HomeI came close to phoning the shenani-police over the non-existent Robert Sherwood play The Petrified Forest, but I decided not to when copies of the play were handed out in class later that week. But this news item takes the cake.
Today’s poll on TIME Magazine’s website asks, “Should the killer whale that took the life of a SeaWorld trainer be put to death?”
Let me make sure I understand this correctly: a certain marine mammal called Orcinus orca but more commonly referred to as the “killer whale” one day kills someone. And everyone is shocked for some reason. Now TIME wants to know if we should exact retribution from an animal whose very name proscribes the act it has committed.
What’s next? Calling in a noise complaint because the howler monkeys are too loud?
84% of the 6,583 respondents (since the last time I had checked) voted “No.” 16% said “Yes.”
To 1,096 of TIME readers: I call shenanigans. Not all animals automatically become cute and cuddly when they’re put into SeaWorld–particularly not those with the word “killer” in their names.