Friday, October 25, 2013

Blackfish.

Image via.

Oh boy. I watched a documentary last night that made me sick to my stomach and still has me reeling this morning. Blackfish premiered on CNN last night and, after watching it, I am disgusted at the story behind how Orcas came into captivity and became show animals.

I know zoos and aquariums and circuses are controversial and people are usually on one side or the other with how they feel about keeping wild animals in captivity for our observation and entertainment. I generally fall on the side of concern for the animals well-being over our ability to enjoy them through a pane of glass. But now that I have a child, the controversy of supporting these institutions is more relavant, especially as Alice gets older.

I'd like to think that the animals in zoos are content and I can only hope that most of them were born in captivity so the only reality they know is the enclosure they live in. I believe the difference between zoos and aquariums or circuses, though, is the entertainment factor. Those animals used in shows are trained and then rewarded or punished based on how they perform for an audience. And that is just terrible. I need to do a bit more research on our local zoo but for now, I feel somewhat okay still supporting it.

Blackfish didn't change my opinion of SeaWorld-type institutions as it was already pretty low before seeing the documentary but it did bolster my resolve to never take our family to one of their parks. Or the circus, for that matter, because really, that's all SeaWorld is... a circus show in water.

"I am not at all interested in having my daughter who is 3-and-a-half, grow up thinking that it's normalized to have these intelligent, highly evolved animals in concrete pools," said John Jett, a former SeaWorld trainer, who said he grew increasingly concerned about the stressful conditions the animals were living under at SeaWorld. "I don't want her to think that's how we treat the kin that we find ourselves around on this planet. I think it's atrocious."

I couldn't agree more.

What do you think about this? Have you seen Blackfish? If you haven't, you should.

Weekly workouts: Monday - Run/walk with Jaimie! 5 miles, Capitol Hill to City Creek. Tuesday - CrossFit! Strict shoulder press at 60% of 1RM for 50 reps with a 10 strict pull-up penalties every time you rack the bar (50lbs + 30ish pull-ups), then 10-9-8....3-2-1 reps of burpees and weighted sit-ups (25lbs). Wednesday - CrossFit! 3 rounds of: 500-meter row + 800-meter run with 5 min rest between rounds, record your slowest time (5:52). Fastest time of the day among the women! Thursday - Rest day! Friday - CrossFit! 5-4-3-2-1 of strict handstand push-ups, then 5-4-3-2-1 of kipping handstand push-ups, then 5 rounds of: 5 power cleans (95lbs) + 20 V sit-ups + 30 double unders.

2 comments:

  1. I know that this is the least important point in this entire post, but, man - your strict press is AWESOME! I would love to be able to bang out 50 @ 50#!

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  2. That documentary looks chilling. I will definitely see it. I feel the same way about these creatures. I think it is very evident in elephants and the higher apes and chimpanzees too. I just can't stand it at the zoo. We still go, and I understand the other side, about preservation and protection, etc. but I talk to my boys about the sadness in the chimpanzees' faces. I think it's hard to support it at all. Such a hard thing to watch!

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