politics

If you've been at all conscious for literally any part of 2020, you're probably aware that everything has pretty much gone to shit. Between the pandemic, politics, and the general lack of humanity, things have been pretty damn bleak. But in case you need a little more evidence, these cringey and arguably disheartening pictures will definitely help solidify the sad state of the world. Hopefully 2021 will be better.

Rumors of Antifa being behind the January 6th storming of the capitol began almost as quickly as the Pro-Trump rally turned into an insurrection. Many far right conservatives and MAGA gangs seemed to immediately pass the blame to the anti-fascist group - much as they claimed Antifa was behind the BLM protests. Even though the FBI was quick to debunk the rumors, it seems that many followers of right-leaning mainstream media are still eager to deflect blame and weave more conspiratorial drama. 

While some of these believers will continue to swim in their seas of confirmation bias, others are apparently grapping with family members who won't stand for the BS. This viral video, in which a kid puts their mom on blast for her insistence that MAGA did no wrong, is a pretty great example of the latter. While it doesn't seem like they've changed their mom's mind, it's pretty entertaining to see mom struggle to explain something that's completely false. The reactions ain't bad either. 

Andrew Yang has taken to the streets of NYC since the announcement of his 2021 mayoral campaign. His first stop was a spacious, pristine, well-lit convenience store that he featured in a video about supporting local bodegas. Anyone who lives in NYC knows that bodega discourse is a contentious subject for New Yorkers, and so it is unsurprising that Yang's message was completely eclipsed by the fact that he was not, in fact, in a bodega. 

The bodega warriors of Twitter wasted no time roasting Yang for the faux pas. Many tweeted photos of Whole Foods and CVS with the caption, 'on my way to my local bodega!' Sorry Yang, but no one wins in the bodega wars. We've collected some of the funniest reactions to Yang's viral Twitter video. 

Sure, Twitter has its drawback. Painfully bad takes, constant political debates, and weird K-Pop in-jokes seem to inundate our feeds. It can be hard to sift through the madness and enjoy the humorous commentary and comedy writing that we actually want to see. In the spirit of making everyone's lives easier, we've taken the funny stuff (both old and new) and put it all in one convenient place. So you don't have to see some all caps tweet about how masks don't work or another opinion about the storming of the Capitol.

"Give me your tired, your humor-deprived, your huddled meme-hungry masses yearning to laugh free, the wretched refuse of your teeming political hellscape. Send these, the disenchanted and quarantined, I lift my lamp beside the golden door." If these words sound familiar, that's because we've edited Emma Lazarus' famous 1883 sonnet to reflect the way the world is feeling right now. We might not be as noble as the Statue of Liberty (upon which the poem is emblazoned) but we're definitely here to welcome anyone who needs memes with open arms. 

What a week. Between the absolute sh*tshow at the Capitol and, um, ::gestures at everything:: we're feeling more than a little overwhelmed. But it's Friday, so hopefully for some of you that means you get some time to process our hellscape of a reality. That said, we're betting that some of you would prefer to disconnect from said reality. And for that, we prescribe some quality time with these here memes.

TGIF, meme-lovers. We're back at it with the best dank memes Reddit had to offer this week. And what a week it was. As is to be expected, there's a smattering of politics in this installment. But don't fear. You're not about to be inundated with memes about MAGA storming the Capitol. There's plenty of spicy, relatable memes that have nothing to do with the madness. We're very, very thankful for that. 

The absolute mayhem at the Capitol yesterday has been on everyone's mind for the last 24 hours. It was scary. It was volatile. People died. Politicians are comparing the attack on democracy to memorable events like Pearl Harbor. Pundits are scrutinizing the actions of both sides, and everyone's realizing that 2021 ain't looking so sweet. While it's all very overwhelming, we do take solace in the fact that Twitter is able to take even situations like yesterday's insurrection and turn it into something funny. And that's exactly what @itsmeRachie did by asking the site to name a place with tighter security than the Capitol. Given the laughable lack of security (or perhaps competent security), the thread prompted scads of amusing jokes, with punchlines that not only cover places (Walmart, CVS) but objects that are famously tough to get into, like plastic cake boxes and clamshell packaging. The thread quickly went viral, and is still growing both in strength and hilarity. We put together some of our favorite responses, but by the time you read this we're sure there'll be more gold where these tweets came from.

Dae ye talk Scots? Well, you might want to start. We don't hear much of the language IRL, but we run into it a lot on Twitter. And our lives are better because of that. The phonetic brogue makes pretty much everything ten times funnier, and because it's literally a different language, challenges our brains more than we're used to. Which is always a blessing. We've put together some solid gems from the hilarious Scottish Twitterverse - we hope you enjoy them, too. 

Okay, so 2021 isn't quite the fresh start Americans had hoped for, but right-wing insurrection and a literal siege of the US Capitol in the first week of January is a bit extra. Most impressive was the rate at which memes, tweets, Instagram stories, and TikToks were flooding the internet as the storming of the Capitol was still unfolding. Perhaps this says something about society, but we won't go there. Let's just stick to what we know best—memes. And if you're appalled because it seems like we're making light of a dire situation, you can kindly look the other way. Some of us are so jaded that all we can do right now is laugh and cry at the same time. 

Every damn day something about the world comes to light that reminds us what a terribly dystopian situation we're in. Tweets are constantly being posted that deal with everything from healthcare woes to the pitfalls of late-stage capitalism. It's difficult to keep our chins up when everything seems so damn bleak, but it's better to be informed than to live in a state of not-so-blissful ignorance. On the off chance that you want more of these upsetting tweets, you can find them over at r/BoringDystopia.  

While some people seem to be acutely aware of the terrible times we live in, it's easy to become desensitized to the utter bleakness of our present reality. When the television and internet are constantly barraging us with bad news, it kind of becomes normalized. The subreddit r/boringdystopia is a great tool for shaking people out of complacency. Users submit depressing headlines and tweets that really can't fail to wake people up a little. We've put some of their most disturbing offerings into this gallery. Brace yourself, cuz this stuff ain't pleasant. 

2020's pretty much been a wash in most respects. People dying. Can't hang out with friends or see family. Can't go to the gym. Political turmoil. Unemployment. Evictions. The terrible list goes on. The year, however, has excelled in one area: inspiring some seriously savage burns and comebacks. All the political back and forth and mask debates really seem to stir up trouble. And we're totally here for it.