a quick guide to antisemitic memes that you've likely unknowingly circulated

**content warning for possibly triggering imagery**

quick disclaimer before i start: memes that have antisemitic origins are for NO ONE to reclaim other than jewish people.

so first, why is it problematic to use antisemitic memes? they’re not antisemitic if i’m not using them with antisemitic intentions, right? wrong!

the memes are originally being used as dog whistles by antisemites and when you normalize the usage of them, it’s harder for jewish people to detect when they’re being used with harmful intent and effectively inflate the sense of community for nazis by spreading their imagery.

now, that we’ve covered our bases, onto the antisemitic memes! i’ll be covering each by first showing the origins of the memes and how they’re being manipulated.

nordic man
- nordic man originated in 2016 on 4chan as an ideal aryan man wojak
- often presented in comparison to a mediterranean/jewish man
- gained popularity as nordic gamer in ‘yes chad’ meme

nordic man with tradwife
- tradwife originated in 2019 on 4chan as a companion to the nordic man wojak
- used in posts arguing for traditional values
- gained popularity with ‘yes chad’ meme
- together recently went viral after ‘i’m literally just a _____’ meme format went viral

happy merchant
- do i need to explain the origins for you to know this is antisemitic?
- first posted on 4chan cut out of a racist + antisemitic cartoon ‘a world without…’
- still for some reason used by people who claim they aren’t antisemitic

pepe the frog
- first appeared innocently in 2005 w/o antisemitic connotations
- was appropriated by nazis on 4chan, 8chan, reddit replacing ‘feels good, man’ with ‘k*ll jews, man’ among other things
- important to examine in context since origin isn’t antisemitic

i’ll work on adding some more as i get more time!

also lol goyim can use the memes but a) don't say you're reclaiming them because that makes no sense and b) at least know the origins and ramifications of doing so first

muting this for self care but happy hanukkah and if you used these memes and feel bad about it, stream haim's new album as an apology. https://open.spotify.com/album/4qNGDMsRNqDQZPkTWyyeRF?si=9ZDiD5KpT0-oXPCPsqKuGw