“Danmmnnn Daniel! Back at it again with the white vans!” I’m sure over the past week or so you’ve heard someone say this on more than one occasion. It all started with some kid filming his friend Daniel wearing so-called “stylish” outfits, most of them including him wearing white Vans.
The boy recording kept screaming, “Damnnnnn Daniel!” a total of nine different times in just a 30-second video. The video is a mirage of a series of different Snapchats that the boy filming had taken of his friends over a number of days.
There have been countless memes, remakes, and even now songs made as a result of this silly video. The saying has gone completely viral. Everyone is talking about it from young children to young adults.
When asked about their opinion on the video, some SDSU students had some interesting things to say.
Freshman Alyssa Miranda said, "I think it's so funny but why is it so funny? There's no logical reason as to why it's funny but it just is haha." Most people tend to think it is a dumb video, yet they still watch it and laugh.
Rafael Jerez Arjona, another freshman at SDSU said, "I think it's funny and shows how someone can gain fame instantly overnight." It's so true. This video received thousands of retweets in less than 24 hours and now everybody knows who Daniel is.
It has gotten so out of control that in fact, on Feb. 20, the star of the video, Daniel Lara, was hospitalized after being beaten and robbed for his white Vans. Three men ambushed him outside of his home and aggressively beat him and then took his white Vans.
But wait, there's more. These men then went on to try to sell Daniel’s famous white Vans on eBay for a starting bid of $3,000! That's ridiculous! Poor Daniel is currently in the hospital being treated for his injuries. The fact that something so simple and harmless can turn into someone’s life being put in danger just show’s how crazy social media and the internet can make people.
Now let’s talk about Daniel’s friend who recorded the video. Apparently, because of the video, this youth was pranked pretty badly. Police received a phone call that the teen who had originally posted the “Damn Daniel” video had shot his mom with an AK-47. In response, the police showed up at the innocent teen’s house, just to find out that the whole thing was a fake set up. Someone went out of their way to take the police department’s attention off of actual crimes in the city just to prank some youth who made a stupid video on the internet.
The whole aftermath of the “Damn Daniel” video just goes to show the power of the Internet nowadays. It’s crazy how just one stupid, 30-second video clip can change someone’s life forever. But, despite the negative results of this video, it is still considered one of the most viral Twitter videos of all time.
It was so popular that even Snapchat got a hold of it and created their own “Damn Daniel” filters for people to use and post to the “Damn Daniel” Snapchat story.
So remember, next time you see someone wearing white Vans, remember to yell, “Damnnnnn Daniel!”, and I’m sure you’ll get a laugh from them.
