Are we just naturally suspicious as a species or just really bad at identifying bears? I ask because while the Earth is rapidly spiraling towards a total ecological collapse and a guy who once tried to do a coup is running for president, we're debating what is and is not a bear.
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Above: Evidently the most pressing concern on our
planet right now. Hey, is that war still going on? |
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That's big zoo for you,
anything to make a buck... |
Who's debating? I don't know, the internet. Or rather two factions, the first being people who watch the footage and instantly buy into the theory that a zoo in China dressed a person up in a bear costume in some preposterous, farcical attempt to pull a fast one on guests, for some reason. And the other being rational people who look at the video and see a bear. An admittedly saggy-looking bear, but clearly a bear. So I guess what I want to know is what's wrong with people and why are they so willing to believe that a zoo would fake a bear?
Don't get me wrong, I have complicated feelings about zoos. On the one hand, I guess that they're sort of educational? Kids can come and learn about animals or whatever, but one could, and I would, argue that capturing animals and forcing them to live in unnatural, unhealthy environments just so humans can gawk at them is, fundamentally, messed up. Your kids can just read a book or watch a video online or something. Putting animals in gawking range doesn't seem necessary in this age of YouTube.
All this to say, while I wouldn't put it past a zoo to try and pass off a person in a costume as an animal, that's not what's going on here. And everyday I find myself increasingly alarmed not only at our eager, one might say gleeful, acceptance of obvious nonsense, but our willingness to focus on said nonsense rather than something more important. Like, name something. Anything. It's probably more important.
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"Sure is hot today...hey, did you see that bear that's just a guy in a bear costume?"
-us, apparently |
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