Rob Lowe gets kudos for using gorilla case to sum up 'society's problems in a nutshell'

Want more hot BPR News stories? Sign up for our morning blast HERE

During a weekend that should have been filled with tributes to fallen soldiers, headlines took a strange turn.

News and heart-pounding video of a young boy falling into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo spread like wildfire and raised unnecessary controversy.

The unfortunate shooting of Harambe, the gorilla who can be seen tossing and dragging around the 4-year-old, had some folks spending part of their weekend remarkably (and falsely) calling the killing a racial act.

Now that the identity of the boy who just so happens to be African American has been determined, a somewhat saner controversy has taken over on whether or not Harambe should have been shot to save the boy.

But then again, not everyone was rational.

Dem rep. Steve Cohen capitalized on the headlines and payed a musical tribute to Harambe in a Memorial Day tweet:

https://t.co/stBKUVbV2a via @youtube in memory of Harambe,the gorilla sadly killed because of parental neglect.Warren Zevon singer/writer

— Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) May 30, 2016

Cohen’s ill-timed tweet, was ripe with finger-pointing at the boy’s parents. While Cincinnati Zoo Director was quick to try and deflect blame away from what some see has the zoo’s insufficient barrier system.

#CincinnatiZoo director: “I’m not a big finger-pointer” https://t.co/4sNwjrOzVu https://t.co/LocacgAGqx

— CNN (@CNN) May 30, 2016

But that wasn’t going to cut it, and controversy quickly began to grow, with at least a few high-profile people weighing in:

RIP Harambe.
A magnificent gorilla dies because a zoo failed to make its barriers safe. https://t.co/E5682u7SsL pic.twitter.com/dCwNKLIKJ1

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 29, 2016

Between this guy and the mom, you have society’s problems in a nutshell. Everything is everyone else’s fault. https://t.co/1FvoNdQoEt

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) May 30, 2016

Lowe’s message resonated with many who agreed:

@RobLowe Thank you for saying what needed to be said! This killing didn’t have to happen.

— Jeff Capell (@JeffCapell) May 30, 2016

Amen, .@RobLowe; these days it seems like no one wants to pay for the consequences of their actions. @CNN

— Tom Kidd (@FabulousThomasJ) May 30, 2016

@RobLowe Thank you!! I live in Dayton and of course is a big story here. Taking responsibility seems to have gone the way of the Dodo…

— Casey Bretti (@Casey_Bretti) May 30, 2016

@RobLowe Ain’t this the truth!……….. pic.twitter.com/cHukKUTNbs

— pamela frew (@mollyheaton) May 30, 2016

Many folks though, weren’t ready to blame the parents and took a different view:

@didge85 @RobLowe @CNN the zoo is not at fault. There are barriers. You need to watch your kids. HE TOLD HER HE WANTED TO SWIM W/THE GORILLA

— Lizzie Quarry (@LizzieQ623) May 31, 2016

@amkay2012 @RobLowe Do you have kids? Your preschooler has never, ever slipped out of your sight in a store, ever?

— NoodleButt (@NoodleButt) May 30, 2016

While the incident at the zoo certainly makes a riveting story, what was also lost sight of was the meaning of Memorial Day. Former Army Ranger and “13 Hours” author, Kris Paronto said it best when he spoke to Fox News over the weekend.

It’s “those sacrifices that are given on a daily basis overseas” that allow Americans to enjoy Memorial Day with “a beer and have a barbecue,” Paronto said.

Lowe agrees with that sentiment, and on Sunday (a day before his gorilla tweet) ignited a firestorm by suggesting American’s honor our nation’s vets by watching “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.”

Hopefully, some took him up on that.

CORRECTION: The age of the boy was incorrectly reported in earlier posts. It has been confirmed that the child is 3 and not 4-years-old.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!