I am going to start with the well known fact that SeaWorld does not have a good history with animals of any kind. Whether or not the points in the documentary Blackfish are true, it is not a lie that SeaWorld has received countless amounts of harassment for their alleged torture of marine creatures. In a response to the backlash of Blackfish, Hugo Martin puts out an uninspiring quote about how “whether the "Blackfish" controversy will permanently damage SeaWorld's future profitability” (Martin, Par.9). The problem with this bland beginning is the quietus this brings upon the audience reading this quote. Almost immediately, Martin says that he believes nothing of significance will happen to help the whales or bring down SeaWorld’s big corporation. By putting this idea out there, it plants the doubt of success in people's minds. Quite simply, the general public will begin to believe that someone else will take care of the problem instead of actually going ahead and trying to do something about it. This is not how we as a progressive people can think. Not only does Martin find this topic extremely boring, as his writing showcases, but he doesn’t seem to care much about what happens either way, and that’s what makes this piece first and foremost both boring and infuriating to read.

In response to Mr. Martin of the Los Angeles Times, I want to pose a question. How much do you work a day? A week? And how much pay are you receiving? I don’t expect, nor do I require an answer, but my point is that you are paid for the work you do. As a writer, you spend your life exploring, editing, writing, and composing pieces all the time. Your personal life is still being affected by what you do. But whatever you do, you still are allowed a weekend, a vacation, and paid leave, right? The whales at Seaworld never get a day off. They don’t get paid, they don’t get rest, they don’t get leisure time or room to grow. These whales are being practically squeezed into a steadily shrinking pod, forced to work for their food and comfort. If your entire life you lived in one room, ate one thing, had to work every single day, and did nothing else, wouldn’t you go insane?

Whether or not any of the information Martin poses is true or unbiased, there is still no doubt about it that to me and many others "watching the movie highlighted the fact that SeaWorld lies to its guests, which makes [us] feel untrusting of the company overall’ (Martin, Par. 13). Whether or not Blackfish was entirely truthful, nor entirely unbiased, the vision of the movie still stands; whales are not meant to be worked to their premature death. Whether or not SeaWorld is actually improving, I don’t know. But I will not believe a word unless I see it with my own eyes. If they plan on changing their image and keeping their company, they need to do more than just talk. I’d like to hear the truth, both from you and from them.