This was written by my Father, Ron Phillips. I thought you might enjoy.
Is it Really Tame?
Some things by their very nature we already know are dangerous. People can think they’ve got it tamed. Think they’ve got control of a seemingly dangerous situation while enjoying all the attention they get from others.
People are entertained by the so called lion and tiger tamers who with a whip and a chair make lions and tigers do tricks. Some have even put their heads in the lion’s mouth.
During a show at the Mirage on Horn’s birthday on October 3, 2003, a seven-year-old white tiger named Montecore attacked Horn. As part of the act, but veering off script, Horn held his microphone to Montecore’s mouth and told him to say “hello” to the audience. Montecore responded by biting Horn’s sleeve. Horn swatted the tiger and barked “release!”, while standby trainers unsuccessfully attempted to distract the cat with cubes of meat. Possibly incited by Horn’s retreat, the tiger lept at Horn, swinging at his legs and knocking him off his feet. As trainers rushed in from offstage to assist, Montecore bit into Horn’s neck and dragged him offstage. Trainers got the tiger to release Horn by spraying him with CO2 fire extinguisher canisters, the last resort available.
The attack severed Horn’s spine, resulted in massive blood loss, and severely injured other parts of his body, permanently impairing his motor and verbal abilities. He also had a stroke either before or after Montecore the tiger had dragged him offstage.
How crazy is that? Everybody already knew tigers are dangerous.
Killer Whales are trained using a system of reward (called “positive reinforcement” by trainers) by giving the killer whale food or other reinforcement when they are successful, and withholding it when they are not. That worked for a while until Tilikum the Killer Whale,was kept in tanks with no escape from aggressive, incompatible orcas, who would leave him torn up and bloodied. The constant stress and deprivation of captivity drove him to kill three humans—including trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010.
In captivity for more than thirty years and considered proven tame it really never was.
In the early eighties I had a neighbor who told me his daughter slept with her pet boa constrictor. Later at church we just happened to have a visiting missionary from South America. Part of his display of articles was this huge skin of a snake. When I told him about my neighbor’s daughter sleeping with her snake and he was appalled. He told me how dangerous that was saying if that girl by coughing or sneezing startled that snake it could grab a hold of her and kill her in an instant. Somethings may have appeared to be harmless for so long but never really were.
Another example…I use to hang wallpaper. I was working in a Deputy Dallas Police Chief’s home hanging wallpaper in his kitchen. His was a typical older custom home with an entry at the front of his home with Formal Dinning Room on the left and a Formal Living on the right that opened up to the Den with sliding glass doors on the back wall.
To get through to the kitchen I had to walk through the Den. The problem was every time I walked back and forth in the Den was this big black Pitt Bull looking like Satan himself would growl at me. So I asked the Police Chief if he’d please put to dog up, that it was scaring me to death. I was so relieved when he put it in the back yard. A while later he said, “Ronnie, stay in the kitchen, I’m going to let the dog He out in the front yard for a while.” Why, I he did that I don’t know. In few minutes he came back through cussing a blue streak and took and put the dog back up in the back yard.
I asked him what was wrong. He said that dog went and smelt one of the cars tires and must have smelt another dog’s pee on it and it bit a hole in a steel belted tire. Not only that it was the second time the dog had done it.
All I can say is I’m glad I hadn’t peed on myself. If I had I might have been minus a leg.
My point is not about animals whether they are tame or not. My point is things warned about you know can be dangerous dismissed. One can think some things are tame because others got away with it.
Some even tho warned by the preacher haven’t paid any attention because they’ve been around it so long, played with it, petted it, and gave it so much attention without any harm to themselves thus far think it won’t happen to them…like a gambler does thinking he’ll be lucky. Besides that it’s fun. Look at all the attention I’m getting until one day…….It’s not!
So it is a lot of fun in the devil’s playground, besides others are getting away with it everyday, and they are getting a lot of attention, but the devil’s not playing. Hes not tame. He’s waiting for just the right moment.
1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour…..