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I agree. Especially at night. I would not let my two year old into any body of water outdoors other than a pool (and even that would be under my close supervision with me right by his side in the water) after dark. To me, "no swimming" means no swimming, no wading, no being "in" the water. For a two year old to be in say a foot or two of water, that's like half their size - the equivalent of hip to waist deep water for an adult. For me, that puts it into perspective. For his size, that's deep swimmable water. If he fell over without supervision, he could have drowned. That alone could have killed him, forget the gator. That's why those signs are there. They don't want you swimming for a number of reasons.
But we know someone is going to take this literally - "but he wasn't technically swimming and there was no sign warning of gators" - and probably sue Disney or the resort and get them to change the signs. It's inevitable.
Yep...shall we take bets in terms of days -- or hours -- before we hear about the lawsuit?
I agree with a previous poster that Nebraskans probably don't have gators very high on the radar -- I'm in the Houston area now and there are gators EVERYWHERE -- but still... the signs say "no swimming." I have friends who were at that very beach with a 2-year-old a few days before! But they are from here too and would never have let the kid in the water.
Disney says there has been no problem in 45 years. But Disney has very deep pockets....when this family is over their immediate shock I bet they have a lawyer on the phone.
It really isn't getting more dangerous - but our expectations for personal safety have definitely gone up. And people are traveling more, which means they're less likely to know and fully appreciate the local hazards of the place they are visiting.
Got that right! We're not the unchallenged lords of the earth, no matter how much we might like to think we are.
And the sense of entitlement, the "Oh, the rules don't apply to me", is pervasive. I'm talking about incidents like the guy in Yellowstone who got eaten by a boiling spring.
Everybody expects the happiest place on earth to be safe for children. Disney was negligent. It deliberately attracts people from all over the earth, pinpointing children, and safety should be paramount. Yes, accidents will happen. The death of the little boy was negligence, pure and simple.
The recent animal stories of the alligator most likely killing a child and gorilla taking a child away, it's the reactions and changes that happen post incident which define the future.
Here is Boston, a Duck Boat killed someone. And now they are pushing through legislation for change. This is the sort of action that should be taken as swiftly as possible following horrible tragedies or extremely close encounters.
That gorilla didn't "take a child away," and the gator didn't "pull a toddler into the lagoon," which was still being reported even as news staff were interviewing witnesses who stated that the child was standing in the water when snatched. Both of these tragedies have one thing in common: unattended children.
But, of course, when people are busy feeling instead of thinking, emotional knee-jerk reactions supplant all efforts to identify the real problems, then address them.
We have to do something is the wimpy battle cry of the ineffective.
Well, the lagoon DID have signs saying swimming was not allowed, just nothing about alligators at this particular resort. Apparently a nearby resort has signs warning of alligators.
Would this mother have taken her child in the water if signs about alligators were there? I'd like to think not. I'd like to HOPE not. But would a group of say, 20 year old guys having fun in Disney together still go in the water? I wouldn't put it past them. "Here, hold my beer" type of typical groups of young guys with still underdeveloped brains behavior. Like I said, there will always be that "one guy." You're never going to have 100% of the population obey the rules. I mean, a little caption in this article about a woman getting her arm bitten off last year by an alligator in FL says she ignored signs warning of alligators. No way was that the first time someone has ignored a warning sign...
I keep getting told I can't rep you again JerseyGirl so I'm doing it here!!!
And the sense of entitlement, the "Oh, the rules don't apply to me", is pervasive. I'm talking about incidents like the guy in Yellowstone who got eaten by a boiling spring.
Everybody expects the happiest place on earth to be safe for children. Disney was negligent. It deliberately attracts people from all over the earth, pinpointing children, and safety should be paramount. Yes, accidents will happen. The death of the little boy was negligence, pure and simple.
Here is Boston, a Duck Boat killed someone. And now they are pushing through legislation for change. This is the sort of action that should be taken as swiftly as possible following horrible tragedies or extremely close encounters.
If you think that politicians and the cumbersome regulations and overbuilt bureaucracy they impose on all of us because of single isolated incidents can solve all our problems, your mentality is the biggest part of the problem.
You can't legislate absolute security any more than you can legislate morality, or equality. Stupid people will always do stupid things, and stupidity, naiveté and too much trust in Big Brother are the root cause of the problem. When this happens, the courts are the proper remedy, provided that the "lawsuit industry" which preys upon imagined "class warfare" and other resentments of the simpletons, is excluded.
If you're a politician, attorney, CPA or one of the other groups who can shield themselves from the grit and sweat of the street -- goody-goody for you! most of us have to live produce and earn under conditions which are a lot closer to the real world.
It will be a slam-dunk lawsuit, that's for sure. They will settle out of court for possibly millions, IMO.
Is it really going to be a "slam-dunk" lawsuit? Disney wouldn't be able to just say "No, you moron, you ignored the signs! You're responsible for your own actions!" & not have to pay out? (After all, personal responsibility doesn't exist anymore, does it?) Are lawyers going to be going over the intricacies of "swimming" versus "wading"?
Parents, I beg of you, stop blaming and shaming other parents.
35 years ago, a mom shopping in a Sears department store went to go look at lamps, and left her six year old with another group of boys, who were all trying out the new Atari game at a kiosk. That boy’s name was Adam Walsh.
30 years ago, an 18 month old toddler playing in her aunt’s backyard fell into a well. Rescuers worked nonstop for 58 hours, finally freeing “Baby Jessica” from the well.
In both cases a tragedy happened, an unforeseen tragic accident took place which left Adam dead, and a toddler fighting for her life deep underground. But they also has something else in common; they had an entire country of moms and dads supporting the grieving parents.
Let me repeat that, EVERYONE SUPPORTED THE RESCUE EFFORTS WITHOUT BLAME. NO BLAME. None. ZERO.
No questions asked, not one single “Where were the parents?” comment. Just a country of other moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas watching in horror as a set of parents, one of their own, went through the unthinkable. Adam was our son. Jessica was our baby daughter.
THOSE PARENTS WERE US.
Flash forward to 2016, the year of THE PERFECT PARENT.
Yesterday, a two year old boy, splashing in the magical lakefront waters of a Disney Resort, succumbed to the wilds of mother nature. An aggressive alligator scooped him out of the water, right under the watch of his father, who attempted to fight with the alligator to free his baby son. Pure horror. Sheer Terror. Parents who actually had to watch their baby be taken from them, as if they were in some African nature documentary.
A tragic and unforeseeable accident. An accident.
I weep for this mother and father. I am sick with anguish for the pain, agony, misery, and regret pulsating through their viens this very second. And I bet you are too.
But not everyone is.
You see, we now live in a time where accidents are not allowed happen. You heard me. Accidents, of any form, in any way, and at any time, well, they just don’t happen anymore.
Why? Because BLAME and SHAME.
Because we have become a nation of BLAMERS and SHAMERS.
And how are accidents allowed to happen if we can’t blame someone? Surly, they can’t, right? I mean, random acts of nature, unpreventable tragedies, and fateful life changing events that take place in a matter of nanoseconds cannot possibly take place if everyone is being a responsible parent, right? NOPE.
They can’t, because this country and its population of perfect pitchfork carrying mothers and fathers sitting behind keyboards needs to accuse. They NEED TO BLAME, to disparage, to criticize in every damn way and at every damn corner, the parenting of another.
And when do they really get to lick their blaming chops? When a tragic accident happens. That’s when the pouncing is at its freshest, when raw emotion and ignorance collide, and they dig their word claws in, and take hold of whatever grace these grieving mothers and fathers have left in their souls.
And then they tear it out.
Listen to me very clearly perfect parents, VERY CLEARLY.
I’VE HAD ENOUGH.
I’ve had enough of scrolling through comment threads and seeing over and over again questions like “Where were the parents?” and thoughts like, “This is what happens when you don’t watch your kids.”
I have simply HAD ENOUGH.
I have one question for the blaming and shaming moms and dads. You know the ones who immediately blame the parents, the ones who go on the internet and type comments like, “This is nothing but neglect by the parents,” and “They should have known better. Who was watching that little boy?” and my favorite, “I would never let that happen to my kid.”
Here is my question,
Have you ever been to a child’s funeral before?
I have.
The funeral of a child is an event in life that you never, ever want to experience.
Now let me ask you another question.
In the coming week these parents will fly back to their home in Nebraska without one of their children. They will leave a vacation resort, packing up his Buzz Lightyear pajamas and his favorite blanket, and they will make an excruciatingly difficult journey home. A journey that they never in a million years thought they would be making.
They will meet with a funeral director, pick out a tiny casket, a tiny burial suit, and surrounded by family, they will bury their baby boy.
And they will suffer every single day for the rest of their life.
At the funeral for this two year boy who died in front of his parents, can you do me a favor? Can you walk up to the mother and say the words that you just typed out last week? Can you? Can you greet her, hug her, shake the father’s hand and then say, “ Who was watching that little boy? You should have known better. I would never let that happen to MY child.”
Can you do that for me? I mean, you felt those words so deeply in your heart and soul that you typed them for a million people to read. Certainly you can say it straight to the faces of the people you meant it for, right?
Here, let me help you.
Put away your pitchfork for a moment and try this.
To the mother and father who went for a walk on vacation for the last time with their little boy yesterday, I am deeply sorry that you had to experience the worst kind of tragedy possible, an accident. I grieve with you. Your baby was my baby. Your son was my son. I have nothing but love for you, love to help you get though the pain yesterday, today, and for what is gonna seem like a thousand tomorrows. I wrap my thoughts and prayers around your aching heart and soul. May the God of this universe in some miraculous way bring peace to you and your family.
That is what you say. THAT. And just THAT.
Stop the blaming.
Stop the shaming.
In their darkest hours, can we please just LOVE other parents. Please?
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is the wimpy battle cry of the ineffective.
