Less than 24 hours after police found the body of Lane Graves, age 2, questions are being asked in social media regarding the parents. Matt and Melissa Graves are the parents of three children from Elkhorn, Nebraska. The family was vacationing at Disney World when their son Lane was attacked by an alligator. The attack occurred at the Seven Seas Lagoon in the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in a manmade lake and beach. There are signs that clearly say “No Swimming” and yet the Graves family allowed their son Lance to wade in the water. Many people are comparing the treatment of the parents in this situation to that of the parents involved in the death of the gorilla Harambe.
The gorilla was shot after a child fell into its enclosure and the animal began to pull and drag a child. Zookeepers felt the child was in imminent danger and shot Harambe. The conversation turned racial when it was discovered that the family involved in the incident was Black. Suddenl,\y, Michelle Gregg, 32, who has four children with her husband Deonne Dickerson, 36, became a target of stereotypical hatred. Gregg was being characterized as an unfit mother who had no control over her children. An online petition called on police to investigate the living environment of the children to determine if they were in danger. The harshest criticism fell on Dickerson, an employed and hardworking father. It was revealed that he had a criminal history that included drug and weapons charges and served a one-year stint in prison in 2006. Since that time, he has by all accounts turned his life around.
In contrast, there is no rush to open an investigation on the Graves family.
Social media is now ablaze with calls for Matt and Melissa Graves to face some type of negligence charge. Twitter reacted with some of the following tweets:
