Recently, an independent civil/human rights agency known as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) updated its list of acknowledged hate symbols. The most recent addition? Pepe the Frog, a green cartoon frog with red lips that was originally created in 2005, and over the past decade has become popular on the Internet as a “meme.”
The addition of Pepe came as a surprise — to some a rather humorous one; it seemed ridiculous to place an Internet image with no historical significance or institutional association on the same list as the swastika and burning cross. Ever eager to have students weigh-in, we asked what people thought of Pepe as a symbol of hate.
1 Comment
Hello,
As an alumni of NCC, I am very concerned to see the Chronicle sharing this video. Why an NCC student would spend time making fun of a Jewish NGO’s efforts to raise awareness about online anti-Semitism is beyond me. For the Chronicle to share it without pointing to the ADL’s original information is very disappointing.
Here’s the info from the ADL website about why they have highlighted this issue: “However, because so many Pepe the Frog memes are not bigoted in nature, it is important to examine use of the meme only in context. The mere fact of posting a Pepe meme does not mean that someone is racist or white supremacist. However, if the meme itself is racist or anti-Semitic in nature, or if it appears in a context containing bigoted or offensive language or symbols, then it may have been used for hateful purposes.”
http://www.adl.org/combating-hate/hate-on-display/c/pepe-the-frog.html
Where the video suggests the Jewish NGO is being “ridiculous”, a quick look at their website shows it to be anything but.
Hywel, NCC Alumni ’12