Recently, posters have been posted in the halls of our school of Harambe’s image surrounded by our cell phones, which he crushed. Don’t make me mad or sad. Please turn off your cell phone… and enjoy the company of all the amazing people in this building, the poster reads. The question is, does this poster unfairly exploit Harambe by showing him as a violent creature? Have we had enough time to mourn his loss?

Some say that Harambe crushed the phones because he was feeling ignored—he was hurt so he crushed our phones. But I feel that Harambe is being unfairly exploited. He is being shown as a violent gorilla, but the truth is he is just a gentle giant. A VERY GENTLE GIANT. It is not his fault that a child was let loose and jumped into his enclosure. Harambe is peaceful and did not deserve to be killed. Therefore, he should be mourned positively and be shown full respect. Harambe loved us, and Harambe would not get so angry over phone usage.

Also, the poster shows Harambe as a threat. When it states, don’ t make me mad or sad, it is trying to threaten kids with Harambe, again showing that he is violent. Harambe would not threaten kids, only scope them out like he was said to have done at the zoo. But we still have the original question. What do you think?