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Ignorant, Calculated, or Just Weird?
Hillary Clinton’s website has published an “explainer” about Pepe the Frog, an omnipresent character in the meme-verse. Despite being used in every possible way for years — many highly unsavory, this being the Age of the Internet — the Clinton machine explains that poor Pepe is “a symbol associated with white supremacy.” But how?
Pepe is a cartoon frog who began his internet life as an innocent meme enjoyed by teenagers and pop stars alike. But in recent months, Pepe’s been almost entirely co-opted by the white supremacists who call themselves the “alt-right.” They’ve decided to take back Pepe by adding swastikas and other symbols of anti-semitism and white supremacy.
Sounds legit, if you ignore the “almost entirely” and the equivalence of “white supremacists” and “the Alt-Right.” But what about the cooption? The source is described as “a prominent white-supremacist” via the Daily Beast. Although it turns out that rather than “prominent,” the source is better described as “anonymous.” The name? Maybe it’s @JaredTSwift or, perhaps, @PaulTown_, both of whom are referenced elsewhere in the piece. Or perhaps not.
It is, of course, easy to find offensive Pepe memes. But to ask people to think that every Pepe reference is always and necessarily an invocation or approval of white supremacy is an idea so ridiculous that only a Democrat or a journalist (but I repeat myself) could believe it.
Published in General
I have four sons in their late teens/early 20’s. I’m sure I’ve been exposed to Pepe as much as the ordinary Hillary flack in Brooklyn headquarters. For at least 95% of Pepe’s “fans” on Reddit or Imgur, he is a transgressive fellow that usually engages in sophomoric sexual stunts or put-downs. I’ve heard his transgressive behavior started in other venues mocking affirmative action and the like, then was turned to even worse “dank memes” by the alt-right. If this was 1953 Hillary’s dank meme would go like this: Congressman X supports unemployment insurance, the Communist Party supports unemployment insurance! Surely this proves Congressman X is a pinko, or at least a fellow traveler.
I see now why a lot of you people don’t use your real names. I’ve been talking about the Alt Right and the threat they hold to the conservative movement since I got here.
No that isn’t what the alt right means or meant. The Alt-Right started on white nationalist message boards, and neo-Nazi pages. It’s only been more normalized this cycle, mostly be people seeking to use them to gain political power. Mostly from the Pat Buchanan crowd, along with Milo who seems to think the klan hood, and crooked cross are just “anti-PC” “Free speech” fighting against “the system.”
Again, wrong. This is not an invention of the Clintons, the alt right properly understood is not just a bunch of “disgruntled” people who don’t feel apart of the GOP, they are a group of racist, fascist, and white nationalist.
No, what I think is alarming is how people seem to equate a fringe group on some out of the way web sites that create and post memes of a green frog saying or doing unkind things with a group of people that marched lock step in streets, night of long nights, etc. If it was not for some people going to look for this kooks and writing about them almost nobody would know they exist. As for David Duke, he is a Democrat bogeyman that is dusted off every 4 years so the Democrats can scare people with him. If you do not like the Alt-Right then do not look for them, do not answer them, block them on your twitter account, but for god sake stop promoting them in the media.
BTW-what is your solution to the AltRight? You want to hunt them down and kill them? Jail them?
No. It’s different this year. White supremecists didn’t come out from under their rocks to support McCain or Mittens. Trump draws these people out.
I don’t care if the candidate draws these people out. I do care if his campaign is routinely going to this fringe for its messages, and/or playing footsie with them. Donald Trump Jr., a paid employee of the campaign, took a message from a white nationalist and sent it out.
I’ve pointed this out multiple times, but no one has addressed it over 66 comments.
We’re criticizing the Republican candidate for allowing his campaign surrogates to retweet them approvingly. I don’t know how we jumped from “Trump shouldn’t repeat what these people say or produce” to state incarceration.
My objection is it being on the main feed. The use of memes and troll material is the exact opposite of what Ricochet is. Frankly, I starting to get tired some members that seem to only posts you tube videos and meme pictures in the comments. Figures, charts, etc. are useful in discussions, but I find the posting of meme material as distracting and detracting to the overall conversation.
I am not sure they came out as much as was found on some isolated web sites and displayed to be used as bogeymen.
No, these people have come out in droves from under their rocks. This isn’t the normal stuff. Not only does Trump draw them out into the open, but he plays footsie with them.
The John Birch treatment. As both Jonah Goldberg and Ben Shapiro have argued for. For those who don’t know, WFB did not order a “hit” on Robert Welch Jr, he identified him, admitted he was dangerous to the conservative movement and honest anticommunism, spoke out to why Welch/JBS was wrong, he pushed big names in the conservative movement such as Reagan to follow suit, and in the end made a clear distinction was made between real conservatism and a group of crackpot known-nothings.
Unlike say Donald Trump Jr who plays footsie with these monsters, or some other right wing commentators who are attempting to moderate them by proxy. Milo comes to mind, as does Steve “I’ve turned Brietbart into the home of the Alt Right” Bannon.
Yeah. I didn’t get a chance to say this, but the correct response is ostricization. Those people need to be exiled and made to know that they are unwelcome inside the walls with the decent people.
I can’t believe it’s 2016 and we have to once against cast out the white nationalists from civilized society, but that is what Donald Trump has wrought.
Wow.
I just realized that the Trump people are proudly tweeting out that The Deplorables meme. I thought the Clinton people had created it.
(And the slow horse finally crosses the finish line.)
Ricochet is what Ricochet members post and up vote.
I think it is hilarious. They know that Hillary hates them, they know the Democrats hate them, they know the GOP hates them, they know the conservatives hate them and they can care less. They are embracing the hate and laughingly tossing it back in their face. Funny stuff.
In this case, the post was promoted by an editor.
Flag it anyway. You have your rights.
What evidence is there that this message is from a white nationalist?
I have seen certain posters confidently assert that Pepe is now exclusively the domain of white nationalists and/or white supremacists and/or Nazis. This is contrary to my experience, and contrary to some evidence posted here. I have yet to see any evidence, or even a convincing narrative, that this is, in fact, the case.
Please believe me, I am open to persuasion. But repeated assertions won’t do it.
I would claim that they are not being used, but mentioned. This is an important distinction.
(My objection to the main feed is the huge FAIL banner at the top showing how few people are willing to join.)
Very weird thread. I’ve never heard of this cartoon frog before, and yet it causes so much angst. Makes me glad I never joined twitter.
So for those upset by the frog, where does it sit in comparison to say: the confederate flag? The swastika? The Isis flag? The sickle and hammer?
You’ve been here not quite seven months, after the alt-right started to be a “thing.” We’ve been talking about it on Ricochet (off and on, mostly off) for longer than that. And again, being a member of Ricochet, you are a political junkie, so you would have heard of it (and apparently it’s your hobby-horse).
But for the general public? Hillary popularized it. Hillary is defining it, unfortunately.
And as for “you people”, I’ve been here on Ricochet for almost six years now, never changing this user-name, which I’ve been using all over the internets since at least 2003.
So . . . it appears that the entire thing was just Trump supporters trolling gullible “journalists.”
Here’s my reaction when people claim they were just trolling [NSFW language]