Bridge-jumping gorilla ‘joke’ sparks concerns
AN online page urging people to jump off the Auckland Harbour Bridge has sparked concerns with a national suicide prevention group.
The event called ‘‘Pop a Manu off the Harbour Bridge for Harambe,’’ was made in memory of the slain silverback gorilla who was shot at Cincinnati Zoo.
The page shows thousands off people are interested in jumping off the 43m motorway bridge on September 11 in remembrance of the dead gorilla.
‘‘Manu’’ is Kiwi slang used to describe a bomb into water.
A disclaimer on the page said the event was made ‘‘as a tonguein-cheek joke.’’
‘‘Taking the p..s for Harambe. Don’t be a f.....t,’’ the description said. ‘‘If you want to take it seriously, you are doing so on your own accord and agree to not hold the creator of this Facebook event page responsible. Jumping off of a bridge would likely result in injury or death, so don’t do it.’’
A similar fake event made it across the ditch to the Sydney Harbour Bridge where it reached more than 18,000 people.
However, Lifeline Aotearoa said suicide is nothing to joke about with CEO Joe Demvir saying the Facebook post could also be a trigger for people who may have suicidal thoughts.
‘‘I don’t think suicide is a place we should be using tongue-incheck,’’ said Demvir.
‘‘There’s people who are laughing about it or making a joke but there are people who are vulnerable.
‘‘They could be people thinking about suicide... or people going through a grieving process from losing someone to suicide.’’
Demvir said another concern was the event resonated with a younger audience who were more at risk.
‘‘It’s even more concerning for young people to promote... younger people who are at a huge risk could be triggered easily.’’