Clown World
| Frogs and swastikas Alt-right |
| Hitler wannabes |
| Rebuilding racism |
| Buzzwords |
Clown World or Heil Honkler is an alt-right propaganda meme. The "Honkler" image first appeared on 4chan in February 2019.[1] Clown World and Honkler are part of the alt-right effort to obfuscate racism and hate with seemingly innocuous memes.
White nationalist usage[edit]
“”They will adopt our child, and post Honkler on social media under mainstream memes already in circulation. There will come a time when we must take him back. … Whether of the HONK or not, we must perpetuate this meme to show the world our ideas.
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| —Anon |
The alt-right uses memes as an online radicalization tool. One of the best known icons is Pepe the Frog, a meme co-opted by 4chan in 2008. Honkler resembles Pepe, but in a clown outfit. Like Pepe, Honkler also has racist connotations and is explicitly alt-right, often used by neo-Nazis.
"Clown world" was a phrase used in the subculture from about 2015 - that the US was a "clown country" because it didn't actually murder everyone who wasn't white. The phrase started being heavily promoted on The Right Stuff's podcast "The Daily Shoah" in 2017[2]
The "Honkler" meme originated on 4chan board /pol/ in February 2019 in a thread titled "Operation Honk".[3] Referred to as Honk Honk or Honkler, it quickly gained popularity across the internet in far-right groups, where Honkler imagery portrays antisemitic, homophobic, transphobic, and racist tropes.[4]
Honkler is the main figure of the clown world, though other alt-right imagery is also drawn over by clown features, including images of Adolf Hitler and shock imagery.
The far-right even dress up as clowns for protests, e.g. several Proud Boys at Patriot Prayer's attempted anti-abortion rally in Albany in May 2019.[5]
Association with black pill nihilism[edit]
Honkler has become associated with the so called "black pill", a form of absurdist nihilism in which reality itself is portrayed as a cosmic joke.[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Right Wing Watch; Jared Holt, April 4, 2019: White Nationalists Adopt Clowns as Their Next Racist Symbol (Yes, Seriously). (archive snapshot)
- ↑ Daniel E. Harper and Jack Graham. I Don't Speak German, Episode 14: The Red Pill and YouTube.
- ↑ 4chan; /pol/ OPERATION *HONK* (archived)
- ↑ Reddit; OutOfTheLoop: What is going on with this "clown world" thing?
- ↑ https://www.nationofchange.org/2019/05/13/patriot-prayers-joey-gibson-has-a-sad-day-in-albany/
- ↑ Know Your Meme: Clown Pepe / Honk Honk / Clown World. (archive snapshot)