Don't be scared!
May 1, 2019 1:47 PM Subscribe
A tweet from a Spanish far-right political party intending to demonize LGBTQ+ people has backfired spectacularly because, in the words of one mefite, they designed an anti-gay ghost that's hella cute.
Bonus Gaysper twitter fun: 1 | 2 | #gaysper
h/t to GenderNullPointerException
Bonus Gaysper twitter fun: 1 | 2 | #gaysper
h/t to GenderNullPointerException
I need a patch of gaysper for my army jacket!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 1:56 PM on May 1, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 1:56 PM on May 1, 2019 [5 favorites]
Can we make all profits go to LGBTQ+ causes???
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:59 PM on May 1, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:59 PM on May 1, 2019 [5 favorites]
Gaysper is a veeeeeeery friendly ghost.
posted by medusa at 1:59 PM on May 1, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by medusa at 1:59 PM on May 1, 2019 [8 favorites]
Doesn’t this usually work the opposite way? The right steals things and makes them symbols of hate. I think this ghost must be a trap. Everything about it is just too perfect not to be.
posted by vocivi at 2:11 PM on May 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by vocivi at 2:11 PM on May 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Queer folks successfully claimed the Babadook as their own. This... this is nothing.
posted by Tomorrowful at 2:14 PM on May 1, 2019 [32 favorites]
posted by Tomorrowful at 2:14 PM on May 1, 2019 [32 favorites]
The articles linked do not say it, but the person who did the original far right meme must have ganked Gaysper from a google image search. It's part of a Redbubble store that has been selling LGBTI+ ghost merch for a couple of years.
For added schadenfreude: the original meme had a small update after the far-right party got way fewer MoCs than they expected (the person running away is Santiago Abascal, the leader of that party).
posted by sukeban at 2:19 PM on May 1, 2019 [19 favorites]
For added schadenfreude: the original meme had a small update after the far-right party got way fewer MoCs than they expected (the person running away is Santiago Abascal, the leader of that party).
posted by sukeban at 2:19 PM on May 1, 2019 [19 favorites]
Melqueeror, Gaysper, Bi-thazar
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 2:30 PM on May 1, 2019 [25 favorites]
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 2:30 PM on May 1, 2019 [25 favorites]
I remember a while back when some right-wing nut job went on TV and said the trans community wanted to create humans that were part machine, every comment section I saw was full of 1. people saying, "Great! Cyborgs are cool!", and 2. people with implanted or connected medical devices expressing love and support for their fellow cyborgs. It was awesome.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:48 PM on May 1, 2019 [40 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:48 PM on May 1, 2019 [40 favorites]
Thanks for the info sukeban, and tocs.
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 2:51 PM on May 1, 2019
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 2:51 PM on May 1, 2019
I really really want this ghostie as a pin. So cute, and I already collect LGBTQIA pins and ghosties, so...
posted by limeonaire at 5:12 PM on May 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by limeonaire at 5:12 PM on May 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
i want it as a pin too! i went right to that redbubble store to get one and... wah, no pins. i hope they make one!
posted by lapolla at 5:55 PM on May 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by lapolla at 5:55 PM on May 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
This icon intended to cause disquiet and anxiety among voters is totes adorbs.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:37 PM on May 1, 2019
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:37 PM on May 1, 2019
Oh, and hell yes, I'm a cyborg too. Bring on the cybernetic future.
posted by limeonaire at 6:39 PM on May 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by limeonaire at 6:39 PM on May 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
Queer folks successfully claimed the Babadook as their own. This... this is nothing.
Why would they have to claim the babadook, the monster who was a famously gay icon since the 1960s?
posted by Going To Maine at 9:44 PM on May 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Why would they have to claim the babadook, the monster who was a famously gay icon since the 1960s?
posted by Going To Maine at 9:44 PM on May 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
It's like they were trying to tap into the witchy/astrology/theosophical queer zeitgeist
posted by en forme de poire at 10:35 PM on May 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by en forme de poire at 10:35 PM on May 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
What a coincidence, I'm rebuliding myself into a cyborg witch. Let's do this.
posted by loquacious at 12:27 AM on May 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by loquacious at 12:27 AM on May 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
Viggo Mortensen wrote a delicious letter to the editor about the initial meme. My translation:
"You have to be quite ignorant to think that the use of the Aragorn character from the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy to promote the electoral campaign of a xenophobic far right party like Vox would be a good idea. It is not just absurd that I, the actor who incarnated this character for Peter Jackson, and a person interested in the rich variety of cultures and languages that exist in Spain and the world, am vinculated with a neo-fascist, ultranationalistic far-right political party. It is even more ludicrous to use the character of Aragorn, a polyglot statesman who advocates for the knowledge and inclusion of the diverse races, customs and languages of Middle Earth, to legitimate an anti-immigrant, antifeminist, islamophobic political group. I would laugh at their blunder, but Vox has gained access to the House of Congress with 24 MoCs, it is not a joke, and we will have to remain alert and proactive, as Aragorn is in Tolkien's saga."posted by sukeban at 11:57 PM on May 6, 2019 [3 favorites]
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posted by SansPoint at 1:52 PM on May 1, 2019 [8 favorites]