Should we be laughing?
MCHS students gathered to share their funniest memes regarding WWIII
As the world burns — impeachment! Climate change! World War III? — Gen Z turns to memes.
One week into the new year, possibilities of World War III had began to surface. President Trump had ordered the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Of course, one of the most rapid reactions to emerge amid the surprise and confusion were memes. This is a recurrence not new to us as it seems that every time something serious occurs, we make memes.
Jokes about the possible fallout of Soleimani’s death were instantly everywhere. They especially proliferated on TikTok and Twitter, where hashtags like #WWlll remained on the trending tab for several days.
Junior Karina Romero recalled waking up to rumors of another world war popping up all over her feed.
“I saw it trending on Twitter first, and once I saw the memes, I thought the problem wasn’t that serious, like ‘oh the internet is making fun of it, it’s all good.’”said Romero.
You would think that news about a possible world war would make us anxious but instead all the memes gave us a good laugh. Memes tend to do that— act as stand-ins for cultural anxieties and ways to express and alleviate fears or other emotions through humor. It is their rapid and noticeable spread that helps us all figure out how we’re feeling about a certain situation.
Sophomore Jesus Garibay said he experienced a whirlpool of emotions.
“At first I was a little scared because they were talking about something serious but after seeing the memes, my worries went away and I laughed along” Garibay said.
This is an example of a meme following world war 3 news.
He mentioned his parents watching the news and how the few times he would join them, the news would just scare him away. Memes, on the other hand, are a fun way to bring attention to the many serious things going on around the world.
Sophomore Leslie Rangel can see how certain memes may be seen as insensitive.
“My first reaction was that this is funny. However I didn’t consider the impact it would make if we were to have World War III. Some memes were a bit insensitive in the sense that they were pointing out a certain group of people,” Rangel said.
Everyone has a different sense of humor. People can’t post anything without at least one person getting offended. The part that is troubling is the inconsistency between what is or isn’t “funny.”
“I think they’re funny and as long as it isn’t too harsh it’s okay for us to laugh,” said Garibay.
MCHS students gathered round to share their funniest memes regarding WWIII.
My favorite album is Folklore, I love the number 7, and New Girl is my favorite show.
Daniela De La Cruz • Mar 13, 2020 at 10:56 am
I also agree with most of the people who had their say on this article. I feel that memes may not be accepted, but honestly, it’s better than being anxious and scared. Also, laughing is healthy for your health, while thinking negative thoughts is inhealthy.
Omar Reyes • Feb 13, 2020 at 11:58 am
I think that some people don’t take some things serious and make memes about them to relieve their worries and get a good laugh out of it.
Esmeralda Martinez • Feb 13, 2020 at 11:54 am
I think that memes are a good way for people to forget. They are like a distraction to the real world. However, I don’t think people should make that many, on something serious such as a potential WWIII. I think yeah, it’s a good way for them to be relived and not be sacred, yet there are things such as taking it too far. I just think that people should be more considerate of the situation, as WWIII isn’t a joke, it’s real and serious.
Erik Salgado • Feb 13, 2020 at 9:47 am
I think it is fine to laugh during some situations because we then think positively of the outcome.
Christopher B. Reyes • Feb 13, 2020 at 9:47 am
I think the WW3 memes are somewhat funny but things that mess the joke up is that is the people that won’t take the joke. It also depends on the person that posts it. It’s just a way of entertainment to make the situation less scary in my opinion.
Ian Gonzalez • Feb 13, 2020 at 9:39 am
I think that now as we get older, people are trying to keep on laughing knowing that the times are tough. Even though we might have World War 3, these memes that we are making is just the current way of saying that it will be okay and that we should not go crazy about it.
Jose Regalado • Feb 13, 2020 at 8:17 am
It is good that this contains valid points and prospective on both sides of the issue. keep it up.
Miguel Cruz • Feb 12, 2020 at 2:03 pm
I think now that most nations have an entire arsenal of weapons that could literally wipe a country off the face of the planet makes the whole World War 3 situation scary, but other than that it’s pretty chill.
Lucia I Martinez • Feb 12, 2020 at 10:22 am
This isn’t the first time that society responded to the start of a war in a jokingly manner. In fact, it is known that Dada artists advocated for silliness and nonsensical behavior in daily life as the only response to the horrors of the First World War. However, the difference here is that World War One did happen. At the end of the day, we will face demise at one point, so why not enjoy what little time we have.
Chris • Feb 12, 2020 at 9:57 am
Not gonna cap, but memes are legitimately destroying the current state of news. More teens would prefer to be less stressed about the hard facts and whats actually going on around them, so using memes is seen as a better way of becoming more aware of world events.
Andrew • Feb 12, 2020 at 9:42 am
I feel like the only reason why we post these memes is so we can laugh and think about the positive instead of thinking about what really can happen.
Glor • Feb 12, 2020 at 8:10 am
I agree that many things posted on the internet shouldn’t always be taken as a joke. “Memes, on the other hand, are a fun way to bring attention to the many serious things going on around the world.” This made me realize that some things posted on the internet should be taken more seriously and precaution.
Lizbeth • Feb 12, 2020 at 8:09 am
I think that this is a way to have us distracted for the actuall problems were facing. I will say that some are funny but others just cross the line.
Stephanie Martinez • Feb 12, 2020 at 8:09 am
Memes are really funny but sometimes they can be taken too far. In other cases, like these memes from WWIII, they were mostly used to hide get a way of fear and think “positive.” I saw many memes of WWIII and I thought some of them were funny and others were taken too far. In the end, I believe fear can be turned into something good.
Nicholas Ruiz • Feb 12, 2020 at 8:06 am
If I’m being honest memes are great, I run my own meme page on Instagram, however making fun of serious events, such as this, can be problematic and offensive to many people. However, everybody has the right to voice their opinion.
elizabeth correa • Feb 12, 2020 at 8:05 am
i believe memes are a good way to lighten the mood. although some people think the jokes are too much but if you dont like it simply dont look at it. 🙂
Alan Esqueda • Feb 12, 2020 at 8:04 am
I also have seen these memes on social media and have thought about the consequences of focusing on it as a meme instead of a serious issue.
Alejandro Prado • Feb 12, 2020 at 8:04 am
It is great that we are finally acknowledging the way that memes are being used in our everyday lives. It may be bad that people are joking about WWIII and other events, but it is true that this might be a way that people try to forget about it and not worry.