Memes are fun to use. But, if you are not careful, memes can come back and bite you. I saw one meme that said, “The problem with memes? Complex issues are reduced by idiots.” That is correct all too often. Worse, many memes that attempt to comment on a current event suffer from invalid or illogical comparisons. They take one event and compare it to an unrelated event and say the second one proves (or disproves) the first. Often that type of meme is deliberately written so as to incite anger in an opponent and revilement of the opponent by those who agree with the meme. Lately, I have begun wondering how many of those memes are actually Russian-produced memes.
But, that is still not the worst challenge or danger when you use a meme. The problem is that every meme is a shorthand way of expressing an entire argument. Recently, a friend of a friend posted a meme that got him jumped on by more than one person. The friend of a friend argued back that people did not know his style of life, and that if they knew him, they would know that there is no way that the charges made against him could be true. The problem is that the meme he posted was a loaded meme. It was one that distilled a whole set of arguments and political stances down to a simple meme. By posting the meme, the friend of a friend placed himself on the side of those who voiced that type of argument. In doing so, he ended up being the recipient of a barrage.
We can argue that everyone should be evaluated individually. We can argue that he should have only been judged on the actual words that were part of the meme. But, that is not how it works with memes. Political memes are distillations, and anytime we use them, we should be aware that we are not quoting a few words. We are quoting entire positions. Some political memes are just unclear enough that the reader may not be certain whether the poster agrees with a moderate version of the political position or the more radical, and angry, version of the position. The assumption is usually that the poster agrees with the more radical, and angry, version of the position.
If you think about it, many memes fall into the same set of problems. For instance, many religious memes express a particular theological mindset. That mindset may not be one with which you agree. But, the words of the meme sound good, so you use it. All of a sudden you begin to get posts that ask why you believe in that particular theological position. You answer that you do not, you were just posting some nice words. Then, and only then, may you realize that the nice sounding words were actually a summary of a position with which you actually do not agree. But, the words sounded nice. This same issue is true of many types of memes.
Like everyone else, I like posting memes. And, I will post the occasional meme. I used to post more memes. But, more and more I am realizing that I need to be careful when I post a meme or share a meme. I need to check and double check them to ensure that I am not posting a position with which I truly do not agree. It may be more old-fashioned, but perhaps it is better if I post an actual statement or forward an actual article or write a longer post with which I agree and which I can wholeheartedly defend. But, that old-fashioned approach may prevent some unnecessary misunderstandings and prevent some unnecessary emotional upheaval.
So, maybe I should coin a meme myself. “Be old-fashioned, write a long post.” Or the sillier version, “Write a long post, defeat a Russian troll.” It may not fully make sense, but it is quotable.
Well said. Thank you for your thoughtful words. Very much needed in these times.
First off I had to look up memes. They represent to me the superficiality of the bulk of the content of the internet world.