May 31, 2016
John Minchillo/AP
A boy brings flowers to put beside a statue of a gorilla outside the shuttered Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Monday, May 30, 2016, in Cincinnati. A gorilla named Harambe was killed by a special zoo response team on Saturday after a 3-year-old boy slipped into an exhibit and it was concluded his life was in danger.
You’ve heard about Harambe, I’m sure.
You know, the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla who was fatally shot Saturday after a 3-year-old boy somehow made his way into the enclosure. It was a sad and unfortunate incident that unleashed a torrent of hot takes about safety, the nature of zoos themselves and parental responsibility. (Still doesn't ring a bell? See here, here and here.)
Related Article: Cincinnati police investigate boy's entry into exhibit, gorilla's killing
And when that happens, the social media response is everything from abhorrent to amusing.
I summarized it thusly:
If not for Twitter, I'd never have known how many folks are well versed in taming zoo gorillas with nothing but smarts and moxie.
— Brian P. Hickey (@BrianPHickey) May 30, 2016
I was not the only person who weighed in on the Memorial Day weekend tragedy. Here’s what other people had to say, organized loosely by theme:
Blame the parents!
Nearly 100k people sign petition to create a law that would hold parents criminally responsible for Harambe's deathhttps://t.co/lifuc5u9Dm
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) May 31, 2016
Boycott #cincinnati zoo #harambe pic.twitter.com/qxMtI1V3NQ
— Crystal Hefner Ⓥ (@crystalhefner) May 31, 2016
The mother, Michelle Gregg, refers to Harambe's senseless murder as "accidents happen." Disgraceful woman!https://t.co/RIGlwk5vFy
— A.J. Delgado (@AJDelgado13) May 30, 2016
Did they charge the bad parents who left their kid unwatched at a zoo near a 400lb gorilla that caused that gorilla to die yet
— technologhies (@machiavellino) May 30, 2016
#Harambe Gorilla😢shot dead cause parents can't control their kids😡#CincinnatiZoo @DOBLAFF https://t.co/zQZgktgAW5 pic.twitter.com/gcQUisPHvh
— Feisty☀️Floridian (@peddoc63) May 30, 2016
Blame the kid!
If your kid purposefully falls into a gorilla cage, you should just tell your kid goodbye. That's called Darwinism.
— Joseph Kahn (@JosephKahn) May 30, 2016
Blame human beings in general!
RIP #Harambe. Stupid people shouldn't be allowed access to endangered animals. #justiceforharambe https://t.co/WrVx53BOjb
— Godless Utopia (@GodlessUtopia) May 30, 2016
Defend the parents!
The penalty for momentary bad parenting should be watching a gorilla crush your toddler's skull? Is that where we're at?
— Kyle (@KyleKoster) May 31, 2016
No parent with multiple young children thinks the parents of the kid who fell in the gorilla pen should be charged.
— Gourmet Spud (@gourmetspud) May 30, 2016
Defend the zoo!
Cincinnati Zoo director and Jane Goodall agree it was right to kill Harambe the gorilla https://t.co/g8eHEdW2TP pic.twitter.com/4UNnl02X95
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) May 30, 2016
On backlash over zoo's decision to kill gorilla: "I am old enough. I don't pay much attention to social media." pic.twitter.com/Oo65VYYrEY
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) May 30, 2016
Honor Harambe!
doing the ice bucket challenge for the gorilla
— curry & lager dad (@sandwich_dad) May 30, 2016
Racism!
At Breitbart, the right wing pro-Trump base reacted to the Cincinnati gorilla story w/ thousands of racist comments https://t.co/JEpPLQC3KW
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) May 31, 2016
Stories with absolutely no connection to what happened at the Zoo!
Father of boy who fell into gorilla's zoo enclosure has a lengthy criminal history https://t.co/vc7bBQiVrm
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) May 31, 2016
From near tragedy to political posturing!
Harambe paid for human negligence with his life. 🐒
— PETA UK (@PETAUK) May 31, 2016
THIS is why we need to #BoycottTheZoo.https://t.co/c1F9peuKPO
So now that we know that the child was Black, there will be a lot of folks demanding justice for Harambe this week
— jamilah lemieux (@JamilahLemieux) May 31, 2016
Shout out to everyone who cares more about #Harambe the gorilla than about #MikeBrown, #RenishaMcBride, #TrayvonMartin, #TamirRice,
— George Ciccariello (@ciccmaher) May 31, 2016
...
More than 5,000 U.S. service people have been killed since 9/11 but #harambe
— LMR (@LilMissRightie) May 30, 2016
Laura Ingraham CALLS OUT Hollywood over 'candlelight vigil' for the gorilla while ignoring veterans https://t.co/XT4hO5VnHQ
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 31, 2016
Oh, cool, celebrities weigh in!
Ricky Gervais says 'some gorillas make better parents' after Harambe's death https://t.co/DXlBNt9yO2
— ROSA MITRANO (@onedayprotest) May 31, 2016
And, finally, the hottest takes!
PLEASE morning shows, don't put these idiot parents on your programs. The gorilla is dead. NO ONE wants to hear from them. #Harambe
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) May 29, 2016
Heard they killed a gorilla because a grown adult isn't fit to be a parent..
— Nicc_Milli (@NicoTheory) May 31, 2016
Should've shot the parent too..
Or is that too inhumane? 🙄😒🤔
Never thought I'd get sick of seeing a child being dragged around by a gorilla
— Garry Newman (@garrynewman) May 31, 2016
What if the kid that fell into the gorilla pit turns out to be the next Hitler? Sorry if this offends
— Smart and also Good (@samknight1) May 31, 2016
