Friday, May 19, 2017

When Bad Politics Kill a Cartoon Character Frog



Cartoon Creator killed his Pepe the Frog, who was hijacked by the Alt-Right
Source: Huff Post/CNN

Pepe the Frog is dead. Cartoonist Matt Furie made it official by drawing Pepe in an open casket. The funeral parlor scene was part of a single-page strip he created for Fantagraphics’ “World’s Greatest Comics” to mark Free Comic Book Day on May 6.

WHAT HAPPENED? 
  Furie turned on his creation after the alt-right fringe began using the frog as a kind of mascot. But the little frog’s life took a creepy turn when he was repeatedly hijacked for hate messages, particularly during the 2016 presidential election. President Donald Trump even retweeted an image of himself as Pepe (after ALT-Right people changed Pepe into someone who hates Jews, African-Americans, gays, Muslims and non-christians. Despicable! - That says a LOT about Trump.

Things got so bad that Pepe was officially classified as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League.


New York, NY, September 27, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today identified “Pepe the Frog,” a cartoon character used by haters on social media to suggest racist, anti-Semitic or other bigoted notions, as a hate symbol. Images of the frog, variously portrayed with a Hitler-like moustache, wearing a yarmulke or a Klan hood, have proliferated in recent weeks in hateful messages aimed at Jewish and other users on Twitter.
“Once again, racists and haters have taken a popular Internet meme and twisted it for their own purposes of spreading bigotry and harassing users,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “These anti-Semites have no shame. They are abusing the image of a cartoon character, one that might at first seem appealing, to harass and spread hatred on social media.”




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I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob

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