What does it really mean to have control of something - a beast to be specific? What is control?
The fact is that control can be either psychological or physical. In order to control something psychologically there must be a certain level of intelligence between the parties involved. As it relates to the party that is being controlled, there must be an understanding of reward or punishment regarding the control process - an issue of intelligence. To have physical control over another means that the controller must be more physically dominant. It also means that the controlling party must be able to neutralize the most serious threat that can be posed by the controlled.
Now consider the case of Dawn Brancheau, trainer at SeaWorld and Tilikum, a five-ton killer whale. Could this trainer really control such a creature? Maybe it is that Tilikum, so far, had just chosen to act in a way that had been agreeable. Maybe it should have been evident to everyone that should this creature act out of "character" he could not have been controlled.
Being imprisoned in a pool and being made a silly spectacle of is no way to treat this creature of such impressive grandeur. A human who encroaches in the space of such a being is indeed committing an act that is equally perilous, if not more so, to Russian roulette. The act of conveying the misleading premise to the audience at SeaWorld, that you have a bond of intelligence with a killer whale is nonsensical. Additionally, the act of conveying the misleading premise to the audience at SeaWorld, that this creature is a subject of your enchantment and he performs in accordance with your ingenious control over him is absurd. There is no one who can ever have control of such a creature. He does whatever he wants to do. Given his enormous size and incredible power and his intellect that is infinitesimal or even non-existent, he is the one that is actually in control.
//original//
No comments:
Post a Comment