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So About the Zoo, Some Thoughts from Grandma Killer
If you recall, I was at the receiving end of a hysterical and overwrought cancellation by the Internet mob back in early May when I cautioned that shutting down our society would have extreme and long-reaching impacts. All you have to do is Google my name and the words “Grandma killer” to catch some of the coverage. One of the many things I mentioned that were at risk were zoos, which I added to my list of at-risk places for a few reasons: 1) We love the zoo and it’s a big part of our normal lives. 2) They have extremely high costs of operation caring for animals, regardless of if the zoo is open or closed.
For some reason, the zoo, which was listed among at least a dozen other places I deemed at-risk, was what my critics latched onto, and one Washington Post humor columnist, Alexandra Petri, even went to the length of writing an entire column in the voice of the zoo animals who didn’t want to be sacrificed for grandma’s sake.
Among the places I listed, the zoo, the majority of which is outside, was perhaps the safest we could and should have been visiting throughout the pandemic. Nevertheless, the National Zoo was closed in May when I posted my tweet, and would remain so for several more months, and then would close again in November and remains closed now.
Now it appears the bill has come due for our local zoo, the National Zoo (which is operated by the Smithsonian and federal funds), which has split from its non-profit arm, the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ). The FONZ was responsible for everything that made the zoo special: events, programming, educational offerings, and conservation work around the world. The reason? It turns out, they couldn’t operate for almost a year with no income; and as early as the summer they realized that the relationship between the two entities would have to be severed for lack of funds.
Wouldn’t it have been responsible for our local paper, the Washington Post, to do more than publish a humor column taking aim at me? Would it perhaps have been a good use of their time and resources to question why an attraction as safe as the outdoor zoo has been closed when other zoos around the country are open safely? Oh, to have a functioning press actually dedicated to informing the public and holding decision-makers accountable. We don’t have that here in the D.C. area, and we are lesser for it.
Published in General
The economic repercussions of distancing, lockdowns, and excessive sanitation will hit harder this year. Financial reserves will be emptied. Delayed bills will come due. Supply shortages will disrupt dependent industries. Small businesses will close as online retailers dominate.
All the while, Democrats will intensify regulations and increase costs.
Economic hardships will amplify the spiritual devastation officials have wrought by separating and distancing people. Suicides will continue to increase. Depression and anxiety will increase. Countless people will die alone unnecessarily.
The concept of tradeoffs seems to have escaped our leaders. One would think spiritual leaders, at least, would advocate a different balance.
I disagree. They know exactly what they’re doing, have weighed the tradeoffs, and have decided it’s a good if the little people suffer.
I would be nice if the press would do things like you suggest, but they won’t. Their job is to keep the fear of COVID alive so government can continue its takeover of the normal, everyday lives of millions of Americans. The only time they care about animals is when we eat meat and wear fur . . .
My brother runs a place where big cats can be observed with the goal of preserving cats in the wild. As you say, it is a place that was able to easily adapt to provide safe recreation. But rational evaluation of such things just hasn’t been the fashion. (FWIW, my brother is a conservationist and a conservative. For more information about his work, go http://www.cathaven.com. Perhaps even donate a buck or two because the California shutdowns have been quite a challenge for their work.)
We’re likely to discover in the coming year a whole bunch of entities that do not survive. They just won’t be there when society “reopens.” Arts groups, music groups, museums, churches, community groups, social service organizations. There will be no press releases or news conferences. But when we decide to attend a play at the local theater, or to see what’s new at the museum, go to a seasonal concert or festival, we just won’t find it because the organizing group will have disbanded. We can’t just close society for a year and expect that everything that was there when we closed will still be in place when we decide to reopen.
Grandma Killer should be Cuomo’s nickname
Corporate media fawned over this man just because of press conferences
His record is awful – never for get this
Q: Who killed civil society?
A: The public health establishment.
I can’t get the link to open. Can you fix the problem?
The last year has really brought the consequences of not having a functioning press into the forefront. Spin I can take, but suppression and ridicule are absolutely toxic.
How about if we fire Alexandra Petri and a whole bunch of other WaPoos and use their salaries to help fund activities at the National Zoo. Double bonus: they can turn off the heat, lights, AC in the WaPo building and save the planet too. Not that I’m bitter but that kind of snark
writtenproduced by Petri is just the sort of thing we don’t need. I’m for humor but there is a lot of serious stuff the WaPoo could be doing – like real journalism.(The link didn’t work so well, but a bit of perseverance helped.) Visiting the web site made me think about the similarities between congressmen and your brother’s cats: For example, neither is very altruistic except perhaps to their own or their tribes’ benefit. Outsiders need to tread cautiously as the cat/congressman will readily attack any display of weakness. When young they may be sweet and cuddly but when they mature they can be deadly. You try not to turn your back on either one. You stumble, you die. (Think Marjorie Taylor Greene.)
So killing Grandma is not enough? Now you want to kill the lions and elephants as well?
Seriously, we love the zoo and 90% of the exhibits are outdoors so . . . hardly a COVID risk.