Life

"The Future Liberals Want" According To This Meme

by Mia Mercado
Rob Stothard/Getty Images News/Getty Images

You know that thing where if a bird poops on you, it’s supposed to be good luck? That basically happened yesterday when a far-right Twitter account unintentionally gifted the world with "The Future Liberals Want" meme. The initial tweet shared an image of a drag queen and a woman in a hijab and a niqab sitting next to each other on the New York City subway. The caption read, “This is the future that liberals want.” The internet's reaction was swift and to the point. In a word: duh.

The intention of the original tweet was rooted in Islamophobia and transphobia and just general bigoted garbage that doesn’t deserve any more attention than it’s already gotten. But the funny thing about intent is that it doesn’t always equate to actual impact. In this case, what was intended to hurt a cause actually helped it — similar to how "nasty woman" and "nevertheless, she persisted," both of which were initially lobbed as insults and deployed as put-downs, became rallying cries for feminists everywhere.

Amongst infighting and issues that liberals may not all agree on, it’s nice to have a unifying cause. Like rallying behind two people minding their own business on public transportation.

This week, like the ones before it and likely the ones to come, has had its fair share of stressful news. For those that may argue that this is a distraction from more important issues, I mean, yeah. I feel like we could all use some momentary distraction. Also, I will point out that it is possible to care about more than one thing at the same time. Outrage over one event is not automatically lessened by compassion or enjoyment for another.

So, take a minute to sit back, relax, enjoy these reactions, and watch the future unfold before your eyes.

Some People Were Confused

Others, Overjoyed

Some Wanted to Clarify How Time Works

One Drag Queen Was Pleasantly Surprised

You can hear more from Gilda Wabbit, the drag queen in the initial tweet, in this interview with Mediaite.

And Then The Memes Began

The Future Is Gonzo with a Chicken

The Future is Also Pug Jockeys

Dogs and Cats are All Up In Our Liberal Future

Danny Trejo with a Dove, For Your Liberal Future Consideration

If You Rearrange The Letters In 'Liberal Future,' You Get 'Gay Star Wars'*

*You don't, but could you even imagine?

I Don't Know What's Happening Here, But I'm Excited to Experience It In The Liberal Future

Important to Clarify That This is *Not* Part of the Liberal Future

Finally, I Would Like To Contribute This to The Future Liberals Want

Is that what yours looks like, too? Do you want a liberal future with dogs and cats and more foods in the shape of other foods? How about one where human beings are not a monolith and can coexist without being judged by bigoted assumptions? Cool, same.