Rush Limbaugh Cites Existence Of Cincinnati Zoo Gorilla As Definitive Proof Evolution Isn’t Real

The Cincinnati Zoo officials’ decision to shoot Harambe the gorilla after a four-year-old boy fell into his pen has sparked widespread discussion and debate regarding violence toward animals and whether or not the decision was necessary. Everyone has an opinion about this and most of them are bad. The worst of all, however, is known misogynist and conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh citing Harambe as counter-evidence to evolution in his own private little bubble cut out from the rest of the universe.

On Tuesday, Limbaugh discussed what went down at the Cincinnati Zoo first by arguing that PETA activists had “clearly not read Genesis,” because “there’s no way human beings are going to not be interested in animals.” Then, he somehow managed to reach hard enough to steer the topic to evolution: “A lot of people think that all of us used to be apes. Don’t doubt me on this. A lot of people think that all of us used to be gorillas,” Limbaugh said. Science – oh, the horror! “They’re looking for the missing link out there. The evolution crowd. They think we were originally apes.”

He continued: “If we were the original apes, then how come Harambe is still an ape? And how come he didn’t become one of us?”

In Limbaugh’s defense (yikes!), his question is one even some thoroughly educated people would probably struggle to answer, because you gotta admit it’s not one you hear everyday. Some clarification from Salon, if needed:

“Evolution does not claim humans evolved directly from chimpanzees, but that primates, both man and chimpanzee, share similar genetic heritage. Current evidence suggests the family tree split between 5 million and 7 million years ago.”

At any rate, this wasn’t the first incident in which Limbaugh flaunted his complete ignorance on the topic of evolution. He’s previously argued against the fossil record, and is on the record saying something pretty much identical to his Tuesday claims, back in 2004: “All I know is I’ve never been a chimpanzee, I don’t believe this garbage I ever was because we were chimpanzee, why are the chimpanzees still here?” He continued: “If we were baboons, you know, if we evolved from that, what happened to them? Why didn’t they evolve? How come they got stuck still being idiot gorillas and stuff and we got to be humans?”

I can only imagine that if Twitter were a thing back in 2004, it would have absolutely went off on these most probing existential questions posed by Limbaugh, and the tweets reacting to his statement would be pure gold. Alas, since it’s 2016, I don’t have to imagine the reactions to his latest comment on evolution. Here are some of the best ones:

True, there’s no harm in a quick laugh at this, but that religious fervor and fundamentalism are so capable of repressing information, intellectualism and objective scientific fact is pretty concerning. Limbaugh has previously claimed both creationism and evolution relate to the Bible, according to Salon, but his words show he’s completely out of touch with the most basic concepts of evolution that you would learn in any middle or high school biology class.

Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but they should at least have some knowledge of the information being offered by the opposing side. From his 2004 comments to his Tuesday gaffe, it’s clear Limbaugh doesn’t know the first thing about evolution, and despite his being an all-around douchebag, I can’t help but feel sorry for him. His fundamentalist ideals have rendered him so desperately out of touch with reality, and it’s just sad.