CHANGING MORALS AND SEAWORLDS INCREASING DEVIANCE IN SOCIETY

The Deviance of SeaWorld is Defined Through A Sociological Examination

An Interview with R. Johnson, Sociologist, Ph.D.
Im here with Richard Johnson, sociologist, historian, and former professor who has
spent over 30 years studying and teaching in the areas of social problems, social
norms, and deviance, from both historical and cross-cultural perspectives.
I have asked Dr. Johnson to address in particular, the subject of captivity and
performance of orcas and how this relates to our society today.
Me: Make Greetings and Thank you for being here
My first thought, when you bring up this topic is that the measure of the moral
character of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. (I.e., minorities,
handicapped and children.) In our society today, with our knowledge of animal
intelligence and increasing understanding of the complexities of marine mammals'
social arrangements and family orientations, its worth considering them as
vulnerable members of society, in a way.
Me: I never really thought it in exactly that way.
Marine mammal captivity has everything to do with our societys ethics and morals
if you stop and thoroughly examine the issue. Much of my academic attention has
been centered on the definition of deviant behavior as a departure from the 'norms
of a group in a given time and place. Its interesting how behavior, that at one time
in society seems completely acceptable as normal, then because of new knowledge
or changes in the power structure (or, I hope and would like to think, because of
some form of moral progress), that behavior becomes unacceptable and
sociologically 'deviant,' meaning that it is disapproved and 'punished' in some
informal or formal manner.
We realize that some behaviors that used to be just accepted as a matter of fact are
no longer appropriate. Id like to think that this is happening now with the way we
are treating these intelligent sea mammals, the orcas--especially the orcas, because
theyre the biggest and largest attraction at the entertainment parks. It seems to me
that what Im hearing now throughout America and many other nations, including
legal battles and in some places references to orcas as 'non-human persons,' that it
is all very, very reminiscent of the way we used to used to hear debates and
justifications about African slaves 200 years ago. At that time, it wasnt considered
odd to talk that way. It was then thought by many that African slaves benefitted
from their captivity and 'guidance' by so-called superior beings, and that most of
what we did to them must be good for them. You hear a lot of that same thinking
with regard to the orcas and dolphins in contemporary times. Obviously, weve

come to a point where now we look back on the way we used to perceive and treat
certain racial and ethnics groups as totally shameful.
I personally think that a few generations down the line, [we] will find it hard to
believe that we treated these animals this way. Especially since we now know how
intelligent, familial, and even emotional they seem to be with regard to their strong
family bonds that are very similar, if not stronger, than ours. I think we will be
ashamed as a species from what weve done. I think the San Francisco statute, or
resolution, is one of the first forms of a strong stance in that direction. It is a real
wake-up call. It represents a significant step in the transformation of a behavior
from sociologically normal to deviant.

Me: We seem to think as a society, that weve come a long way, but
perhaps not as far as we think?
I remember reading about Thomas Jefferson going back to his Virginia home
country and attending and county fair-type celebrations, and how bear-baiting and
entertainment like that was just commonplace; it was completely acceptable
Me: What is bear-baiting exactly?
Bear baiting is basically chaining a bear to a pole and letting dogs attack it, and see if
the bear can kill the dogs, or if the dogs kill the bear. Often the bear was muzzled so
that it had no chance. People place bets on how many dogs the bear can kill, or how
long the bear will last. Absolutely bloodthirsty and barbaric to watch an animal
ripped to shreds for entertainment, and yet it was totally acceptable by the social
norms of that time and place. Not to mention all the awful things that happened with
slavery too, that were then considered 'normal.'
I cannot help but think of those aspects of our history when I see waterparks and
the stories of how these intelligent beings are treated today, and how artificial their
environment is. It must be torturous for them to be confined in a closet, basically,
and with their whole natural body system of echo-location being based on large
ocean spaces territorially ranging from the Arctic to Anarctic Oceans. I'm no
biologist, but it seems to me that its got to drive them nuts.

Me: What is your view on SeaWorlds claims to be running a

conservation program?

I find it a funny definition of conservation to capture them and mistreat them. I

suppose theres a little bit of knowledge that might be gained that way, but I dont
see how it would not be much more scientifically valuable to find that information in
the wild in a natural setting. I dont know that what we find out about orcas in
captivity would be valid, being a small sample size in an artificial situation.

Me: So what are you saying in regard to the morality of todays

society?
Well, in a way, I dont really blame the people in the 60s, because of just the tone of
society then. I dont blame them for finding it fascinating to see these animals in
captivity, and to watch them do tricks. I think that the more attuned and more
empathic people were probably bothered by it even then But now, with so much
information, I think the exact same behavior and condoning the same behavior takes
on a different moral tone. Morality is not in a vacuum! And when you have an
environment of a real knowledge and appreciation of how advanced these animals
are, you cant use the excuse anymore, Oh we just didnt know, we thought we were
doing them some good.
Its getting more and more difficult to put up with the corporations, who, in my
opinion, are more interested in money, and I think thats a given, more and more,
with the way corporate America is going. I dont really think education and
conservation are their main goals. I think it starts with the basic premise of making
a profit and everything gets tweaked, and distorted, and slanted, to try and meet
that end. Obviously some of thats my opinion, I dont have any hard facts on that in
front of me, but I think its a widely shared opinion, including shared by people who
have researched it much more than I have.

Me: Well, It certainly seems that way in the last year with many
corporate partnerships dropping their association with SeaWorld and their
stocks plunging.
Thats what gives me hope. When something becomes unprofitable to other
powerful entities, then youre going to see the collective consciousness change,
because theyre going to start using their clout to alter things. It may in one sense
come down to money, but theres the key element of collective consciousness that is
demonstrated in the old story about the 100th monkey. You know, things are done
one way, and then a new consciousness develops (in the story it is monkeys washing
sweet potatoes or something, but thats really not the point), and the point is the
Threshold Effect.

This tipping point is when enough people, in that case monkeys, when enough of the
members of a group start to see and do things in a new way, it tends to flip, and the
new way becomes the acceptable way. The whole definition of acceptable versus
deviant behavior, which I started off talking about earlier, changes. I think thats
really what were after here. We need to have certain treatments of animals be
thought of as deviant behavior, deviant meaning unacceptable. The real empirical
definition of deviant behavior is that negative consequences from mainstream
society result from the behavior, and were starting to see that. SeaWorld is now
getting negative consequences from mainstream society and so their behavior is
being redefined from normal to deviant. And thats a step in the right direction for
those who care about the treatment of intelligent life.
Me: Where do you think were heading?
The whole eco-vision of the world is gaining ground and were seeing that were not
on this planet just as a separate species. Were all in this together with the animals
and they are, in a way, members of our eco-society for sure. Its sad to see the
amount of money, and business wheeling and dealing and partnerships that are
developed, just for the purpose of trying to squeeze the last penny out of this form of
entertainment.

Me: Are there any other troublesome consequences of this type of

entertainment?
Well, indirectly, the children are being taught a bad lesson. If you can exploit what is
known to be an extremely intelligent, familial mammal, then why not just move the
next step over and just exploit the next most vulnerable human being? It teaches
[children] to use other living things for your own pleasure instead of appreciating
them and giving them the freedom to be themselves. I think some kids will see that.
The underlying theme is that of more-powerful beings being allowed to get away
with doing whatever they feel they want to do to less-powerful beings for a profit,
and for their own convenience, or for a laugh, you know? Its bullying! We talk about
all this bullying that goes on in school yards; its kind of ironic to put on a big antibully campaign in schools and then reward the kids for good behavior by taking
them to SeaWorld to watch an entire corporate facility bully some orcas. Thats kind
of odd if you think about it.

Me: As children learn about the daily drugging of these animals to

keep them under control, what kind of message does that spell out to young
impressionable minds?
If the children end up learning about the drugging, and they are doing so more and
more because more and more exposes are being published, thats just another
lesson: Use chemicals. Chemicals are handy, chemicals control things! Its a bad
message, its a very bad message to children. Again, you could actually use the same
analogy -- its probably happened before that kids in a school who have had some
kind of successful anti-drug campaign are rewarded by visiting SeaWorld.

Me: Do you see alternative ways we can educate our children and
society about orcas rather than their life-long captivity?
Thats the great thing about technology: We can share electronically, and there are
social media, and now drones to follow these animals in their natural habitat. Its so
easy now to get beautiful, wonderful educational programs about these animals in
the wild. Again, thats another reason that maybe you can let people 40 or 50 years
ago off the hook just a little bit in terms of understanding why they may have acted
they way they did, but theres just no excuse anymore. There are eco-tours and all
kinds of audio-visual products and technologies available now. Its a happy time to
learn about the world! To learn about the world with the ability to no longer mess
with it!
Me: Any closing thoughts?
One of the things I personally have been concerned about throughout my career is
the development of empathy in children, because someone who has empathy for
people or other living beings isnt nearly as likely to lash out or hurt someone else.
Gaining pleasure or entertainment out of watching someone, or some animal, being
used without empathy, is the worst way to promote empathy in children. I think we
need to do everything we can to make sure that the children know of the intelligent
capacities of these animals and empathize with them. I mean, show them the scale of
what their own life would be like if they were boxed up in a situation thats parallel
to what an orca in captivity has been boxed into. Kids SHOULD feel sorry for them,
and they SHOULD extend that, and they WILL naturally extend that into having
more compassion and empathy for others. It will just be a better world.