Please Do Not Hug the Shark | Teen Ink

Please Do Not Hug the Shark

December 11, 2013
By MaKayla Alexander BRONZE, Hartland, Wisconsin
MaKayla Alexander BRONZE, Hartland, Wisconsin
4 articles 0 photos 0 comments

People have unique ways of thrill-seeking like skydiving or riding a motorcycle; however, tourists have engaged themselves in a new practice of adventure. In the article Please Do Not Hug the Sharks, Dawn Williams explains how a new trend has come about- riding sharks. It has become popular to post videos online of a diver grabbing onto a shark’s dorsal fin, allowing it to pull them through the water. The article explains how this is a “dangerous game that will most certainly end badly.” People are described as “idiot, crazy, deplorable, and dumb” in the video’s comments. Williams wrote in an informative tone that was bias towards the dangerous side for these risk takers.

This would be a reader's common reaction after looking at this article. Since the article is bias, many readers wouldn’t realize how these people are also threatening the natural habitat of the shark. The contrary argument would consider the danger from this activity on the shark’s side rather than the person’s. The divers wanting ‘a ride’ from the sharks are violating them and putting the sharks in strange conditions that the sharks aren’t used to. These people aren’t idiots or crazy as the video comments say; they’re inconsiderate and ignorant. Imagine someone hugging you and expecting a ride as you drag them. How would you like it?

Sharks are often feared because of their widely known vicious attacks on humans. These “killers” aren’t as violent as were portray them. Only about 30 die from shark attacks per year, whereas over one million die from car accidents. One should be more nervous about the car ride to the beach, rather than the ocean itself. Humans aren’t sharks number one meat choice. It’s when humans aren’t smart that shark attacks occur. So when a diver suddenly approaches a shark from behind, you’d expect them to be startled and could possibly attack. The adrenaline is never worth getting bitten by the wild creature. People cannot stereotype all sharks as vicious because these attacks occur. They are wild meaning we are the ones harming them, and they are just trying to protect themselves because that’s what they’re supposed to do. Sharks feed off of dolphins and larger fish as their primary source, the rest is an act of survival or self-defense. We must be smart and respectful to these wild creatures.
Although Dawn Williams only explains things from the humans side, the real danger involves the sharks. These wild animals can be unpredictable, so people should be the smarter ones and leave them alone. How can we blame sharks for doing what nature tells them to?



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