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The Bernie Mittens Meme Is a Sad Reminder of the Left’s Defeat
Centrists embrace the meme but never the man
On January 20, Joe Biden became the president. Bernie Sanders became a meme. A picture of Bernie at the inauguration, bundled up in his jacket and mittens, went viral. Soon it was being remixed into dozens of famous images as well as scenes from film and TV. My public response may have been a laughing emoji, but in my heart, it was sad reacts only.
Bernie has always been a memeable political figure. His authenticity and endearing personality formed the basis for some memorable visual gags produced by his youthful devotees back when his campaign was in full swing.
Many of those same folks jumped at the chance to meme Bernie again. The primary was only months ago, but the pandemic has so warped everyone’s sense of time that it seems like ancient history. A new meme is a way to indulge in nostalgia for the campaign, much like when people partake in kitschy reenactments of bygone decades, like the 1980s or the ’60s.
It’s bittersweet. Every Bernie supporter remembers that feeling of walking on air in February, when the campaign seemed unstoppable and victory inevitable. The new Bernie meme taps into those emotions lurking in our collective hippocampus, but it can’t take us back there any more…
