These little hashtags pepper our lives. These are mine and how they represent me. At least that is how I wanted this book to be. It was to be a book of short articles using a hashtag as inspiration. However, it has grown and changed as I have.
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One of my favorite past times is engaging with friends (and strangers) on social media. With respect, I try to ask interesting questions to get people to think about why they believe what they do. If someone is saying factually incorrect information, it is important to correct them or help them discover truths. In America, our current political climate is very divisive. Navigating through hate and anger is a social media land mine.
That doesn't stop me from engaging.
A topic on our social minds in America is the government shutdown and Trumps "Wall." Then suddenly another meme appeared on my feed that broke my heart and brought flashback memories of hate I saw in 2002. The image of the burning twin towers reminds us of a sad and terrifying day in American history. The white block text said, "A Muslim sworn into the US Congress calling our countries sic president a mother*ucker," on the top; the bottom text reads, "Really America? Seriously are we that stupid"
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I had to explain that the actions of one group doesn't reflect the consensus of the larger group. Oof.
I live in a country where many people condone things that I do not. They are still Americans like me. However, their actions do not reflect mine even though we do share the label American. The person who posted this meme is a woman, like me. She is a veteran, like me. She is in animal rescue, like me. We are very similar people. But we still differ in extreme ways even though we share many of the labels. Her views are not mine. It's fascinating that in 2019 we still have to make these arguments.
I just wonder why people share Meme hate. What is the purpose?
The only answer I can come up with is at times individuals feel the need to shock people into rethinking their perspective. For example, let's discuss an inflammatory meme that I do actually use occasionally. This meme juxtaposes a photo from Auschwitz of starving humans with a photo of chickens in tiny cages. The text, a heartbreaking quote from survivor, Alex Hershaft saying, "I saw a lot of analogies between what the Nazis did to us and what we're doing to farm animals." This is the less disturbing one.
There is another meme out there with the message that has a pile of dead bodies that I can't use. The pile of dead pigs is just as horrifying to me as the pile of dead humans. The quote says, "The Holocaust NEVER Ended/It just changed species/ Is your body a mass graveyard?" It makes me want to vomit. But I can't say that it isn't effective. When I ask someone, "what is the difference?" They have to do the mental gymnastics to try to explain why breeding a sentient being for the sole purpose of an unnecessary slaughter is moral and justified.
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Shock Memes are different from Meme Hate. This skill must be done calculating and with a specific purpose to ensure that it isn't just spreading hate. It should magnify a social construct that needs to be addressed. I don't think hate can stop hate, but I do think incendiary words can spark thought. The purpose of the comparison to Nazi's get people to figure out why they are different from the Nazi Apologists out there. Most Americans would agree that you shouldn't own another person as your property. I take it a step further. I do not believe humans should own another sentient being as property or commodity.
I don't like the 911 comparison. Its basic message is two-fold. It infers that since 9-11 attacks were conducted by Muslims, that we shouldn't trust a government official who identifies as a Muslim. This is further demonstrated by her use of the term "motherfucker" towards our president which shows her hatred of America. Both of these statements are factually incorrect. I don't think that anyone's religious affiliation should have anything to do with whether or not they, as a person, should be trusted though any magical beliefs should be met with skepticism.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said, "We're going to go in and impeach the motherfucker..." referring to the incoming Democrats. Her use of said term was met with cheering and jeering from both sides of the political aisle. However, the liberal Congresswoman's words didn't come from a vacuum, but during the longest partial shutdown in American history. It was after the president said he was okay with shutting down the government "for months or years" over funding for a border wall something many Americans do not support. I don't find her words inconsistent with the feelings of many Americans and justifiable from her perspective.
This meme against Congresswoman Tlaib should be retired permanently. I don't think it serves a world-view that society should strive for a world of reducing harm and encouraging well-being. My advice to people before you share a Meme, consider how its perspective helps the world towards a better society for all people.
Sources:
Fandos, N. (2019, JAN). "Rashida Tlaib's Expletive-Laden Cry to Impeach Trump Upends Democrats' Talking Points" New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/us/politics/tlaib-impeach-trump.html
