When Memes Work
: an idea, behavior, style, or usagethat spreads from one person to another in a culture
: an amusing or interesting picture, videoetc., that is spread widelythrough the Internet
——–Webster’s
Memes are shorthand, often inaccurate or inappropriate, vehicles for communicating concepts and ideas by simplifying and condensing complex and controversial subject matter in an effort to make a point with material that is entertaining or amusing.
There are a number of reasons to be critical of memes. However, there are instances when the meme is an accurate representation of a political or social phenomenon that speaks volumes…
There are times when a meme can work for you. Here are a few memes that work for me:
As I said these are samples of memes that work for me…
They may not work for you and that’s fine with me. I’m prepared to argue the points made by these from my perspective insofar as the memes here represent my perspective…
My point here is that if a meme works for you, don’t be afraid to incorporate it into a post…If it resonates and expresses your perspective, why not?
There’s really no reason to reinvent the wheel each time you seek to articulate your point of view when it is shared and articulated by a meme that is artful, tasteful, amusing, entertaining, accurate, and truthful….
koshersalaami
10/31/2019 @ 2:00 pm
I’m a wheel reinventor myself. That way I say precisely what I want to say. Though I like the King quote and especially the Tom and Lorenzo quote. It also applies to some people who throw around Genocide and Holocaust. If you’re Jewish, Roma, Tutsi, Bosnian, or Armenian, you have a reference. If you’re Palestinian, you don’t.
Ron Powell
10/31/2019 @ 4:12 pm
Whether you choose to reinvent the wheel or not, there is always a need for a point of reference…
I tend to “reinvent the wheel” when I have something to add or have a different’take’ on a matter which isn’t expressed or communicated by a meme…
What can happen when I do that is, I can create a meme:
“Profiling is the weaponization of the stereotype.”
koshersalaami
11/01/2019 @ 7:59 am
Actually, good meme. I’d use that as a one sentence post. I know Alan doesn’t like them but really, that’s a good one. Whenever I came up with anything resembling a meme, that’s exactly what I did with it. Single sentence posts can generate discussions.
koshersalaami
11/01/2019 @ 8:01 am
I reinvent the wheel even if memes exist that say what I want because I don’t tend to be aware they exist. I once observed that trickle down was upside down and that money actually trickled up, only to find out that Will Rogers said that in the 1930’s. I made a series of observations about how economies work and eventually discovered that a real economist had gotten there first and his name was Keynes.
Art W. Stone
11/01/2019 @ 12:56 pm
I think it’s clear that the stipulated rules of the site do not inspire participation or discussion.
The problem with reinventing the wheel for its own sake is that it still will take a long time before it’s clear that you cannot cook a meal over it.
koshersalaami
11/01/2019 @ 3:21 pm
That may depend on whether we’re looking at stipulated rules or stipulated preferences of management. There certainly have been discussions on threads here.
I don’t reinvent the wheel for its own sake. I notice something, form an opinion (usually expressed), then find that the opinion has previously been expressed by someone else. Also, if I want to say something, I trust myself to say it.
Ron Powell
11/01/2019 @ 8:54 pm
I like the single sentence and the rhetorical question formats precisely because they tend to generate commentary that is relatively easy to follow…
The essay type posts can generate commentary that runs in multiple directions simultaneously and as a result the commentary can be difficult to follow even when the structure and protocols seemed to adhere to the rules of common discourse…
If people don’t make a point of identifying the person to or for whom a comment is addressed or intended, things can get messy and even out of hand…
Ron Powell
11/01/2019 @ 9:05 pm
One of the problems here is the fact that the comment streams are or become disjointed and lose chronological cohesiveness, as is the case with the comments on this post…
It is a chore to determine where the comments fall on a timeline of reaction and response…