The Brief: A comment about the possibility of needing an assault rifle to defend small children against 30-50 feral hogs has temporarily taken over Twitter in a viral meme.
DEEP DIVE
It appears that 30-50 feral hogs have been set loose on Twitter in just 3-5 minutes, all while my small kids play.
Ok, but seriously, all this “30-50 feral hogs” jokes can be pretty confusing (and unamusing) without context. This meme was born on Monday from a Twitter thread about gun control.
After over 30 people died in two mass shootings less than 24 hours apart in El Paso and Dayton, singer Jason Isbell condemned the ownership of assault weapons on Twitter.
One response came from Twitter user William McNabb. It read:
Legit question for rural Americans – How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?
Legit question for rural Americans – How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?
— William McNabb (@WillieMcNabb) August 4, 2019
Exactly what McNabb meant by this isn’t entirely clear. Is he referring to a situation he’s actually experienced before, trying to advocate for assault rifle ownership, or trolling us?
Whatever his intentions were, it’s become a widely-exploitable meme topic. Some of these feral hogs memes explore the serious issues behind the original comment while others run with the absurdity of a situation in which such a hog invasion actually occurred.
While packs wild hogs have, in fact, been known to wreak havoc on rural areas in the United States, McNabb’s proposed scenario is both unlikely and oddly specific.
the sweet sweet relief I felt at logging on and seeing 30-50 feral hogs pic.twitter.com/72caugvifm
— 🌙The Desert Prophet Returns💀 (@camillagluh) August 5, 2019
This is Karen. She is the mother of fewer than 30-50 feral hogs but is doing her best. 12/10 keep going Karen pic.twitter.com/r8ISDhcai3
— WeRateHogs (@hog_rates) August 5, 2019
Song Parodies
In the seemingly endless variations of these memes, song parodies are a popular format in which the lyrics of well-known songs are replaced with references to 30-50 feral hogs.
take me down to the paradise city
where the hogs are feral and there's 30-50— the shitpostal service (@thedanstringer) August 5, 2019
The hog days are over
The hog days are done
The feral hogs are coming so I need a gun pic.twitter.com/GRjsXteP1X— 30-50 Feral Robs (@Glitterbeard_) August 5, 2019
my milkshake brings 30-50 feral hogs to the yard
— summertime vibes dante 🌹 (@videodante) August 5, 2019
I got 99 problems and 30-50 of them are feral hogs
— Sam Grittner (@SamGrittner) August 5, 2019
This distracted boyfriend meme says it all…
“30-50 feral hogs” day is one of the great days in the history of Twitter. pic.twitter.com/RJTGrqXO8R
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) August 5, 2019
I am a:
⚪️ male
⚪️ female
🔘 30-50 feral hogsSeeking:
⚪️ male
⚪️ female
🔘 a yard with unsupervised small children to run in to within 3-5 minutes— AshPop (@BarbiturateCat) August 5, 2019
"Pretty big hog front moving in from the Great Lakes. Expect 30-50 feral hogs for your weekend" pic.twitter.com/fkh2Gnk4bY
— Jimmy Donofrio (@JimmyDonofrio) August 5, 2019
Me preparing my rural American house for the untimely invasion of 30-50 feral hogs pic.twitter.com/5U9vZo1goD
— Webster's English Ducktionary (@Webster_Duck) August 5, 2019
MY (25M) HOGS (30-50) HAVE UNIONIZED
— Jaya Saxena (@jayasax) August 5, 2019
You still wake up sometimes, don't you Clarice? You wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the 30-50 feral hogs
— Lauren (@LLW902) August 5, 2019
30-50 feral hogs? sounds like my dating history lmao
— Lucy Valentine (@LucyXIV) August 5, 2019
sorry boss can’t come in. 30-50 feral hogs came running into my yard again. yeah. about 3-5 mins. where my children play. yeah. see you tomorrow
— beth mccoll (@imteddybless) August 5, 2019
The only way to stop a feral hog is with a good guy with a hog.
— Ariel Dumas (@ArielDumas) August 6, 2019