American Redditors on Their Way to Colonize an Apolitical Subreddit
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AMERICAN REDDITORS ON THEIR WAY TO COLONIZE AN APOLITICAL SUBREDDIT:
Overview
A meme featuring a modified version of the 19th-century painting 'American Progress' by John Gast. The top text reads 'AMERICAN REDDITORS ON THEIR WAY TO COLONIZE AN APOLITICAL SUBREDDIT:' The painting depicts a large, robed woman (Columbia, personifying American progress) striding westward, leading settlers, telegraph wires, covered wagons, and wildlife. The meme satirically compares American Redditors inserting political discussions (e.g., about ICE) into unrelated, apolitical subreddits (such as pet-focused communities) to historical westward expansion/colonization, criticizing the tendency to derail non-political online spaces with political content.
Origin notes
Originates from Reddit's meme community, as indicated by the 'Reddit:Meme' source. The base image is a screenshot of the iconic 1872 painting 'American Progress' by John Gast, which historically symbolizes Manifest Destiny and westward expansion. This meme remixes the painting by adding critical text to comment on the behavior of some American Redditors who introduce political topics into apolitical subreddits, referencing the original context: 'No one wants to see them crying about ICE in a pet sub reddit.' It was created via image editing software to overlay text on the historical artwork.