PrintFebruary 28, 2010
Swimming with Killer Whales
What a tragedy: An idealistic nine-year-old girl grows into one of SeaWorld's leading trainers, and in the prime of her life is mauled to death by a whale she treated as her own child. Such is the heartbreaking story of Dawn Brancheau, whose "ear-to-ear smile" was directly attributed to happiness the whale trainer experienced riding "Shamu for a living."
Orcas are killer whales without natural predators; these mammals are "the largest species of the dolphin family ... and are regarded as the top of the food chain." What can be learned from Mrs. Brancheau's untimely death? For starters, it's wise to know the nature of the beast, and to not expect a "killer" to be anything other than what it is. Because truth is, regardless of feigned docile behavior, intrinsic temperament eventually resurfaces, and when it does, even veteran coaches can find themselves at the mercy of six tons of aggression.
Pictures of Dawn Brancheau balancing triumphantly on Shamu's snout are reminiscent of Obama supporters in "joyful harmony" with the new president following the last election. In the Native American Chinook language, Tilikum, the name of the whale responsible for the SeaWorld trainer's death, means "friend," and what better friend to America than harbinger of hope and change Barack Obama?
Like Brancheau stroking Tilly's nose, a sycophantic electorate massaged Obama's ego. One year later, Democrats constrained by faltering poll numbers appear "agitated." Why? Because America stopped feeding and rubbing Barry's political proboscis, and now the star of the show's belligerent, temperamental comments are manifesting more and more frequently. It seems that something like Tilly's "aggressive nature" is surfacing in a testy Obama swimming to and fro in less-than-friendly political waters.
Before Dawn Brancheau died, there were ominous signs that SeaWorld ignored. Reports claim that prior to the midday Dine with Shamu show, "The monster orca was not responding to direction" and was uncooperative, yet the scheduled show went on. Similarly caught up in theatrics, the American public paid admission, disregarded history, and ignored Obama's radical past. Now, spectators are forced to admit that political losses are both terrible and difficult to witness.
Orcas in the wild are known for aggressive play, so proper protocol must always be followed to ensure safety. Yet on Election Day, Americans threw caution to the wind. Voters "lying on a shelf " in the Democrats' shallow pool placed their head in close proximity to a biased machine whose history can only be described as politically predacious.
After the fact, theories circulate about what caused killer whale Tilikum to snap. Gaining insight into the unfortunate death of Dawn Brancheau presents potential instruction, which, if disregarded, could result in American autonomy lying lifeless under a black shroud after being spit out of the jaws of a partisan porpoise.
For one thing, Tilikum was responsible for two other deaths. Trusting an orca "notorious for being difficult, depressed and unusually temperamental" turned fatal for gullible Dawn, who said, "You can't put yourself in the water unless you trust them and they trust you." It appears that that trust was one-sided. With an American public verbalizing resistance to policies like health care reform, the Shamu show in Washington, D.C. is in the process of grabbing "by the waist and thrashing around" an American public whose opinion politicians either disrespect or mistrust.
Dawn Brancheau trained killer whales for SeaWorld's Believe show, which was "designed to be inspirational, leaving the audience with the notion that if people can swim with killer whales, they can achieve anything." Was the premise to be "believed" that a six-ton killing machine can be subdued, and that it will be every show? Does anyone still believe in hope and change? The past year has aptly illustrated that inspirational transformation can prove to be a fatally flawed concept when in the hands of a president who outsources key legislation to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.
Marine biologist Nancy Black downplayed the marauding nature of orcas, saying, "I just think the killer whale may have wanted a social companion and just held [Dawn] under too long. I would think the killer whale didn't do it intentionally but more as a plaything. They are so powerful." This proves the point: The politically powerful, exercising benevolent intentions like "sharing the wealth," can flail the economy around so violently that America's fiscal shoes fly off.
Animal activists expressed the opinion that "confining ocean-going mammals to an area that ... is like the size of a bathtub," could be the impetus for "smart animals [to] lash out." Critics claim that "[a]nimals can become aggressive in captivity due to higher levels of stress." Although "[w]ild killer whales are not generally ... a threat to humans ... captive killer whales have been known to attack handlers," which explains why Democrats, confined by the majority's criticism of liberal political ideology, produce stress reactions, causing "smart animals" like Obama to "lash out."
Prior to taking Dawn's life, Tilikum, a normally "well-behaved, balanced animal," behaved "like an ornery child." Taking Brancheau by force, the orca pulled the trainer under the water, "tossing her around in its mouth while swimming rapidly around the tank." In like manner, Barack Obama, Washington's very own childish Shamu, swims rapidly toward health care reform with struggling Americans clutched in his mouth. Obama circling the tank sends a message to those who encourage taking it slow -- health care reform cannot wait.
After Brancheau's demise, a SeaWorld head trainer said of Tilikum, "We have no idea what was going through his head." Witnesses to Brancheau's death said that Tilikum "kept pushing her and poking her with his nose ... it looked like she was just totally caught off guard and looked like she was struggling."
Standing by the side of the pool, struggling Americans have also been taken off-guard -- prodded by Obama, the nation is learning a hard lesson by observing the inborn ideological instincts of a voracious politician. The lesson? As the witnesses of Dawn Brancheau's death can attest, at the spur of the moment, political animals can "flip out, going as fast as they [can]" and using oppressive policy to thrash even those who falsely believe that "Yes We Can" swim with killer whales.
Author's content: jeannie-ology.com
