I don’t know how far this story has reached, me living just across the metro area from the scene of the crime, but here it is ...
Last week, a 300-pound gorilla at the Dallas Zoo apparently scaled a wall and escaped from its habitat. Scary, right? Well, then it apparently attacked four people, biting and scratching at least two of them into area hospitals: two adults and two children. Some witnesses tempted nature to help rescue the people under attack, and Dallas police officers rushed to the scene, where they would fatally shoot the large animal ...
This in itself is a fascinating true-to-life tale of how when we put an animal in a cage, or “natural habitat,” oftentimes that animal will try to escape. Even happy dogs run away from home time to time. I should know that; Gypsy is in dog-love with me, but if a cat sasses her through the fence or a squirrel tells too many dog jokes, Gypsy is up, over and away in pursuit. She never hurts any humans in the making of that story, and she always comes back. But for those moments of total freedom, she is practically a wild animal.
That gorilla was a wild, confused, possibly sick animal when it escaped. There’s not much good about captivity. I’ve heard long prison terms can really eat away at a person’s sensitibilities. Certainly, the stories prisoners of war tell are just as harrowing. Escape is always on a captive soul’s mind. Fear grips his heart. Tomorrow may never come, and sometimes it would be better if it never did. We use captivity as punishment or torture, not as a reward. The payback is that sometimes whatever is being held breaks its bonds and bites us in the figuaritve (or literal) butt.
Further, the gorilla is a metaphor for how many of us live. I dare say that most of us are supressing 300-pound gorillas, hoping they won’t break down the doors to their cells and expose some secret side of ourselves. There may be secrets that we confine, never really letting go of them because they are so awful. There are bars in between, but which side are we on? Are we the ones in jail, and the gorilla-secrets running free?
I’ve got my own gorillas – although I’ve reduced most of them to harmless little monkies, they’d still make a mess of the place if they ever got out. The fact is, the gorillas we keep locked away are going to escape more than likely. It’s a law of averages, that eventually, someone I love is going to find out about those secrets. If I unlock them myself, I can put a leash on them. If the door is opened by someone else, poo will be flung everywhere and I'll have lots of explaining to do!
In the blogging world, we often create gorillas with our blogs. Sure, if my mom read my archives, I’d be a little embarrassed about cataloging some of my past sexcapades, or of some of the names I have called my sister. Overall, though, I’m proud of the thoughts I’ve expressed here. Some of them make sense, some of them have struck chords with others.
You won’t find many gorillas in my life. It’s a conscious choice: I’d rather be out enjoying life as much as I can rather than playing zookeeper. The simplest way to live is to strive for always telling the truth. You don't have to watch what you say if you watch what you think. Is it easy? No. Is it always fun? No. But integrity is often its own reward.
How about you? Got any gorillas?
Hmm. There's so many directions open to comment on!
There's the nature vs nurture aspect. A conscience, if it exists for that person - will define the monkies. Each social situation defines what we will reveal. ie: parents, neighbours, friends, workplace staff. Each person decides what is appropiate as: "Having their cards on the table." As well, by scrutinizing our past thoughts & actions - who tries to better themselves? It's a personal judgment each person makes on how we will live with ourselves.
People will rationalize & forgive themselves. It's human nature, in order to carry on. That person has chosen to believe "they've paid for it," or will in the future... somehow.
There's a book called Beasts in My Belfry, by Gerard Durrell, which I recommend to you if you can find it. It is the true life story of Mr. Durrell's adventures taking care of animals and working at a zoo. He talks about captivity and what is really happening when an animal escapes. His arguments are very convincing, coming from someone who loves animals, and very logical, coming from someone who has studied and worked with animals up close. I had the same opinions as you, that the animals were to be pitied and what a horrible thing it is when a wild beast escapes and hurts others (you only hear about those ones, rarely about the animals who escape and come back or are captured without incident). Anyway, it's a very funny book as well, and very interesting.
I saw that story and it caused me to reflect on the fact that my first concern/anger was that they shot the gorilla. I'm not proud of that tendency of mine- like watching war movies such as Braveheart, no matter how gory the battle scene, a horse getting killed is the only instance likely to arouse a reaction from me.
I like your analogy alot though. I'd say I have a gorilla or two, but only one the revealing of which would likely result in flying excrement! Geat tie-in, by the way! Stuff like that is why so many of us love your blogging!
I'm pretty much an open book. But sometimes that's a bad thing.
All too sad a day, when we shoot a gorilla for trying to be what he is.
I have mixed feelings about zoos. The Fort Worth Zoo is a good one, but still a caged existence for animals. However, given mankind's propensity to eradicate the natural habitat and inhabitants, the zoos may provide our only chance to ensure some species survival. Over at TT, I have a link to a good organization "Gorilla Haven"
Oh, I linked to this story over at TT. Thanks, T-Bone!
I'm so angry that they shot this gorilla who certainly wasn't responsible for being loose, or the biting incidents. I feel sorry for the people who got bitten, but the gorilla wasn't to blame.
what happened to stun guns?
I've spent the past year dealing with my gorillas. It's a long and arduous process.