An enormous statue of Harambe appeared in front of Wall Street’s famous Charging Bull statue on Monday.
The seven-foot-tall bronze monument commemorating the deceased gorilla — who was shot dead by Cincinnati Zoo workers on May 28, 2016, after a three-year-old child fell into his exhibit — was reportedly erected by a social media company.
Someone has placed a massive gorilla and a lot of bananas in front of the Wall Street bull.
We live in wild times. pic.twitter.com/b7B4h1kUFV
— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) October 18, 2021
NBC explains:
The giant gorilla was placed in Bowling Green Park, directly across from the famous Charging Bull statue, which was surrounded by 10,000 bananas (that will later be donated to local food banks and community fridges) to make a point about wealth disparity.
The organizers, founders of Sapien.Network, an in-development social networking platform “dedicated to putting the needs and welfare of human beings first” said they put up the display to show that Wall Street has become “bananas” — wholly out of touch with the needs of everyday people.
“It’s not about rejecting capitalism or the current system. It’s about revolving them into the current future and letting them empower more groups of people,” Sapien.Network co-founder Robert Giometti told NBC. “That’s the whole point of this story.”
7-ft. Harambe statue erected in front of Wall Street's charging bull.
The in-development social media platform behind the statue says it "represents the millions of everyday people who struggle under a system that enriches wealthy elites and leaves the average person behind." pic.twitter.com/3VJBmaxDyK
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) October 18, 2021
PHOTOS: Statue of #Harambe the gorilla faces off with Wall Street's Charging Bull https://t.co/jl7wa0ACF2 pic.twitter.com/uXOIiC4e3Y
— WCBS Newsradio 880 (@wcbs880) October 18, 2021
“Harambe is a representation of something that lets us look at more than just ourselves. What are we aspiring to as people?” he continued. “It’s about connecting. A simple gesture of giving a banana builds community. As a society, we need to come together. We can’t keep fighting to come together.”
Since his controversial death, Harambe has become a cultural icon in the United States. Earlier this year, a photo of the primate was placed on auction as a non-fungible token (NFT).
The photo was snapped by Harambe’s official photographer, Jeff McCurry, who took thousands of pictures of Harambe.
“I considered Harambe a true friend,” McCurry said. “My many hours spent with him were always special and intimate. While I will never stop taking photos as long as I live, I know I’ll never find a better subject that means as much to me as Harambe.”
After Harambe’s unfortunate demise in 2016, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson was among the many public figures who paid homage: “I’m sure it was a difficult decision for everyone involved. I mean, why did they have to kill the gorilla? But then, really, who’s to say?”
Over the tumult of the past several months, it has become easy for Americans to become disillusioned with our political leaders. But the statue is a welcome reminder that our true leader — Harambe — will never be forgotten.