Here is a link.
Thought you folks'd… uh… "enjoy" this.
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Fusion article claims Harambe memes are racist and must be stopped
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Nov 03, 2016 at 03:24PM EDT.
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Nov 02, 2016 at 04:16AM EDT
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Okay, so I decided to read the article. As someone who has some experience working with a zoo, I have conflicting opinions about Harambe memes. Still, being actually racist isn't something that had ever crossed my mind how people could see that.
The first bit about how people are upset about Harambe's death getting more famous than the deaths of actual people (specifically of Minorities, but really could be any group) I can see people getting upset over. Not that I think most people would like their death turned into a Harambe-like meme, but yeah, the meme has a bit more spread than most actually important things. I can see how you could argue that is a bad thing, and kinda see how you could make it all the way to "people care more about a gorilla's death than a black person's" but really, almost all other important events got to take a backseat to it, race related or not.
However, the point of the article is that "these jokes are all about using “Harambe” as a shorthand for black people and openly mocking them without fear of being labeled as racist."
Now, I'm not going to pretend I've seen every Harambe meme. Maybe, some where, there really are a bunch of these memes that do this, and I'm just totally unaware of it. But uh, I've never really seen a Harambe meme really depict him negatively. Even the ones I've seen that kinda embody stereotypical black things are like If that gorilla had been white they never would have shot and show a pic of Snowflake the gorilla. It's comparing gorillas to gorillas. If anything, it's saying that a being of color can be treated unfairly due to their color, and this is bad.
Even the "racist meme" from the Louisiana sub they link to isn't showing Harambe in a negative light. While I agree it's bad and racist, I hardly see how it shows how Harambe is a secret "code" for "black people".
Like 3 people used Harambe as a racist thing so now all of them are automatically in the same category? Wtf. And the arguments about it "taking away from black things" is such bull I honestly don't even want to try retorting to that. Like Jacob said everything became less important. It was just a fucking meme it's escapism people will always look to memes. You could say that about all of them.
Saying jokes about a gorilla are all about black people is honestly kinda fucked up in itself in how over-analyzing and race baiting it is.
…given way to “jokes” like Dicks Out For Harambe and Harambe Did 9/11. The punchlines of these memes are ostensibly rooted in the idea that Harambe’s getting a kick out of his legacy as he watches on from gorilla heaven. In reality, though, these jokes are all about using “Harambe” as a shorthand for black people and openly mocking them without fear of being labeled as racist.
So… blacks did 9/11, we want our dicks out for black people, and a chinese zoo really named their gorilla Blackpeople McBlackpeopleFace?
Methinks the writer of the article made the "gorilla = blacks" racist connection all by himself and then decided to psychologically project it onto the rest of the internet.
That's…not why most people use Harambe as a meme.
I think more people are upset that Harambe's unfortunate death is being made into something used for fun than it being a veiled attempt at racist humor.
Also, I understand that a lot of people are upset that people are more upset by Harambe's death than other current issues (mockingly or seriously). But that's about it. Even then, that's like saying all of the world's significant issues have to be addressed before you can go all out and laugh. We can do both.
Last edited Nov 02, 2016 at 07:06AM EDT
While I do think the harambe meme is distastefull. Expecially by those being disengenuous about mourning him. I fail to see or understand it being used in a racist manner.
Do you want more Harambe memes?
Because that's how you get more Harambe memes.
Harambe was an outrage from people. A quick social scandal that really had no point at the end of the day. Harambe only became a meme after this scandal and became an ironic meme. They put Harambe on a pestle to mock the people who were so outraged about a gorilla being shot. I doubt most people really cared about a gorilla's death but it is a rule of the internet that the larger one group becomes the larger it's anti-group will grow. I doubt anyone had any semblance of racism about anything involving god damn Harambe.
If this gets spread around it will only encourage more Harambe memes.
Okay, let's breakdown this shitfest of an article.
"By now you’re probably familiar with Harambe, the 17-year-old Western lowland gorilla shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo earlier this year after he attacked a three-year-old boy who’d managed to climb into his enclosure"
Harambe never 'attacked' the boy, if he did, the boy would have been dead before anyone could do anything. Harambe was obviously more curious about the boy than threatened by him. This is one reason why people were so outraged when zoo officials opted to kill Harambe out of fear of the boy's safety and how the meme got kicked off in the first place.
"In a perfect world, Harambe’s death would have led to a rigorous debate about zoo safety precautions, much in the same way that Cecil the Lion’s death sparked international outrage about big game hunting. Instead, we got memes."
What in particular is there to debate about zoo safety precautions, it'd be great if you elaborate on this. Secondly, the killing of Cecil the lion sparked international outrage and debate about big game hunting because it was borderline illegal. The circumstances were completely different. Lastly, the Cecil the lion was made into a meme, it just didn't catch on like Harambe did.
"As Vox recently pointed out, there was was a brief moment early in the Harambe news cycle when a number of black people used the then-nascent meme to draw attention to the disproportionate amount of attention the public gave to a slain gorilla as compared to the attention given to the killing of black and brown people."
True, especially when people thought the kid was white:
Now what were you saying about racist ideas?
"Yet as time has passed, whatever potential Harambe had as a subject for cultural critique has given way to “jokes” like Dicks Out For Harambe and Harambe Did 9/11. The punchlines of these memes are ostensibly rooted in the idea that Harambe’s getting a kick out of his legacy as he watches on from gorilla heaven. In reality, though, these jokes are all about using “Harambe” as a shorthand for black people and openly mocking them without fear of being labeled as racist."
What? Present some examples or get out.
Nothing much to say here, Kumail's a fucking idiot and Max gave a reasonable explanation.
"10 years ago, long before that boy climbed the gorilla enclosure, Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder predicted that one day, white people would become obsessed with the distinctly African, yet still easily pronounceable word “Harambe” as some sort of rallying cry."
Did Aaron McGruder predict this or are you reading way too much into a cartoon?
"Rather than giving sensitive white folks a reason to get hype about Kwanzaa, Harambe presented them with the chance to poke fun at an African word while also anthropomorphizing a gorilla, an animal that racists have long equated with black people as a means of calling them less evolved than people of other races."
Again, present examples or get out.
"To see the number of people that use “Harambe” as a slur against black people like Leslie Jones…"
No, they compared Leslie Jones to Harambe because she looks like a gorilla. That has more to do with physical appearance than race. Not to mention that Leslie Jones is a horrible person on social media and has made a number of racist tweets on Twitter.
"…or a Louisiana substitute teacher who posted a meme comparing Michelle Obama to Harambe that read “they shot the wrong gorilla…"
Finally, an example. Got anymore examples of what you claim is so epidemic?
"Similarly, resident assistants at the University of Massachusetts were compelled to explain in a letter to this year’s freshmen that writing Harambe memes on public whiteboards in their shared dorm spaces was an act of subtle, racially-driven hostility. “Harambe” is also the name of a specific floor on UMass’s campus that’s been set aside for black students looking to live within a black community in a predominantly white school.
“[Harambe] has a very positive connotation, but current social media has been misrepresenting it,” the RAs explained. “The floor has been in existence for many years, so any negative remarks regarding ‘Harambe’ will be seen as a direct attack on our campus’ African-American Community.”
Unsurprisingly, the e-mail was widely mocked."
It was widely mocked because it was stupid and yet another example of SJW inspired political correctness run rampant. Why are black students living in a segregated area anyway? I think you should be more concern with that in regards to racism than an internet meme.
"Whatever your feelings about Harambe, it’s clear that there’s no way to lightheartedly joke about him without implicitly enabling people to casually exploit his popularity in a racist way."
It's clear that there is a way, considering you only presented ONE example of the meme being used an a racist matter.
"It needs to stop. Enough with Harambe."
If you want to stop the meme, maybe you shouldn't write an article about it.
"By now you’re probably familiar with Harambe, the 17-year-old Western lowland gorilla shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo earlier this year after he attacked a three-year-old boy who’d managed to climb into his enclosure"
Harambe never 'attacked' the boy, if he did, the boy would have been dead before anyone could do anything. Harambe was obviously more curious about the boy than threatened by him. This is one reason why people were so outraged when zoo officials opted to kill Harambe out of fear of the boy's safety and how the meme got kicked off in the first place.
"In a perfect world, Harambe’s death would have led to a rigorous debate about zoo safety precautions, much in the same way that Cecil the Lion’s death sparked international outrage about big game hunting. Instead, we got memes."
What in particular is there to debate about zoo safety precautions, it'd be great if you elaborate on this. Secondly, the killing of Cecil the lion sparked international outrage and debate about big game hunting because it was borderline illegal. The circumstances were completely different. Lastly, the Cecil the lion was made into a meme, it just didn't catch on like Harambe did.
"As Vox recently pointed out, there was was a brief moment early in the Harambe news cycle when a number of black people used the then-nascent meme to draw attention to the disproportionate amount of attention the public gave to a slain gorilla as compared to the attention given to the killing of black and brown people."
True, especially when people thought the kid was white:
Now what were you saying about racist ideas?
"Yet as time has passed, whatever potential Harambe had as a subject for cultural critique has given way to “jokes” like Dicks Out For Harambe and Harambe Did 9/11. The punchlines of these memes are ostensibly rooted in the idea that Harambe’s getting a kick out of his legacy as he watches on from gorilla heaven. In reality, though, these jokes are all about using “Harambe” as a shorthand for black people and openly mocking them without fear of being labeled as racist."
What? Present some examples or get out.
Nothing much to say here, Kumail's a fucking idiot and Max gave a reasonable explanation.
"10 years ago, long before that boy climbed the gorilla enclosure, Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder predicted that one day, white people would become obsessed with the distinctly African, yet still easily pronounceable word “Harambe” as some sort of rallying cry."
Did Aaron McGruder predict this or are you reading way too much into a cartoon?
"Rather than giving sensitive white folks a reason to get hype about Kwanzaa, Harambe presented them with the chance to poke fun at an African word while also anthropomorphizing a gorilla, an animal that racists have long equated with black people as a means of calling them less evolved than people of other races."
Again, present examples or get out.
"To see the number of people that use “Harambe” as a slur against black people like Leslie Jones…"
No, they compared Leslie Jones to Harambe because she looks like a gorilla. That has more to do with physical appearance than race. Not to mention that Leslie Jones is a horrible person on social media and has made a number of racist tweets on Twitter.
"…or a Louisiana substitute teacher who posted a meme comparing Michelle Obama to Harambe that read “they shot the wrong gorilla…"
Finally, an example. Got anymore examples of what you claim is so epidemic?
"Similarly, resident assistants at the University of Massachusetts were compelled to explain in a letter to this year’s freshmen that writing Harambe memes on public whiteboards in their shared dorm spaces was an act of subtle, racially-driven hostility. “Harambe” is also the name of a specific floor on UMass’s campus that’s been set aside for black students looking to live within a black community in a predominantly white school.
“[Harambe] has a very positive connotation, but current social media has been misrepresenting it,” the RAs explained. “The floor has been in existence for many years, so any negative remarks regarding ‘Harambe’ will be seen as a direct attack on our campus’ African-American Community.”
Unsurprisingly, the e-mail was widely mocked."
It was widely mocked because it was stupid and yet another example of SJW inspired political correctness run rampant. Why are black students living in a segregated area anyway? I think you should be more concern with that in regards to racism than an internet meme.
"Whatever your feelings about Harambe, it’s clear that there’s no way to lightheartedly joke about him without implicitly enabling people to casually exploit his popularity in a racist way."
It's clear that there is a way, considering you only presented ONE example of the meme being used an a racist matter.
"It needs to stop. Enough with Harambe."
If you want to stop the meme, maybe you shouldn't write an article about it.
Basilius wrote:
Harambe was an outrage from people. A quick social scandal that really had no point at the end of the day. Harambe only became a meme after this scandal and became an ironic meme. They put Harambe on a pestle to mock the people who were so outraged about a gorilla being shot. I doubt most people really cared about a gorilla's death but it is a rule of the internet that the larger one group becomes the larger it's anti-group will grow. I doubt anyone had any semblance of racism about anything involving god damn Harambe.
If this gets spread around it will only encourage more Harambe memes.
Yeah the actual care about harambe was overtaken by memes.
I've literally never thought anything about race when making Harambe jokes. Just the unfortunate death of a gorilla that was blown out of proportion.
Some people might use it as a racist way, but don't tell me what I'm thinking.