Sharks, Magnificent and Misunderstood

July is Shark Month and is reaching its end.

It is also the 50^th anniversary of the release of the movie Jaws.

And I am heading off soon on my next scuba diving adventure to Belize where I hope to dive with many sharks!

I have loved sharks for as long as I can remember. I have no idea where it began or how it began or what the impetus was to this fascination. Allow me to share a few stories of sharks with you and then bring it around to why it matters in the context of my book, Fake News, Witch Hunts & Conspiracy Theories (believe me, I can).

When I first saw the movie Jaws it scared the bejesus out of me. I didn’t see it in the theater – I would have been 6 years-old and my parents weren’t going to let that happen. I am sure I saw it when it was shown on one of our three television channels aired with commercial interruption.

I knew that sharks were found in the ocean but I still got scared getting into our swimming pool. Of course there were never any sharks. I even remember thinking, “what if a shark can come through the tap in my bathtub while I’m waiting for it to fill up?” Of course that didn’t happen either – though adult Pauline thinks either would be cool.

I was – and still am – inquisitive. I am sure I wondered how much of the movie was based on fact. Interestingly, I never read the book by Peter Benchley and I do often read the books associated with movies. I think I realized early on that the fear generated by the movie was likely blown out of proportion. Yes, sharks have been known to attack and even kill people, but those attacks are extremely rare.

In fact, allow me to share some data. According to the International Shark Attack File, a global database of shark attacks managed by the Florida Museum of Natural History, there were 47 total shark attacks and 4 fatalities in 2024 in the entire world. The entire world. That is 47 unprovoked attacks. Not factored into that number are the 24 provoked shark attacks. An attack is considered provoked if you have interacted with the shark in some way by harassing it or touching it or trying to kill it, etc. The U.S. had the most unprovoked attacks at 28 with 1 fatality, most of them in Florida.

When we consider the number of people who are in the oceans each year and the number of sharks that inhabit those oceans, the number of shark attacks and fatalities is incredibly low. Incredibly low. That doesn’t change the minds of many people. Sharks are a menace and must be destroyed. Why? Because 47 people were attacked and 4 were killed in 2024? Tragic, yes. Concerning, no. Because we all saw Jaws and think all sharks are like the great white shark that menaced Amity Island? Entertaining, yes. Realistic, not so much.

Back to my stories.

I read everything I could get my hands on about sharks. There was no Shark Week when I was a kid. I had to get a book or read magazines. One seminal article that I still refer to even now is from the August 1981 issue of National Geographic Magazine. It was written by renowned shark expert, Eugenie Clark, and was titled “Sharks, Magnificent and Misunderstood,” the same title as this issue of my newsletter.

In 1981, six years after the release of Jaws, people would still have been thinking about it. They would still be thinking we need to rid the oceans of these incredible creatures that will eat us at the first chance. As if sharks are waiting for us at our beaches much as we would be waiting in a buffet line in Vegas.

The article was incredible for its breadth. I probably read it several times. If it was written today, I would have Googled Eugenie Clark and followed her on Instagram, etc. We didn’t have that. What did we have? The Buffalo Museum of Science in Buffalo, NY, and its Hayes Lecture Series. My father got a family Museum membership largely because of my insistence. As members, we could attend this monthly lecture series free and we could go backstage to meet the speaker. Some of the lectures didn’t appeal to me at all. My interest in science does have parameters. For example, I never had an interest in astronomy or space exploration. Judge me if you will and I don’t care.

In late 1981 or early 1982, Eugenie Clark was scheduled to speak as part of the lecture series! What!

I was there. And I had my copy of NatGeo (it’s what the cool kids call the magazine). Normally my father and I left after the speaker’s talk. I asked if we could stay so I could have Dr. Clark sign my copy of the magazine. I am sure my father thought, “well, at least she won’t end up as a teenage statistic.”

I remember being incredibly nervous. I was 12 years old! I waited for her to finish speaking with a couple of adults who had gathered around her. I did overhear her conversation and she referenced the article I held in my hand. I walked up to her so meekly and asked very quietly if she would sign my magazine. I was quite a shy young person which nobody ever believes because I am not a shy person today! I even had my magazine opened to the correct page. I remember she said “of course” she would sign my magazine and then turned to the gentleman she had been speaking with and said, “this is the article I just mentioned.”

I felt like a nerdy rock star. Like I had something this adult dude didn’t. I had an in! Sadly, Dr. Clark is no longer with us but her contributions to shark research and science cannot be overstated.

I learned to scuba dive a couple of years ago. I wanted to learn so that I could dive with great white sharks (in a cage, I know the limits). That trip fell through, but I have since been able to dive with sharks in a number of places. I can check several species off my list: whale shark, nurse shark, whitetip reef shark, blacktip reef shark, lemon shark, hammerhead shark. Sharks are pretty harmless if you leave them alone. That is, if you don’t provoke them. We are not their normal diet. Unless you start playing with them or grabbing them or poking them, you can dive with them undeterred. (I don’t recommend you play with any wildlife. We are in their habitat and need to respect boundaries.) I mentioned that I would dive in a cage with a great white. Does that mean there are sharks that would give me pause? Yes. Great white, mako, tiger, bull. If I saw them there would be equal parts fascination, excitement, and pissing (or worse) in my suit.

I still rewatch the movie Jaws when I see it on cable. I also had the opportunity to watch it in 3-D in the theater a couple of years ago. To be fair, 3-D didn’t add much to it. And now when I watch it, the shark is so obviously mechanical that the movie doesn’t have the same scare factor it did when I was young. I do not fear it in a swimming pool or bathtub. It’s still a fantastic movie, though. (Don’t watch the sequels. They suck.)

How does this relate to my book and area of study?

Magnificent and misunderstood.

We could use that description for any number of “groups.” I wonder, though, if we should flip it. Misunderstood and magnificent. I would argue, you need to recognize that a group is misunderstood before you can learn and acknowledge its magnificence.

I have been thinking a great deal about my next book which will focus on witch hunts. I will provide a brief history of witch hunts but will focus on what people call witch hunts today. Too often we see someone bandy about the phrase anytime someone challenges them, their actions or their ideas. Often, the challenges are framed as politically motivated leading to some gain which might include reputational damage to the accused. For example, it has been said that investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. elections are just a witch hunt by those who didn’t win. They need someone to blame for their losses.

Do we always need someone to blame? And aren’t we doing so when we don’t understand or we misunderstand what we are dealing with?

When the movie Jaws came out, shark science could be considered to be in its infancy or at least its toddler phase. There were so many things we did not know and still don’t know. Sharks are difficult to study. They appear menacing. All those teeth! And just look at them – they look like killers. Have you seen them eat?

Pivot from sharks to other groups throughout history. We have pilloried women for centuries. They were the original witches. Why? We misunderstood what they were capable of and didn’t understand science. Science hadn’t explained medicine, for example, so anything women were able to do with natural remedies was considered “witchcraft” and “Satanic.” (Misunderstanding a group isn’t the only thing at play but it is what I want to focus on here. Power and a perceived loss, trust, jealousy, to name a few others, also play a role. More on that in future issues.)

Throughout history we have isolated, vilified and worse those we don’t understand. We think we understand them much as we think we understand sharks. All sharks will kill you – stay away! No. Not all sharks will kill you. Not all women are witches. And witches, generally speaking, are not evil.

Think about our attacks on other groups. I will use our targeting of specific immigrant groups in the U.S. but could extrapolate this beyond the U.S., beyond immigration and beyond current events. Are there immigrants in our country who have committed a crime either in the U.S. or abroad? Yes. Is every immigrant who lives in our country a criminal? No. Yet the image many have and rhetoric many hear of immigrants would lead some to believe that they are all criminals. They are not. We are misunderstanding the groups. Why? Some of it is that we don’t understand them. We don’t understand why they are here. We don’t understand what they are leaving behind and where they are coming from. They may have different beliefs. Perhaps they eat different foods. They worship in different ways. They dress differently. They speak languages we don't understand. There are any number of reasons we may not feel comfortable around others and some of it is that we don’t understand. Sadly, we often also don’t want to take the time to understand.

It becomes dangerous when we paint an entire group of people with so broad a brush much as we do with sharks. (I realize comparing sharks with people may upset some. I am not saying the two are equal; I am pointing out that the misunderstandings of each group have some commonalities.)

The solution? I would argue education and communication. We need to learn about each other. We need to learn about our environment. We need to understand we are not alone and we do not always agree and share the same ideas, beliefs, religion, politics, etc. We also need to communicate. Once we know the reasons and motivations behind our actions, deeds and beliefs, we can better understand that we are similar in ways we may not initially recognize nor acknowledge. Understanding comes from shared experiences. Whether we want to believe it or not, we have them.

I think it could be argued that we all want to feel safe and secure. We all want to have a home of some sort. We all want to have food and drink. We all want relationships. What that looks like for each of us is likely different. For example, I like our old farmhouse in my rural community. I like that I can grow some of my own food and have chickens to get fresh eggs. That isn’t for everyone. We should be respectful of our choices and the choices of others. We don’t have to share them nor do we have to agree with them! It does help to understand them, though. If I understand what motivates you, what your needs are, what you believe, I can better understand how we might get along or not. I am absolutely not advocating that we have to like each other. Please……. But we shouldn’t vilify and terrify and scapegoat without understanding.

I love sharks and love diving with them. Many people think I am out of my mind and wouldn’t go near them but they don’t begrudge me my hobby. I also love to share information about sharks and other sea creatures. The more we understand, the more we can show respect.

Each of us is magnificent in our own way. And, I would argue, each of us is probably at least a little bit misunderstood.

Let’s work to fix misunderstandings.