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Polandball
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Polandball is a community webcomic and Internet meme that grew out of Krautchan sometime in the late 2000s. Although it was originally created to mock a Polish nationalist who was trolling the board, it has since almost matured and has grown to encompass national stereotypes of many nations (including Germany), political satire, and world history. It is said that "Polandball makes fun of everything equally".
The Good
When done well, Polandball can be an entertaining and informative meme, definitely one of the better ones on the internet. Otherwise obscure topics in North America and Europe, such as South American and Asian history, are shown in an entertaining way that can easily be accessed by someone with little to no training in the subject. Despite it revolving around national stereotypes, the subreddit takes a sympathetic view of the struggles faced by minority groups, such as Native Americans, Hispanic migration and African-Americans. Occasionally, you can even see right wing memes be thoroughly mocked by the community. Across the internet, memes such as "Poland cannot into space" have become commonplace even outside of the context of the strip.
The Bad
On the other hand, the quality of an individual Polandball strip inevitably depends on its author. In particular, the memeplex as a whole seem to have a tendency to have a European perspective when it comes to current politics. Seemingly Racist memes such as Eurabia, Antiziganism, and sometimes even The Evil Jew are often repeated on its subreddit — however, it is worth noting that such memes are often used ironically and not to be taken seriously. Unfortunately, the subreddit has been known for attracting actual racists for its rather lighthearted approach to national and ethnic stereotypes, the subreddit taking this very negatively, with users being permanently banned from it for making genuinely racist comments.
In conclusion
Read it, laugh at it, even look beyond it to find more about the topic it describes. Just don't treat it as gospel truth.
External link
- Polandball on Reddit