Death came too soon for both Lane Graves and Harambe the gorilla, victims of recent accidents that have been in the news countless times since their occurrence. One situation involved a toddler being dragged into the water by an alligator, while the other involved a child falling into the gorilla enclosure. One occurred at a Disney resort and the other at the Cincinnati Zoo. One resulted in the death of a child, and the other in the death of a gorilla. Both events happened in the blink of an eye, and both involved young children whose parents were nearby. News articles, social media posts, and conversations everywhere have not only focused on the events themselves, but on whose fault they are. Who is responsible for these innocent deaths? Many are saying that the parents should have been watching their children more diligently, while others are blaming Disney and the Cincinnati Zoo for failing to take measures to protect their guests.
I'm not going to lie; I was one of the people that jumped to blaming the parents before thinking about the situations more closely. If only they had been more aware of their surroundings, or taught their children to obey the rules. Then nothing bad would've happened, right?
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Wrong. Unfortunately, these accidents still could've happened regardless of parental supervision or extra security measures. Why? Because they were accidents. Events that by definition, are unfortunate, unexpected, and unintentional. Therefore, despite what people around the country are saying, these tragedies were no one’s fault. Melissa Fenton, a writer, and mother of four, knew that when she wrote a tear-jerking Facebook post after Lane's death. Her post is going viral because it is incredibly personal, truthful, and crucial at a time like this. She states that “we now live in a time where accidents are not allowed happen.” I find that sentence both thought-provoking and strangely accurate. Think about it. Every time something goes remotely wrong, someone is blamed and judged for the actions. We live in a time where it's human nature to find out whose fault it is so you can point your finger at them. We focus on the would'ves, could'ves and should'ves rather than accepting what has happened and offering support to those who have been affected. Let's set out to change this.
If you lead, others will follow. The change starts with you. Please, read Melissa’s full post and take something away from it. You never know when tragedy may strike. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagine the horror on the parents' faces when they realized that their child was in trouble. Those images will haunt their minds forever. Imagine the fear and the helplessness. Don’t blame the parents for something that they couldn’t control. Don’t blame anyone for an accident.
“Accidents will happen sometimes, no matter how careful a man may be.” -Wilkie Collins
