Recently, the Anti-Defamation League, aka ADL, added the beloved Pepe the Frog meme to its list of hateful symbols. This clearly doesn’t make sense when there are so many other memes out there that are so much more hateful than poor Pepe. The following are five memes that should actually be considered by the ADL rather than the harmless Pepe.
1. Anti-Muslim Memes
While memes are usually a form of entertainment, they can become quite hateful when made with ignorance. It is not okay to amuse yourself by targeting a religion and the over one billion people who follow it. Humor like this further perpetuates falsified beliefs focused on by the media to create propaganda.
2. Memes that Target Low-Income Families
Judging people is easy, empathizing with them is not. Nowadays, people are so quick to judge others and jump to conclusions without understanding their predicament. People who use government funds are often scrutinized for owning branded accessories or having a nice car without realizing that it might be a present, or the only thing of value they have to maintain a good impression at their work place. If I had to choose which one is more hateful between this and Pepe, I would definitely pick this one.
3. Memes that Target the Disabled
Memes that make fun of the elderly or disabled are disgusting. This meme is often used when discussing “’Murica” and its unhealthy habits; however, this does not give anyone the right to make fun of the person in this meme. Most likely, this picture was taken without the consent of the subject since the owner of this picture was more interested in capturing this rather than helping the man. If Pepe’s meme is hateful, then this one is blasphemous.
4. Fat-shaming Memes
Again, I don’t understand why people need to attack others to amuse themselves when there are a million other things to find humor in. Memes that target people’s weight are hateful to say the least, especially when they are pictures of people who did not intend for their picture to be out in the public. Bullying of this sort is hurtful and can lead to dire consequences.
5. Memes that Undermine Racial Problems
Memes like these are usually made by people who have never been discriminated against because of the color of their skin. They fail to understand how hard it is for a person of color to not be afraid today considering the amount of names that have become hashtags recently. These memes make it as if African Americans purposely make the issue about race without any particular reason. I do not see how Pepe can be more hateful than this.
