I originally had a post half-written from the point of view of Tilikum, the killer whale who killed Dawn Brancheau, a senior trainer at Sea World, yesterday. It was a diary told from the orca's perspective, showing a building resentment towards the trainer thanks to perceived slights and insults.
But then I reconsidered and thought that maybe I was being a little insensitive. I am a fan of the maxim that funny trumps all, but all this woman did was her job. It's one thing to find the humor in something, but what's the porpoise of it all if I'm hurting someone at the same time? Especially since this was a death that was witnessed by her coworkers and an entire grouper of spectators.
I know it may seem fishy that I'm having a change of heart when I'm not usually known for being so tactful. However, this is a local story and I didn't want to appear to be baiting anyone with a sharky sarcastic post. Additionally, this woman walrus not in the public spotlight and didn't deserve a post a trout her death when it doesn't appear to be anything other than an accident.
On the flipper side, these are dangerous wild animals. They're called killer whales for a reason, and fin order to survive around them, one has to be vigilant at all times. I think it might be easy for a trainer who had been working with them for so long to start sealing them as being friendly orca domesticated, and it's events like this that act as a reminder to always be clam, cautious and never treat wild animals caviarly.
My condolences go out tuna the family. And maybe once this isn't so fresh, I'll be able to write a funny post about it without seeming like too much of a basshole.

