By Celebrating “firsts” has become a big part of our culture. We love celebrating the first Samoan-American doing this, or the first Latin-American doing that – and it’s a great thing that many of us do.
Bernie Sanders would be the first Jewish president if he wins the 2016 election, while Hillary Clinton would be the first female president if she does. While the country should be applauding the diversity of the current presidential candidates, many are instead taking it as a kind of joke.
No two candidates in the 2016 presidential campaign have been targeted because of their gender or religious identity like Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have online. In fact, they are the only two candidates that have been made into the butts of jokes of because of these matters.
Memes including one where Sanders’ face is photoshopped onto a Nazi soldiers’ body with the caption: “Just remember, Nazi’s were Socialists!” and a photograph of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky with the caption: “I chose other woman, you should too,” implicating one should choose anyone but Hillary, have been circulating the web continuously.
A meme, for those who may not be familiar with internet lingo, is usually a picture or video of someone or something with a caption, usually in big bold letters, typed directly across it. An example of a popular meme currently circulating the web is one featuring Kermit the Frog nonchalantly drinking a glass of tea – normally, the meme includes the caption, “But that’s none of my business.”
Memes have shaped our society’s opinions on certain topics so much that Facebook has actually been studying the spread and variation of memes throughout its social network since 2009. Researchers went as far as to compare memes to the evolution of human genes, according to Facebook Data Science’s study titled “The evolution of memes on Facebook.”
What these derogatory memes and social media posts regarding Bernie’s Jewish heritage and Hillary’s gender have done is highlight how double standards are still dangerous in today.
Moreso, internet users are getting a laugh out of Sanders not being a Christian – creating memes involving him with Hitler or Nazi Germany. None of the other candidates are being made an example of for following their Christian beliefs.
And these memes insulting Sanders’ Jewish heritage, are more than just cruel jokes. They are proof that anti-Semitic attitudes are increasing in the country.
In 2014, nearly 60 percent of religious-based crimes in America were committed against Jews and 54 percent of college students experienced anti-Semitism in the first six months of the 2013-2014 academic year, according to The Times of Israel.
Knowing this, is America truly ready for a Jewish president?
With the amount of raw information in the form of memes, articles and video that internet users are exposed to everyday, it’s not outside the realm of possibility for users to take what they see at face value, believing it instead of laughing.
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And these memes are affecting who the public votes for in the upcoming election. One meme featuring a photograph of Bernie during a speech with the caption, “The cost of Bernie’s free stuff” is followed by a list of Sanders’ promises – each promise with a price. At the bottom of the meme, the total cost comes to $18 trillion, making people believe that Sanders will put the country in an enormous amount of debt if we vote for him.
Another meme including a picture of Hillary features a quote beside her picture, “Look, the average Democratic voter is just plain stupid. They’re easy to manipulate. That’s the easy part.” Clinton has never said this, but in this context an internet user could easily believe she did.
Memes are changing people’s minds about certain things and the problem is many Internet users do not fact-check before believing a social media post.
The Internet is bringing up the Monica Lewinsky cheating scandal that plagued both Clintons in the 1990s. Memes with captions like, “If he chose another woman, voters should too” tied to a picture of Bill with Monica are currently circulating the web and receiving thousands of “likes” each day.
And while Donald Trump is being attacked left and right by Democrats and conservatives with even half a brain, Trump memes (or, should I say, Drumpf memes) are not necessarily targeting his gender, religious identity or any affair scandal he might have been in. Most Trump memes attack his hair or past business endeavors.
One Trump meme includes a rather embarrassing picture of him with the caption, “I filed for bankruptcy 4 times, can I please try my hand with America?”
That’s funny and all, but nobody seems to be bringing up the fact that Trump is said to have cheated on his wives in the past. Of course, Hillary’s case involved then-president Bill, but if we’re going to bring up sex scandals, bring up the men’s too – not just the one Hillary, a woman that didn’t even have an affair, was involved in.
While memes may not seem important, they actually are shaping popular culture and society with the information they provide. Many a time, the information is not backed up by any research or is completely false. However, the social media user may digest this raw information, believe it is fact and continue sharing it to the rest of the online world.
Memes are shared millions of times a day by millions of people. The double standards involving Bernie and Hillary only make the diversity of this presidential campaign look like a joke.
Don’t believe everything you read and be careful what opinionated messages change your mind – meme or not.
