Those Annoying Moments + Zoo Problems...
I hate the times when you have a casual discussion with someone, they say some things that you solidly agree with and then, right at the end, they surprise you with an idea that you completely disagree with (that has relevance to the opinions you agreed with) and suddenly you lose respect for whatever opinion they ever had. For example: "I don't like zoos. [This is why]...The solution for my dislike of zoos is to bomb every single one of them and rid the earth of zoos." In these types of situations, it's really hard to know what to say. Since you agreed with everything else they said, most likely nodding your head with the occasional "totally," or "so true," it would be weird to immediately debunk their idea. This makes it really awkward. You don't want to say, "That's a stupid idea. Why did you even say that?" because it's rude, but you can't bring yourself to say you agree, because that would be lying. Usually I try to say something like, "Hmm, I don't know about that, but maybe," and then just change the subject. But there's always those people that want to continue talking about it even after you hint your disinterest.
Disclaimer: This has no relation with anything that has happened on BZP recently. I post this on behalf of a couple real life occurrences that slightly annoyed me and made me feel extremely awkward. Also, the zoo example never actually came up in any discussion I had, but rather, is an introduction to what I'm about to speak about.
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Now, about zoos. I have some problems with zoos:
1. I don't like seeing animals crammed into a small living area out of their own environment. I mean seriously, do you expect a lion to enjoy a living area the size of a large house (space wise; by no means the height of a large house)? I understand that a lot of the animals in zoos would not function well in their own environments. A lot of them were born with problems preventing them from surviving in the wilderness; some were hurt badly in the wild and need protection and meticulous care; some have, plain and simple, grown up in a human environment (i.e. a zoo) and don't know how to survive in the wild. But regardless, I don't understand why we can't keep those sorts of animals on wildlife preserves, where they can roam their own environments and live happily. The way I see it, if people want to go see animals from exotic places in the world, they should go to wildlife preserves in those parts of the world. A safari, for instance, is a great way to soak in the African wilderness, and see a your share of wildlife. I personally love the idea of a safari.
2. When it comes down to it, zoos aren't built to LET us see animals; they're built so that investors can make money from the people that WANT to see animals. I personally don't want to pay a zoo to see animals I can go see for free in the wild. I understand that African safaris cost money, too, but you're paying for the tour guide (who gives thorough speculations and information about what you're seeing, something that is not as common at a zoo), not to see the animals. If you want to live the dangerous, adventurous life, you can even go solo into the African wilderness for free. Back to the main point, I really don't like dishing out my money to investors who aren't doing it for the animals. I might be generalizing a bit, but I doubt that most of the owners of zoos around America are doing it for any other reason than to rake in a lot of cash. That's capitalism for you (capitalism isn't always a bad thing, but in this case, it's marketing animals that, most of the time, don't belong inside of a cage, which I find wrong).
3. They're boring. I mean, you don't really get to see much. You'll occasionally see a lion moving around, doing this and that, but do you see much interaction? Not really... The closest thing you can find are the animal shows they do every hour. Those are the exception to the rule. I also enjoy looking at the snake/spider sections of the zoo. This is probably because I am mortified of snakes and spiders, and therefore I find no problem locking them all up in a cage and keeping them away from humanity. Back on point, on a safari (I keep using this example--it's a good one, I guess? ) you can watch animals interact and act accordingly to their environment. They have freedom to roam and to play and to do whatever they do. I find it boring to watch a polar bear lay down in his "snow" biome at the zoo and do nothing.
Another disclaimer: I am in no way dissing zoos. I think they're cool, and I know kids absolutely love them. I was no different when I was young. I just have some issues with zoos, now that I'm getting older.
-Rez
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