Exploring Viral Reactions: A Meme’s Impact on Social Awareness

I posted a meme today over on my Mastodon account, and wow did it go viral!

The meme has been floating around for a while in the trans and ally community. I honestly didn’t expect this kind of response at all. It’s a take on the “First They Came” poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller. It’s fairly well known by anyone who even slightly studied the history of the Jewish Holocaust. Pastor Niemöller is a complicated figure. He was first an antisemitic Nazi supporter. Later, he was sent to a concentration camp himself.

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

As of this writing, my post over on Mastodon is over 950 boosts (reshares) and over 750 favorites (likes). I’ll share the meme here. This way, you don’t have to go over to Mastodon if you aren’t interested in watching it go viral.

The reaction to the meme heartens me in a way I can’t quite describe. In all that virality, I have only gotten one negative troll so far. A white man posted claiming that “cis” is a slur. Normally, it’s only TERFs who claim that, despite the word having been coined originally by a cis woman biologist. This is, in my experience, an obvious troll. So I blocked him, and told those trying to talk to him not to “feed the troll.”

That so many people were so receptive to this concept was truly amazing. I actually feel a great deal better about the world today than I did the past couple of days. And the journey continues.

Tags: politics, trans, Trans Joy, Transgender, USPol