A man’s life is worth more than a tiger’s

On Oct. 10, William Chapman entered the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in England alone. In the early afternoon, Chapman was seen near the tiger enclosure, “dancing and asking for photographs with the animal.” He then scaled the fence surrounding the enclosure and took a video of Altai, a Siberian tiger, resting on a perch. Altai then approached Chapman. The fatal encounter lasted only minutes. After sniffing and pawing Chapman, the tiger mauled him to death.A short video of the encounter was widely circulated online. It doesn’t show the actual killing, but it shows the moments before, when the tiger was already viciously circling him.In the age of social media, Chapman’s death instantly became entertainment fodder. Far too many people callously reacted, saying he won the “Darwin Award” and deserved it. Colin Wright, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, posted an online poll asking this hypothetical: “A person willingly enters a tiger enclosure and approaches the tiger. The tiger begins mauling the person. You have a gun and the ability to take a clean shot at the tiger to save the person’s life.” Of the more than 23,000 who clicked an answer, only 46% selected “Shoot tiger. Save person.” The other 54% selected “Don’t shoot. Person dies.” It remains unclear whether William Chapman had mental health issues, as some have speculated. Jumping into a tiger enclosure certainly points to someone who is severely unwell. But even if Chapman was lucid, the reactions to his death are appalling. Whatever motivated these responses, the fact that a poll framed around saving a human life produced such a divided reaction is disturbing. Sparing Altai after the attack is the correct decision. But during the attack, the obvious priority is to save a human life. We live in an age where the value of human life is diminished. Social media has desensitized us to horror. The reactions to Chapman’s death illustrate this disturbing tendency. The same applies to reactions to images of war-torn regions and videos of bullies beating up a teen in a school bathroom. Instead of recoiling with sadness and disgust at human pain, people laugh. Even if someone dies.The obsession with animals is another bad sign of the times. Pets are treated as children. We see this in the abysmal fertility rates accompanied by the “pet parent” mentality. And in the case of Chapman, too many people seem to believe Altai the tiger mattered more. The reactions to Wright’s simple poll are truly depressing. There’s a very real sense that far too many people believe Chapman deserved his death. But he didn’t. This remains true even if he wasn’t mentally unwell and was fully aware of what he was doing, whether his decision stemmed from recklessness or suicidal intent. We must value human beings, even ones making the wrong choice. A human life has greater moral worth than an animal’s life, whether the animal is an exotic zoo creature or a beloved household pet. This shouldn’t need to be said. There is every reason to believe that the tendency to not care about our fellow human beings will grow. We live in a world that is more connected than ever, yet oddly disconnected from the people around us. Technology increases our sense of community, but in reality, we are becoming less connected to humanity. We scroll past tragedy, laugh at suffering, and move on without a second thought. Before we know it, even a man’s death becomes entertainment.DOJ CASE ATTACKS MASS MURDER FANDOM CULTURE BEHIND CANADIAN SCHOOL SHOOTINGWilliam Chapman made a terrible decision. This does not mean his death should be met with ridicule. Nor should it mean he had less value than the tiger that killed him. We should recognize the difference between condemning someone’s actions and taking pleasure in their suffering or announcing “they deserved it.” Sparing Altai after the incident is one thing. Allowing a man to die while his life could be saved is another. We should be able to recognize that distinction without hesitation. A person’s recklessness does not make their life worthless. Nor does it justify mockery. If we lose sight of the value of human life, even when the person has made a terrible decision, we are dangerously close to becoming a society that can witness suffering without feeling any compassion at all.