or threatening the boy. The zoo stood by its decision, but social media erupted into outrage. Comedian DL Hughley and others actually suggested that criminal charges be brought against the mother of the boy. A Change.org petition called "Justice for Harambe" urged that the child's "home environment" be investigated. Others blamed the zoo for mismanagement. An animal-rights group tweeted, "maybe this is why we shouldn't PUT ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY CAUSE THEYRE NOT ON THIS EARTH FOR OUR DAMN ENTERTAINMENT #RIPHarambe."

The folks at the Mockingbird blog note this is "only Outrage's latest feeding frenzy … Obviously, losing track of a child doesn't in itself reflect poorly on anyone's parenting ability … All of them, are little Houdinis … But Outrage doesn't care. It isn't a question of what's true, but rather a question of what will satisfy its appetite."

Possible Preaching Angle:

Maybe the best response is to ditch our outrage and start admitting that "we are all the gorilla pit mom," "life is full of gorilla pit failures, and "we are all three days away from being tabloid news."

Source:

Sarah Condon, “You Are One Day Away From Being Tabloid News: Why We Are All the Gorilla Pit Mom,” Mockingbird (6-1-16); Eric Dorman, “Feeding the Beast: Grace for an Outraged World,” Mockingbird (6-2-16); #RIPHarambe, Twitter (6-14-18-16)