While researching for my Room
for Debate articles from the New York
Times, I stumbled across an article that made me laugh, until I realized
the seriousness of the discussion. The article was titled, “Can a Meme be a
Hate Symbol?” with a picture of someone holding a painting of Pepe the Frog.
When observing a meme, most are just cheesy jokes meant for a laugh due to
their incongruous assessments of real-life situations, but can they be used as
hate? I definitely believe that anything can become a symbol of hate, just as
something can become a symbol of love, but could a meme even be considered a
serious symbol due to its humorous origins? After reading the article, I think
it definitely can be twisted into something dark, but remains to represent
silliness as of now. In my opinion, the meme was not originally intended to
become a symbol of hate, and in turn should not be used as one. The hate spawns
from users, not the meme itself. However, I was curious about how other students
may see this issue, and whether or not you agree. Instead of the question Can a meme be a hate symbol? I wonder what you would say to Can a meme be taken seriously as we are
presented with this issue?
Hannah Rockwood
Yes, definitely. Any symbol or phrase that has a negative or hateful connotation can spread a bad message. This is especially true today because social media is so influential.
ReplyDeleteI agree that social media is a powerful conveyor of messages, and once something is associated with a bad cause, it becomes a symbol of hate. To clarify, when I ask if a meme can be taken seriously, I meant will everyone be able to understand the seriousness when what was once a symbol of silliness becomes something darker. For example, will everyone see it for what the meme has become, or will others disregard the fact and continue to use it as a joke? The seriousness of a situation regarding hate is not a laughing matter, and will even the young teens on the internet be able to understand that? That is what concerns me.
DeleteI believe that it is and can be used as hate because that's an easy way that people can make fun of other people. It can be very hurtful to some teens especially if they are more sensitive than others.
ReplyDelete