I wrote a piece a while back on this topic, but my take was that Memes could actually save the country.
How so? Because young people are using them to ruthlessly Mock terrible ideas and they are quite good at it. Is this the opposite approach from Jesus? I'm far from any expert on Christianity but it seems to be a yes and no answer. He did at times mock bad ideas but then he went further and gave you the right way to look at things.
Our modern meme makers, many of the young ones anyway, have their fingers on basic ideas and use meme's to mock those who lack basic knowledge. And do people like to be mocked, no but it is a necessary part of growing up. Yes, it is. If you are not mocked for the stupid things you believe, then you will continue to believe them.
Saul Alinsky's rules not mine.
RULE 5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.
Would we be better off without memes being used as weapons? Probably, but I know that the far left will never stop using them and that they work. If young conservatives and libertarians don't use this weapon what chance do they stand? Meme's won't lead us to enlightenment, but they might help stop the proliferation of truly horrid ideas. (an example would be the trans stuff, which gets mocked mercilessly and in my opinion, that mocking has been a good thing.)
I see your Saul Alinsky and raise you H.L. Mencken: "One horse-laugh is worth 10,000 syllogisms. It is not only more effective; it is also vastly more intelligent." 😇
Agreed that learning to recognize foolishness and nonsense, and learning to respond with humor instead of complacency or compliance, are good skills to develop. Cheers to the young (and old and middle-aged) who do this!
As you noted, evil forces will never stop using simplistic cultural replicators, because that's what evil does! That's Girard's point, and I think it's a good one. I've seen the online memes and the offline mimetic/meme culture of "young conservatives and libertarians," and it's mostly trash. I want little to do with them or their progressive rivals. I've seen way too many garbage takes by people who are supposedly on "my side"; it's another reason why I don't have a side: https://goodneighborbadcitizen.substack.com/p/whose-side-are-you-on
Great insights as always, my friend.
Thank you! I hoped this article would be more than a long meme 😅
I wrote a piece a while back on this topic, but my take was that Memes could actually save the country.
How so? Because young people are using them to ruthlessly Mock terrible ideas and they are quite good at it. Is this the opposite approach from Jesus? I'm far from any expert on Christianity but it seems to be a yes and no answer. He did at times mock bad ideas but then he went further and gave you the right way to look at things.
Our modern meme makers, many of the young ones anyway, have their fingers on basic ideas and use meme's to mock those who lack basic knowledge. And do people like to be mocked, no but it is a necessary part of growing up. Yes, it is. If you are not mocked for the stupid things you believe, then you will continue to believe them.
Saul Alinsky's rules not mine.
RULE 5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.
Would we be better off without memes being used as weapons? Probably, but I know that the far left will never stop using them and that they work. If young conservatives and libertarians don't use this weapon what chance do they stand? Meme's won't lead us to enlightenment, but they might help stop the proliferation of truly horrid ideas. (an example would be the trans stuff, which gets mocked mercilessly and in my opinion, that mocking has been a good thing.)
I see your Saul Alinsky and raise you H.L. Mencken: "One horse-laugh is worth 10,000 syllogisms. It is not only more effective; it is also vastly more intelligent." 😇
Agreed that learning to recognize foolishness and nonsense, and learning to respond with humor instead of complacency or compliance, are good skills to develop. Cheers to the young (and old and middle-aged) who do this!
As you noted, evil forces will never stop using simplistic cultural replicators, because that's what evil does! That's Girard's point, and I think it's a good one. I've seen the online memes and the offline mimetic/meme culture of "young conservatives and libertarians," and it's mostly trash. I want little to do with them or their progressive rivals. I've seen way too many garbage takes by people who are supposedly on "my side"; it's another reason why I don't have a side: https://goodneighborbadcitizen.substack.com/p/whose-side-are-you-on