Does all life matter? Really?? The killing of Harambe, the rare, silver back 450 pound, 17-year-old gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo was widely publicized this week. While swishing around a 3 year old child, Harambe was killed to save the boy who managed to escape his mother and slipped into the gorilla enclosure. [The gorilla was minding his own business, living a gorilla life in captivity.] Those who heard of and onlookers who saw the event speculated the gorilla did not have to be killed. A conservationist stated the gorilla might have been distracted if he was offered fruit or talking to him could have persuaded the gorilla to leave the boy alone; because gorillas have a reasoning mind. Thousands mourned the killing of Harambe. While the animal was beautiful, no one really knows what methods could possibly have been employed to turn the beast away from swishing the child in the water. Who can know what the gorilla was thinking to do. The Zoo officials decided to kill the gorilla. Words did little to assuage an angry chorus of critics who believed the gorilla’s death was unnecessary. Thousands signed a petition to prosecute the boy’s mother for failing to look after her son. The child figured out how to pass and fall into the gorilla habitat. However, this brings another question to mind, “Who’s watching the children?” Aside from that highly publicized event, my attention was drawn to a child murder that received little publicity; a 15-month-old boy recently died in Kansas City Missouri from injuries inflicted by a 31 year old male babysitter who beat the baby to death. The mother left her 15 month old and the 5 month old brother with this “beast like character.” She knew him and had been leaving them with him. The 15 month old had severe head trauma and a lacerated liver. The mother said the man stopped answering her phone calls on Sunday and when he picked her up from work without her sons with him, she said she knew something wasn’t right. She says when she got home, she ran to check on her children. Police questioned the suspect and said he told them he hit the child in the head repeatedly. Our children’s blood cries out from the ground and the wilderness, “Mommie, Daddy!” Isn’t it enough when others are killing African Americans without us killing our own? Here an African American man killing our own children? Bring the hearts of the fathers to the children! Parents and grandparents, teach your children at home. Cooperate with your school. The TFSCS Parent Handbook teaches parents: “Know who is watching your children.” Most incidents happen with familiar people. [Jeanette Grattan Parker is Superintendent of Today’s Fresh Start Charter School 4514 Crenshaw Boulevard, LA 90043 323-293-9826 “Ask Dr. Jeanette” [email protected] Writings are copyright “Inquiring Minds Want To Know” “Will You Marry Me?” author, artist, marriage expert (50years+) educator
