Indy Driver Romain Grosjean Hits A Bird, Then He Gets The Bird From PETA
Values are tricky. The circumstances always need to be considered. I can remember that when I was young, my mother always watched old movies after church on Sundays.
Normally, I was never there; I was out and running around with my friends. Still, on a few occasions, heavy rain, illness, or for some other inescapable reason, I ended up on the couch watching.
On one particular Sunday, the 1940 movie “Young Tom Edison” was on, with Mickey Rooney portraying Tom Edison. In the movie, Edison was sort of a problem child, but he was more misunderstood than anything. In the film, young Tom rescues his mother by creating a makeshift surgical floodlight. He accomplishes this by using a stolen mirror to reflect oil lamps, allowing a doctor to perform emergency surgery on her at night.
Tom had to break a picture window to steal the mirror, so it wasn’t long until the police arrived to arrest him. However, after a give-and-take between Tom’s father and the police, things were worked out. This incident, which initially appeared to be a criminal act, is reconsidered as a demonstration of Tom’s desperate ingenuity. It occurs just before Tom is celebrated as a hero for using a train whistle to send Morse code and prevent a train from running onto a broken bridge.
So, Tom stealing a mirror under normal circumstances would have been a crime, but his reason for doing it, to save his mother’s life, was an even better reason.
Perspectives and values make a difference. Romain Grosjean is an Indy driver who was involved in a horrific, fiery crash on November 29, 2020, during the opening lap of the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix. His car hit a barrier at 119 mph, sustained a 67G impact, split in half, and burst into a fireball. Those on the scene were certain that he had perished in the crash. I’ve watched the video, and I can honestly say it was a miracle he survived. The amazing part is that he emerged from this death trap situation with only second-degree burns on his hands. This was truly divine intervention; it was frightening.
On Tuesday, in a test run for the upcoming Indianapolis 500, Grosjean was traveling at around 230 mph when he hit a bird. Fortunately, since 2020, Indy cars have been fitted with aeroscreens to protect drivers from flying debris and frontal impacts.
Without it, the results could have been catastrophic. Even though the screen took the brunt of the impact and the resulting splatter, Grosjean was still struck by some remnants of the bird.
Afterward, Grosjean was philosophical with a touch of humor.
“I still have blood on my race suit; there were pieces of the bird on the rollbar. I couldn’t see where I was going anymore; there’s plenty on the aeroscreen. The helmet stinks, the seat stinks. I didn’t get any chicken for lunch; I just walked past it.”
Remember, this is a man who was involved in a horrible crash, and if not for a molded piece of plexiglass, he very well could have been involved in another one. So, his nervous humor was nothing more than a release of tension. According to Healthline, it is a natural reaction—often called an incongruous emotion—that occurs when the brain is trying to regulate emotions and cope with overwhelming fear or stress.
Someone needs to explain this to Mimi Bekhechi, the senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). After learning about the incident, she sounded off to Reuters, thereby placing her incoherent ignorance on full display.
“Romain Grosjean had better hope he doesn’t fail his next race as badly as he has failed Empathy 101.”
“Birds have feelings, apparently more than Grosjean does, considering that he seemed more concerned with his car, helmet, and suit — all replaceable — than the smash-up of this unsuspecting bird.”
“Instead of just passing up chicken for lunch, may we suggest that he steer clear of harming any birds or other animals whose lives on factory farms and terrifying deaths in slaughterhouses are the pits.”
“PETA France will be sending Grosjean some plant-based chicken to help get his vegan lifestyle on track.”
If Bekhechi is speaking for everyone at PETA, then they need to reexamine their priorities and perspectives. No one wanted to see a bird get splattered at 230 mph, just like no one wanted to see a bird explode when Randy Johnson hit one with his fastball in March of 2001.
But to place the bird above what could have happened to Grosjean is ridiculous. Her statement that “Birds have feelings, apparently more than Grosjean does,” not only shows a lack of compassion for human life, it also shows a total lack of common sense.
Grosjean hitting the bird was an accident; PETA giving him the bird was intentional. PETA had no reason to comment on this at all. It was clearly a fluke accident.
Still, one thing is for certain: Bekhechi and the dead bird do have something in common; they both had their feathers ruffled.
