Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character appropriated by the so-called alt-right (i.e. Neo-Nazis) is dead, according to his creator.
Cartoonist Matt Furie, who intended Pepe to be a symbol of stoners, said the alt-right’s use of his character had greatly upset him:
“It dawned on me that Pepe was channeling some evil shit. It just kind of melts my spirit a bit because a cartoon I had made becomes somebody’s symbol for hate. It’s pretty terrible.”
The situation grew so bizarre that the illegitimate American president once retweeted an image of himself as Pepe:
Pepe and three of his 20-something slacker pals first appeared in the “Boy’s Club” zine on Furie’s MySpace blog in 2005. Later, their adventures were published in a collection by Fantagraphics.
But during the 2016 race for the White House, Trump supporters took Pepe and used him along with vile musings about Muslims, African-Americans, and Jews. The Anti-Defamation League eventually declared Pepe the Frog a hate symbol, and a quick look at some of the disgusting memes created shows you why:
Despite Furie’s best intentions of letting Pepe rest in peace, a quick look around the internet shows that he may become more powerful in death than he ever was while still alive:
Why are news reports saying Pepe is dead? Obviously #FakeNews pic.twitter.com/iAU97iOfvz
— Mary Freedom (@MaryLuvsFreedom) May 7, 2017
Meanwhile, on Reddit, where the truly strange hang out, were messages such as this:
“You can’t kill an idea.”
Or perhaps you prefer this bit of honesty, albeit behind the security of a keyboard:
“I’m full fascist. I want strong borders, racial equality not racial equity, a separation of church and state, and unfettered capitalism. Totally full fascist.”
Then there’s this brand of utter lunacy:
“This is like saying punk rock is dead. You cannot kill off memes, it only makes them stronger, like Obi Wan.”
So we do indeed bid farewell to Pepe, and I for one won’t shed a single tear for him. Partially because he came to represent hate, but mostly because he’s a damn cartoon character. How pathetic is the alt-right that they needed a fucking cartoon to express their ignorance, racism, and fear of all things different? We knew that’s what they stood for all along.
Featured Image Via Twitter