Jerk Parents Drag Turtle from Ocean so Kids Can Stand on It

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Bachrach44)

I’m usually the first person in line to defend selfies, Instagram, social media, and the desire to post pretty or cool pictures as a way of performing for the world. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all great, but the desire to get a cool photo has from time to time inspired people to do some really terrible things, and this week some tourists on a beach vacation decided to pull an innocent turtle out of the water so they could take pictures with it.

According to The Dodo, the hapless loggerhead turtle swam up too close to Havana Beach in Beirut, Lebanon, and some visiting tourists grabbed it and pulled it out of the water. Everyone pulled their phones out, so there are copious photos of the event. Most people were standing in a circle taking pictures of the poor thing instead of telling people to stop. Some parents were even seen holding their children up to stand on the turtle, because that’s a great lesson to teach the kids.

As if having a bunch of children stand on the turtle for photos wasn’t bad enough, then some people just got violent and started hitting it with sticks. Fortunately, some more conscientious beachgoers saw what was going on and stepped in to make the people stop. (Better beach lesson: Be those tourists, not the turtle-standing tourists.)

The turtle is receiving veterinary care for a head injury believed to have been caused during the selfie session and will hopefully be returned to the sea in a couple weeks.