“Onlookers were trying to take selfies with the bear and he’s clearly not in the mood for pictures. The bear has shown signs of severe stress,” the post said.
It described the large male bear as “stressed, depressed, lemon zest” and urged the public not to approach a black bear at any time, “especially those that are showing aggression like this big fella”.
How are we supposed to take this seriously when they make jokes?
Yeah, just confused as how it applies to a depressed bear. You were spot on.
Because it’s possible to joke about something while still treating it seriously? Acknowledging that the bear is relatable, and that that’s kind of funny, isn’t incompatible with urging people to respect its boundaries.
Sometimes humor just makes it easier to communicate, it can be a useful tool. For example, look at Ted Lasso, his whole thing is that he’s a leader who uses humor and empathy as his primary leadership tools. I know this is a fictional character, but those are real techniques, so I think this point still holds.
