JANESVILLE, Wis. (WMTV) -Earlier this week, NBC15 News received a message from a viewer concerned about a meme the Republican Party of Rock County posted to their Facebook page. That viewer called the post racist.
The meme in question shows a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaking in broken English and taking a verbal swipe at presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and former vice president Joe Biden. The meme reads “Why Biden no get virus? He sniff everyone”. The words “lighten up!” are posted above the meme.
The meme plays up the stereotype of Asian immigrants and a perceived a language barrier.
NBC15 News reached out to Jay Mielke, the chairman of the Republican Party of Rock County to discuss the meme and why it was posted.
“It is under the category of political satire that this meme in question is designated. As such the meme depicts two very public political figures and the topic of COVID-19. Our social media audience is aware of the nature of political satire and we did not receive any complaints until WMTV contacted us,” Mielke said in a statement.
We also spoke with Cindy Cheng, director of the Asian American studies program at the University of Wisconsin. She says this kind of thinking has no place in American politics.
“These types of memes are there to reinforce a particular division and to say it is OK to mock issues and mock certain groups of people,” said Cheng. “The context of this racist image, for me, is like a ploy to not talk about things. We don’t want to be stuck at this meme you know? I’m looking at it thinking ‘don’t take me back there.' Take me forward, right? Take me forward to talking about ways we can address things in a productive and thoughtful manner,”
When it comes to being satire, Cheng doesn’t believe this meme meets the definition.
“Having satire qualifies that there is an issue, a real substantial issue that you want to use to show a contradiction. But this is just hitting “below the belt” kind of comedy,” she said. “And you know the disclaimer is those of us who want to call it out for not being funny, we are supposed lighten up and get the joke. I’m like I’m OK with finding things funny and I’m OK with not lightening up here,”
Mielke says the GOP mission in Rock County is inclusion and encourages anyone to come to future events to listen and discuss.
“Our focus in Rock County this year is a committed effort to develop lasting relationships with all of our neighbors around the values that we all share. Our political party began here in Wisconsin with racial injustice as the foundation of the party’s inception. Now, more than ever, we will continue to work towards these objectives,”
The meme has since been deleted. Full statement:
Attracting and retaining a social media page audience, like any other media engaged in building an audience, requires fresh content on an ongoing basis. The Republican Party of Rock County uses social media to communicate information on upcoming events, statements on issue positions, and, at times memes depicting poli tical satire. It is under the category of political satire that this meme in question is designated. As such the meme depicts two very public political figures and the topic of COVID-19. Our social media audience is aware of the nature of political satire and we did not receive any complaints until WMTV contacted us. Our focus in Rock County this year is a committed effort to develop lasting relationships with all of our neighbors around the values that we all share. Our recent and upcoming events reflect that focus. While we did not receive any other complaints regarding this meme, we removed it from the social media page because our objectives to build lasting relationships with ALL of our neighbors far outweighs any sort of boost in social media metrics. Our political party began here in Wisconsin with racial injustice as the foundation of the party’s inception. Now, more than ever, we will continue to work towards these objectives. Our upcoming Rock County GOP events feature speakers and topics around this agenda. We invite our Rock County neighbors to participate in these discussions as we continue the heavy work of building a better future for everyone.
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The Link LonkJuly 17, 2020 at 11:23PM
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GOP of Rock County posts controversial meme to their Facebook page - WMTV – NBC15
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