Aye-Harambe: Gone But Not Forgotten

The year of 2016 goes down in the books for many reasons, almost none of them are reasons we want to remember.  Among them, one of the main ones was the death of Cincinnati Zoo’s beloved gorilla Harambe.  Harambe had always been loved by the family in Cincinnati, but it wasn’t until after his death that the rest of us realized his importance.

            It all started when a 3 year-old child fell into the gorilla enclosure and was dragged violently through the moat by Harambe.  The only option became a shot from a rifle that took the life of gorilla.  The child was rescued but Harambe’s life came to an end.  His story, though, would live on for longer than anyone could have imagined.  The tragedy became a meme-sensation circulating every phone/facebook page near you.  People were outraged at the violent act that was taken on Harambe and they were letting the whole world know.

            The saying stands true, we don’t know what we have until it’s gone.  None of us may have actually known what Harambe’s death meant at the time, but we all cared—well, eventually.  2016 brought us together because of our pain, let’s hope that 2017 brings us together because of our joy. For Harambe.

Cincinnati Zoo/Handout via Reuters

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/05/30/full_video_shows_harambe_the_gorilla_dragging_child_before_he_was_shot.html