The Creator of Pepe the Frog Is Voting for Hillary
32 replies, posted
[img]http://i.imgur.com/uES1eiR.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE] [B]2005, Matt Furie—then in his early 20s—created a comic book called Boys Club in which a cartoon frog named Pepe acted out the dumb, laid-back stoner culture of post-college bros[/B]. Pepe, along with a wolf, a dancing bear, and a sarcastic dog, would play harmless pranks on one another. Furie, who was living in San Francisco at the time after attending Ohio Wesleyan University, would print the comic out at Kinkos and mostly distribute it to his small group of friends.
[B]Today, the Anti-Defamation League officially recognized Furie's cartoon frog as a hate symbol[/B], one that has been hijacked by the alt-right and Internet trolls, championing white nationalism and a cartoon-frog-looking hero, Donald Trump.
It's thrown Furie into what he calls an idiotic joke, where his innocent frog is now listed alongside the swastika and the burning cross and other "symbols most frequently used by a variety of white supremacist groups and movements," the ADL explains.
But that is not in any way what Furie—a professional artist who makes comic and children's books—originally intended.
[B]
Were you involved in that initial online conversation on 4chan and Reddit where Pepe first became popular?[/B]
[I]Oh dude, not at all. I don't really spend time on the Internet. I'll maybe just check my email or go on Facebook or something. I had nothing to do with the whole meme appropriation of Pepe. I just looked at it with amusement. It started off on 4chan as an inside joke, then it became more mainstream and the memes were being shared by Katy Perry or whomever. Then the 4chan guys started flooding the Internet with weird Pepe memes to kind of reclaim him as their own. And this is just what I've gleamed from the Internet. I had nothing to do with this at all.
[/I]
[B]What was your reaction to the news today that the Anti-Defamation League has listed it as a hate symbol?[/B]
[I]I think it's unfortunate. It's not going to do anything other than give this fringe racist group more attention than they need. I don't think you can control these manifestations of a cartoon frog online. The whole thing just seems like a cosmic joke from my perspective. I'm kind of just watching it all unravel. I'm trying not to take it too seriously, because once this election is over I'm hoping it will all be water under the bridge. Then it will be onto the next thing.[/I]
[B]So, it seems pretty obvious from our conversation, but are you a Trump or Hillary supporter?[/B]
[I]I'm voting for Hillary for sure. I was a big fan of Bernie, but that fizzled out, so I'm all Hillary 2016.[/I][/QUOTE]
[URL="http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a49057/pepe-frog-creator-voting-hillary/"]Source[/URL]
[QUOTE]I'm voting for Hillary for sure. I was a big fan of Bernie, but that fizzled out, so I'm all Hillary 2016.[/QUOTE]
Makes sense.
[quote]
[b]What was your reaction to the news today that the Anti-Defamation League has listed it as a hate symbol?[/b]
I think it's unfortunate. It's not going to do anything other than give this fringe racist group more attention than they need. I don't think you can control these manifestations of a cartoon frog online. The whole thing just seems like a cosmic joke from my perspective. I'm kind of just watching it all unravel. I'm trying not to take it too seriously, because once this election is over I'm hoping it will all be water under the bridge. Then it will be onto the next thing.
[/quote]
Sounds like a reasonable guy.
It's almost as if Pepe is just a normal character from a comic drawing made by some normal guy.
I didn't really know anything about Pepe's true origins until now. I wonder how a small comic he shared with some friends ended up being an in-joke on a website in the first place.
[QUOTE=Hanso;51127664]I didn't really know anything about Pepe's true origins until now. I wonder how a small comic he shared with some friends ended up being an in-joke on a website in the first place.[/QUOTE]
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7zgUTqX35Xw/V-1R9oxl89I/AAAAAAAAPcQ/-93Z5LMk7DM/s0/2016-09-30_03-40-02.png[/img]
Pepe's face in the bottom right became a reaction image, different variants got made and used, then he sorta just started being used as a standalone character
OG pepe is the best anyway
[img]http://2new2.fjcdn.com/comments/5939682+_4ee7a9526c2c94c6cc586ee6563cee28.jpg[/img]
How ironic the creator of the mascot for the alt-right lives in fucking San Francisco of all places.
You mean it's not a white supremacist symbol? Its almost as if whoever pulled that out of their ass is fucking retarded. Almost
[QUOTE=Kylel999;51128569]You mean it's not a white supremacist symbol? Its almost as if whoever pulled that out of their ass is fucking retarded. Almost[/QUOTE]
But it's not even declared to be a white supremacist symbol, it was actually declared it can be used as white supremacist symbol in a certain context.
Matt Furie seems like a really cool guy. Its so strange that this crude cartoon frog that pisses with his pants down has had such a turbulent history of going from a happy-go-lucky stoner, to being existentially depressed, to being a smug shithead, to being an alt-right hate symbol. As a cartoon frog he's had a more eventful life than some humans
[QUOTE=CroGamer002;51128613]But it's not even declared to be a white supremacist symbol, it was actually declared it can be used as white supremacist symbol in a certain context.[/QUOTE]
Pepe never was, is not, and never will be a white supremacist symbol, nor it can be "used" as a white supremacist symbol.
It's just something /pol/ likes.
[QUOTE=CroGamer002;51128613]But it's not even declared to be a white supremacist symbol, it was actually declared it can be used as white supremacist symbol in a certain context.[/QUOTE]
Its just a fuckin reaction image. Not a 'symbol' of anything. If you go on 4chan you'll see a pepe or 10 in every thread on /v/, /b/, whatever you go to. Theres pepe versions of anything and everything. The media is just stupid and wants to cling to anything.
I'm just amused by all the variations Pepe has gone through by now, I don't think anyone could have predicted he would become a "symbol" of the alt-right. Not something I can bring myself to take seriously though.
[QUOTE=Qwerty Bastard;51129219]I'm just amused by all the variations Pepe has gone through by now, I don't think anyone could have predicted he would become a "symbol" of the alt-right. Not something I can bring myself to take seriously though.[/QUOTE]
I would have taken it rather as a 4chan 'symbol' rather than one for the alt-right, but the media loves latching onto shit like this.
[QUOTE=kaze4159;51127686][img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7zgUTqX35Xw/V-1R9oxl89I/AAAAAAAAPcQ/-93Z5LMk7DM/s0/2016-09-30_03-40-02.png[/img]
Pepe's face in the bottom right became a reaction image, different variants got made and used, then he sorta just started being used as a standalone character[/QUOTE]it's odd how the original pepe is now one of the rarest pepes of them all
cant believe the alt right got memecucked
it must suck to have something you created to appropriated in such a manner.
[QUOTE=Shadaez;51130006]cant believe the alt right got memecucked[/QUOTE]
Much like Pepe being a racist symbol, the alt right is a fabrication of the Clinton campaign.
[QUOTE=Annoyed Grunt;51128758]Pepe never was, is not, and never will be a white supremacist symbol, nor it can be "used" as a white supremacist symbol.
It's just something /pol/ likes.[/QUOTE]
Symbolism depends on context. Anything can be a symbol of anything given the right context. To assume a symbol can never be one thing is just as incorrect as Anti-Defa's assumption that a symbol always means one thing.
[QUOTE=Ridge;51130103]Much like Pepe being a racist symbol, the alt right is a fabrication of the Clinton campaign.[/QUOTE]
Alex jones was created by Hilary Clinton? God that's a fucking good one
[QUOTE=Ridge;51130103]Much like Pepe being a racist symbol, the alt right is a fabrication of the Clinton campaign.[/QUOTE]
people have been talking about the "alt right" long before the clinton campaign addressed it
[QUOTE=Ridge;51130103]Much like Pepe being a racist symbol, the alt right is a fabrication of the Clinton campaign.[/QUOTE]
[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt-right[/url]
this doesn't look like something fabricated by the clinton campaign
[QUOTE=Ridge;51130103]Much like Pepe being a racist symbol, the alt right is a fabrication of the Clinton campaign.[/QUOTE]
They call [I]themselves[/I] the Alt-Right because it's a mild name that has no overtly racist connotations. But you've never shown much respect for facts and truth in the past, so there's no reason for you to start now. Sometimes I wonder if you're shitposting deliberately.
[QUOTE=Ridge;51130103]Much like Pepe being a racist symbol, the alt right is a fabrication of the Clinton campaign.[/QUOTE]
There are conservatives who self identify as alt right.
Are they Clinton plants?
[sp]is it right to describe alt right as a branch of conservatives? seems like a disservice to conservatives[/sp]
[QUOTE=Ridge;51130103]Much like Pepe being a racist symbol, the alt right is a fabrication of the Clinton campaign.[/QUOTE]
have you been on the internet for the past 2 years
[QUOTE=Ridge;51130103]Much like Pepe being a racist symbol, the alt right is a fabrication of the Clinton campaign.[/QUOTE]
Just like climate change is a fabrication by the Chinese to hurt America, right? I mean, after all, if Trump said it, according to you it must be true right?
Your avatar has never been more suitable.
[QUOTE=Shadaez;51130006]cant believe the alt right got memecucked[/QUOTE]
I can't believe this is a sentence that actually makes sense these days.
[QUOTE=CroGamer002;51128613]But it's not even declared to be a white supremacist symbol, it was actually declared it can be used as white supremacist symbol in a certain context.[/QUOTE]
Well yeah when you're tip-toeing on words like that, I can use this breakfast sandwich I'm eating as a white supremacist symbol in certain context
