A Failed Compassion

When Michelle Gregg's son fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo a few weeks ago, throngs of people took to social media, condemning the African-American mother of four for her so-called "negligence" and "bad parenting. My initial thoughts did not include pointing the finger at this mother. Without knowing the number of children she had, I immediately recognized that accidents-even of this magnitude-can occur in the blink of an eye, when you have children. I know this because I am a mother to an 11-year old who was a very active toddler. I also worked in childcare as a young adult and experienced the joys of changing 22 two-year olds’ diapers after nap time. The procedure was to take them into the restroom three at a time. As I changed one child, one kid was dumping paper towels in the toilet, while the other was rubbing soap all over the mirrors. Small children are quick and curious, to say the least.

I could only imagine the terror Ms. Gregg must have felt after turning around to realize that her 3-year-old son had climbed over the fence to the Gorilla World enclosure, fallen 15 feet, and was now in the hands of a 420-pound Western Lowland Gorilla, Harambe. As we know, Harambe proceeded to drag the boy back and forth (causing some scrapes and bruises) for about 10 minutes before the zoo’s dangerous animal emergency squad shot Harambe, resulting in the gorilla’s death. Two days after the boy’s rescue, a petition signed by over 100,000 people, surfaced online, calling for Ms. Gregg to be investigated for child neglect. People claimed that she was inattentive to her son, and even made death threats against Ms. Gregg and her family. I thanked God that this boy’s life had been saved and began praying for the family in the midst of the public outcry against them. A case was opened with child protective services to investigate the incident, after which it was determined that no charges would be brought against Ms. Gregg. A little boy’s life was saved, yet people were up in arms about the killing of an endangered gorilla and investigating a mother in the wake of such a horrific event.

Approximately two weeks later, the public was horrified once again, when it was reported that 2-year-old Lane Graves’ had been dragged underwater at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort in Bay Lake, Florida on the night of June 14th. The Graves’ family (Caucasian) was attending an outdoor movie near the Seven Seas Lagoon, when Lane waded into about a foot of water. Shortly thereafter, an alligator pulled him underneath. The boy’s father, Matt Graves, tried frantically to save his son, while being attacked by a second alligator. Lane’s body slipped away and search crews launched out into the waters to find him. I began praying for a miracle, praying that somehow, someway, Lane would be found unharmed and alive. To my dismay, Lane’s lifeless body was found on June 15th. He had died as a result of drowning. I could not begin to fathom the depth of pain his family was experiencing. To lose a child in such a tragic manner, in a matter of moments, couldn’t be anything less than heart-wrenching.

While deeply saddened by Lane Graves’ death, questions began to arise concerning these two incidents. I came across a post on social media that pointed out how Ms. Gregg’s family was “dragged through hell” and investigated when their son fell into the gorilla pit, yet the public seemed to be quiet about the Graves’ tragedy. I too, agreed that there was no outcry in relation to the second incident that had just occurred. Upon sharing my sentiments on social media, an acquaintance asked the million dollar question: Why must everything be about color? She went on to state that my comments were unnecessary. I had prayed for both of these families who experienced such appalling events with their children. However, things just weren’t adding up to me. The first incident was a controversy, while the second was a tragedy. I heard no calls for the Graves family to be investigated for allowing their son to wade into water where there were “No Swimming” signs posted on the property. There was no petition circulating online demanding the attention of social workers. The Graves’ parenting skills were not called into question.

You see, there is a very real double standard when it comes to race in the “United” States of America. It is unjust for one family to receive death threats and to be scrutinized when their child actually survived the incident, yet these same concerns were not raised for the other family. Now I will ask the million dollar question: If the child in the gorilla pit had been white, would there have been any such cries about Harambe’s untimely death? Would this child’s parents have been investigated and their judgement called into question? I think not. The public would have praised the zoo’s dangerous animal emergency squad for their quick response in rescuing the child from such a crisis. There would have been no debate concerning the importance of human life versus animal life-because in essence, that’s what occurred without being expressly stated. The uproar on Harambe’s behalf was just another form of covert racism. In essence, the parochial-minded were stating that the life of a beast was more valuable than that of a black child, no matter how young or defenseless he may have been. The truth is, racial inequity still exists and rears its ugly head even when it involves precious, innocent children. The statements I made pointed out something that my acquaintance apparently could not see. It was about "color" because of the blatant dichotomy betwixt the public’s reaction to both events-the ignorant bliss of white privilege. Ms. Gregg's family was nearly crucified, while the Graves' family received the love and compassion deserved of all human beings. My comments were indeed necessary.

#race #children