English J. Moore English 102 Module 2 -Assignment 1 : Using and Citing Outside Sources

The Day A Dozen Parents and Children Killed A Baby Shark for A Selfie

By Joanna Zelman

(Originally published at The Dodo, an Animal Conservation Centered Website

https://www.thedodo.com/the-day-a-dozen-parents-and-ch-678187408.html)

A recent summer weekend is smoldering in my memory. My favorite New York beach was

checkered in rows of splayed out towels by the time I had caught the bus to the train and

crossed the nebulous line where gravel turns to sand.

I was digging the sunblock from underneath my nails after a heavy slathering session when the

beach's buzz level of crashing waves, music and chit chat rose in volume. The heightened voices

were coming from the water's edge, where over a dozen parents and children had gathered in a

tightly packed circle, their hands jammed toward the sky, gripping cell phones and snapping

photos.

I continued picking my nails, assuming it was another piece of trash mistaken for an animal; a

plastic straw confused for a crab leg or glass shard misidentified as a jellyfish.

The commotion continued, and curiosity got the best of me. I nonchalantly weaved between the

blankets, just so happening to meander in the direction of the crowd. I leered over the hairy

backs and damp towels flung around necks to see a man clutching a baby shark by its tail. He

was grinning, delivering a thumbs up to his wife.

"Angle it a bit more in front- no babe, in front of you," his wife directed. "Yeah. No, you're

blocking it. In front of you."

The man jolted the shark by his tail, front and back, left and right. "Like this?"

"Yeah, that's good."

"Get a few."

The shark wiggled his torso and gaped his mouth open and shut.

A boy grabbed at the shark. "Let me hold it! I want a photo."

The man maintained a grip on the tail. The boy squirmed up next to the shark, smacked a hand

on his side in a declaration of ownership, and extended his other hand gripping an iPhone to

snap a selfie.

"Shouldn't you put the shark back in the water?" I asked. My voice was swallowed in the

murmurs of excitement. I asked louder, "Shouldn't you put it back?"

Panic arose from the circle. "No, I didn't get a photo with it yet!" "It's my turn first!" A group of

kids and adults alike began more desperately clambering for a grip of the shark.

A big man with thick muscles and deeply tanned skin won the grab-off with two hands on the

animal. "Joey! Hey Joey take my picture!" he shouted to a friend.

The shark's torso stopped wiggling, and he slowly gaped his mouth once, and then let it hang

open. "You guys! I think the shark is dying," I exclaimed.

A few heads turned my way, then returned back to taking photos. My cheeks began to burn as I

stood in front of the man, my hands waving, blocking the cameras. "This shark is dying. You guys

are literally killing this shark for a photo, can't you see that?" I asked. A sea of cameras, iPhones

and iPads stared back at me. The crowd waited for me to move so they could resume their

important work of proving they saw a shark. Dead or alive, it didn't matter. It'd be liked on

Facebook and Instagram either way.

I clamped my shaky hand on the thick muscled man's greasy shoulder. "Let it go," I declared in a

voice higher than I knew I was capable of. He turned to his friend. "You get the pic, Joey?" and

upon Joey's nod, he shrugged. "Fine."

"No, wait!" Another man yelled, grabbing at the shark. "I didn't get a turn!"

"You are literally going to kill this shark for a photo!" I argued.

He looked down at the shark dangling from his hand. "It's already dead," he shrugged.

The shark's mouth lay agape, his gills slightly blowing in the sea breeze.

"Just..." I bit down hard on my tongue to force back tears worming their way out. "...Just put

him back in the water. Please."

The man shrugged and dropped him in the sea. Another man waded into the water to find him,

but the shark had floated out with the current.

A little girl in a polka dot bathing suit with ruffles stomped up to me, splashing her little feet

through the water. She smacked her hands onto her hips. "What'd you do that for?! I don't want

any shark stinking up my ocean."

I stared at her, and shook my head. "That's nature."

She blinked at me, confused by this notion, and stomped away.

This is a generation that experiences animals, nature and the great wonders of our world behind

the safety of four-inch screens instead of understanding how to live among them in reality. We

are teetering dangerously close to preferring satisfaction in the virtual world over the real one.

Humans no longer know how to interact with the natural world. That summer day, this

disconnect came at the sacrifice of a little baby shark. I fear the consequences will be more dire

in the future.

Shark Dragged from Water Dies as Lifeguards Take Selfies

By Stephen Messenger

(Originally published at The Dodo, an Animal Conservation Centered Website

https://www.thedodo.com/shark-dies-lifeguard-selfies-1865228097.htmll)

In what's become a troubling trend of deadly self-obsession, yet another animal has lost her life for no

other reason than to serve as a prop in people's vain photos.

Disturbing footage has emerged showing the moment a group of beachgoers in the Dominican Republic

eagerly set aside their better judgment at the expense of a living thing. In the video, reportedly taken

near the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana, seven men are seen racing into the surf to drag a large

blue shark back to shore.

To make matters worse, lifeguards from the hotel were among those involved - going as far as inserting

a life preserver into the dying shark's mouth while tourists looked on.

Fishing is not permitted along that stretch of beach, as hotel staffers were no doubt aware - but as

images taken shortly after reveal, the real reason for pulling the shark from the ocean was far less

justifiable indeed.

They apparently wanted her for a photo shoot.

Lifeguards from the hotel got in on that part of the action, too.

Hard Rock Hotel spokesperson Stacy Sorino told The Dodo that resort management is aware of the

incident, and that "corrective measures" are being taken against the employees involved.

"That is absolutely against our standards of protecting animals as we protect our guests," said Sorino.

Sadly, this is hardly the first time an animal has perished for the sake of a selfie. Earlier this year, a baby

dolphin died under similar circumstances after being yanked from the water at a resort in Argentina, an

infamous incident which evidently did little to discourage others from trying the same.

The Day A Dozen Parents and Children Killed A Baby Shark for A Selfie

By Joanna Zelman

(Originally published at The Dodo, an Animal Conservation Centered Website

https://www.thedodo.com/the-day-a-dozen-parents-and-ch-678187408.html)

A recent summer weekend is smoldering in my memory. My favorite New York beach was

checkered in rows of splayed out towels by the time I had caught the bus to the train and

crossed the nebulous line where gravel turns to sand.

I was digging the sunblock from underneath my nails after a heavy slathering session when the

beach's buzz level of crashing waves, music and chit chat rose in volume. The heightened voices

were coming from the water's edge, where over a dozen parents and children had gathered in a

tightly packed circle, their hands jammed toward the sky, gripping cell phones and snapping

photos.

I continued picking my nails, assuming it was another piece of trash mistaken for an animal; a

plastic straw confused for a crab leg or glass shard misidentified as a jellyfish.

The commotion continued, and curiosity got the best of me. I nonchalantly weaved between the

blankets, just so happening to meander in the direction of the crowd. I leered over the hairy

backs and damp towels flung around necks to see a man clutching a baby shark by its tail. He

was grinning, delivering a thumbs up to his wife.

"Angle it a bit more in front- no babe, in front of you," his wife directed. "Yeah. No, you're

blocking it. In front of you."

The man jolted the shark by his tail, front and back, left and right. "Like this?"

"Yeah, that's good."

"Get a few."

The shark wiggled his torso and gaped his mouth open and shut.

A boy grabbed at the shark. "Let me hold it! I want a photo."

The man maintained a grip on the tail. The boy squirmed up next to the shark, smacked a hand

on his side in a declaration of ownership, and extended his other hand gripping an iPhone to

snap a selfie.

"Shouldn't you put the shark back in the water?" I asked. My voice was swallowed in the

murmurs of excitement. I asked louder, "Shouldn't you put it back?"

Panic arose from the circle. "No, I didn't get a photo with it yet!" "It's my turn first!" A group of

kids and adults alike began more desperately clambering for a grip of the shark.

A big man with thick muscles and deeply tanned skin won the grab-off with two hands on the

animal. "Joey! Hey Joey take my picture!" he shouted to a friend.

The shark's torso stopped wiggling, and he slowly gaped his mouth once, and then let it hang

open. "You guys! I think the shark is dying," I exclaimed.

A few heads turned my way, then returned back to taking photos. My cheeks began to burn as I

stood in front of the man, my hands waving, blocking the cameras. "This shark is dying. You guys

are literally killing this shark for a photo, can't you see that?" I asked. A sea of cameras, iPhones

and iPads stared back at me. The crowd waited for me to move so they could resume their

important work of proving they saw a shark. Dead or alive, it didn't matter. It'd be liked on

Facebook and Instagram either way.

I clamped my shaky hand on the thick muscled man's greasy shoulder. "Let it go," I declared in a

voice higher than I knew I was capable of. He turned to his friend. "You get the pic, Joey?" and

upon Joey's nod, he shrugged. "Fine."

"No, wait!" Another man yelled, grabbing at the shark. "I didn't get a turn!"

"You are literally going to kill this shark for a photo!" I argued.

He looked down at the shark dangling from his hand. "It's already dead," he shrugged.

The shark's mouth lay agape, his gills slightly blowing in the sea breeze.

"Just..." I bit down hard on my tongue to force back tears worming their way out. "...Just put

him back in the water. Please."

The man shrugged and dropped him in the sea. Another man waded into the water to find him,

but the shark had floated out with the current.

A little girl in a polka dot bathing suit with ruffles stomped up to me, splashing her little feet

through the water. She smacked her hands onto her hips. "What'd you do that for?! I don't want

any shark stinking up my ocean."

I stared at her, and shook my head. "That's nature."

She blinked at me, confused by this notion, and stomped away.

This is a generation that experiences animals, nature and the great wonders of our world behind

the safety of four-inch screens instead of understanding how to live among them in reality. We

are teetering dangerously close to preferring satisfaction in the virtual world over the real one.

Humans no longer know how to interact with the natural world. That summer day, this

disconnect came at the sacrifice of a little baby shark. I fear the consequences will be more dire

in the future.