By Michael Pyo ‘22, Student Writer

“Pepe the Frog” was never supposed to be labeled as a hate symbol, but rather a source of laughter. “Pepe” first appeared in 2005 comic strip, “Boy’s Club”, which creator Matt Furie describes as a comic about life in your early 20’s. This innocent character had no intention of being a hate symbol, but the internet made it a monster. From white supremacy to dressing him up as Adolf Hitler, the internet has made this meme turn into a symbol of hate. “Pepe the Frog” has now been placed in the Anti-Defamation League’s database of hate symbols.

   After many white power moments endorsed Trump, they started to create memes making Trump look like Pepe and making Pepe their advertising symbol. Donald Trump Jr. shared a post after Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters a “basket of deplorables” showing a group of men and Pepe who represent the followers of Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton has gone to war with Pepe the frog ever since Trump Jr. made of Clinton’s comment. “Pepe’s been almost entirely co-opted by the white supremacists who call themselves the “alt-right.” said Hillary Clinton. They’ve decided to take back Pepe by adding swastikas and other symbols of anti-Semitism and white supremacy.” Although Clinton strongly dislikes Pepe, she also admits that Pepe started out as an innocent cartoon character. “Pepe is a cartoon frog who began his internet life as an innocent meme enjoyed by teenagers and pop stars alike,” said Hillary Clinton.

Should we just stop talking about Pepe?

Although Pepe has been disappearing from the discussions of  teenagers and celebrities, the 2016 campaign has still been using this meme as a weapon. Many people recognize Pepe as a cool frog, but they do not know that it is an official hate symbol. Harambe, the gorilla from the Cincinnati Zoo, is related to Pepe in a sense where people do not know what they are laughing about. People and children search up the word ‘Pepe’ and are exposed to many racial and weird memes of Pepe dressed up as many different ‘ideals’ and ‘symbols’. Harambe is popular because everyone knows about it, and can be used as a generic source for creating memes, but do they know what they are laughing at? Pepe is an excuse to be funny, a random cartoon that can be twisted in such ways that it had to be labeled as an official hate symbol by the ADF. If you see or hear someone making fun of the whole idea of Pepe or even the generic topic of offensive memes, you do not necessarily need to say stop, what allow them to analyze what they are saying. As we all say goodbye to Pepe, let us all remember how it became a monster, through us, and through those who do not know what they are making. An innocent cartoon, distributed for a hateful purpose, why do people do this?