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Do you consider Pepe the frog to be hate speech? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by unrealMinotaur@sh.itjust.works to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 11 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Some right wing hate groups have adopted the character as part of their tribal language. For some this was enough to tarnish the character in its entirety via guilt by association. Beyond simply using the common meme format within their communities, however, it has been redrawn many times with aged racist stereotypes (such as overly exaggerated lips or noses)--in a sense there are explicitly bigoted "rare Pepes."

All in all the original meme is not hate speech, and many of its uses and references across diverse communities are not intrinsically hateful, but in hate filled communities it is used extensively and absolutely has racist caricatures associated with it. It's a dog whistle.

[–] ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 10 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I was never part of those groups (or even aware of them, so thanks for the info!) and I won't let them "ruin" what I know for a fact started as a simple meme/visual representation of how one feels. In my case, it's just a nostalgic reminder of my depressed NEET days, when at least I could share a laugh with others in my situation thanks to this silly little frog. Racist dummies will be dummies, I guess. 🤷