Gail VanMatre: Racism no factor in animal incidents

I thought the June 21 column “Gorilla and gator; in black and white” was ridiculous. As the author rightly pointed out, racism is very real. But, please, let’s not go making problems where there are none.

I did not know the identity of the boy from the Cincinnati zoo (racial, socioeconomic or name) until reading this column, but I, too, had pondered why people viewed the two incidents differently.

My conclusions were: Most people could identify with wading in an inviting looking resort beach area, whereas most people cannot identify with entering an enclosed area at a zoo. The gorilla in question is a rare animal, and (regardless of one’s opinion of zoos) provided education, had a name and was beloved by many. The alligators in question were not known as individuals and are considered nuisance animals in Florida. The public may feel more free to criticize when the child in question survived.

Both situations were terrible. It is easy for a young child to get out of sight of parents, and I don’t fault either set of parents. The author’s other points about racism were valid, but I just don’t see it as a major factor here.

This story was originally published June 28, 2016 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Gail VanMatre: Racism no factor in animal incidents."