Difficult to feel good about a dying whale
Children and adults view a 63-foot whale beached at Halesite on October 21, 1946.
Difficult to feel good about a stranded and dying whale
The June 13 news story “ ‘Hullabalo in Halesite’ commemoration” described the sensation created by a beached and injured 63-foot black whale in October 1946 It was explained that a plaque was unveiled recalling this.
“It’s nice to tell a feel good story now and then,” Huntington Town historian Robert C. Hughes said. He added, “Not everything in history is a momentous event or a tragedy — there are some fun stories where people have memories they want to share.”
I find these words appalling when speaking of a whale that lay dying as the town looked on. Fun? I find the event tragic.
Irene Sternberg, Forest Hills
I found the article about the injured whale in 1946 to be very distressing and sad.
I understand that in the 1940s, many people felt that animals were there only for the benefit of humans (one teacher even gave a science lesson from the water as the whale “lay dying”).
What I find sad, is that in 2017, a town historian would call it a “feel-good story.”
How can you feel good about everyone standing around watching a beautiful, intelligent whale suffer and die?
Nancy Gertler, Great Neck
