Last night, Josh Marshall of Talking Point Memo made his case for why we should take back the frog. For those who haven’t followed, Trump campaign supporters have used memes, codewords and racist talking points to advance their narrative. Part of that narrative is built around pepe the frog, a crudely drawn frog that was originally used as a joke regarding being stoned or chilling out.
Over the course of the Trump campaign, however, the frog has been appropriated and turned into what ADL has called a hate symble, often linked directly to racist messages and themes.
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"When people see a racist version of Pepe, there's no hidden agenda there. There's not a code,” says Furie. "When you see these versions of Pepe that are obviously racist jokes, there's no denying that it's a hate symbol. There's so many more versions of Pepe that aren't a hate symbol.”
Seeing this, Josh Marshall offered a comeback:
Others have caught on to the hashtag, and are backing Kermit, which has already drawn out some of the racist elements of Trump’s campaign.
I’ve said in a few diaries that there were only two celebrity deaths that ever brought real tears to my eyes — John Lennon (I was very young, but joined with my older sister), and Jim Henson. For different reasons, but seeing Josh Marshall argue to take back the meaning of inclusion is a damn good one.
Over the weekend, in Fort Scott, Kansas, the grave site of Gordon Parks, famous African American artist, leader and legend was defaced with Trump signs. No matter how you feel, leaving the graves of those who were civil rights legends alone seems to be something we should all support.
It’s time to stand up to some hatred and the lessons they are teaching kids in America. We can remember when we aspired to be better, to do better, to teach better lessons to the future of our country.