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A “legend” and a “true patriot.”
No, that’s not a belated memorial for former Vice President Dick Cheney, but the description used by the official White House social media account to mark the 10-year anniversary of the death of Harambe the gorilla.
For those of you who need a painful reminder, Harambe was shot dead at a Cincinnati zoo on 28 May 2016 after a three-year-old boy dropped into the gorilla enclosure. The gorilla dragged the child out of the moat he had fallen into, but was shot “in order to save the life of the child”, as the zoo described the action.
Ten years later, the official government account posted a lengthy tribute, mourning “an icon that became part of internet history, American culture, and an entire generation’s timeline”.
“He became a symbol of loyalty, strength, chaos, unity, and the strange beauty of the internet bringing millions of people together for one cause: never forgetting Harambe,” it continued. “Everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news. And somehow, a decade later, his legacy still lives on. Gone, but never forgotten. Rest easy to a true patriot.”
Indeed, the incident did become a viral sensation, prompting tributes, memes, poetry, and calls for more safety measures at the zoo. The internet backlash was also swift, with a “Justice for Harambe” petition being launched.
At the time of the shooting, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump said that zoo employees “probably had no choice.”
The White House’s strange memorial post has sparked another backlash, reinforcing people’s opinion that the Trump administration is the most “unserious” that the US has ever had.
“Glad to see the White House is laser-focused on the key issues of the day,” one user wrote, while others pointed out that the post comes at a time when Trump’s Iran war continues and cost of living soars.
One person argued that “this country is a lunatic asylum”, while another said: “Every time the world starts feeling a semblance of normalcy this stupid f**king account has to remind us that we’re stuck with the reddit regime for another 3 years.”
Check out some of the reactions below: