The Brief: With the possibility of civil unrest after the 2020 election, "civil war" memes imagine and joke about extreme post-election scenarios.
DEEP DIVE
As the U.S. waits for the results of the 2020 election, businesses across the nation are boarding up their windows, and meme-makers are semi-jokingly getting ready to survive a civil war. Americans are anticipating the possibility of civil unrest, violence, and a contested election, and memes reflect this anxiety. One common thread of election memes suggest that a “civil war” is coming and joke about possible ways to prepare. These memes include both ironic comments and serious references to the instability that could follow this election.
crazy how the civil war starts on 4/20 this year
— billiam (@BillRatchet) November 3, 2020
On TikTok, some creators are wondering what outfits they’ll wear and what roles they’ll play in the upcoming “war.” Some of the top videos under the hashtag #CivilWar on the app reference a potential modern-day war.
@classicsparkle are we color coordinating by state or political party? #WeWinTogether #movember2020 #fyp #foryou #viral #civilwar #election #comedy #blacktiktok
Other videos ask if the minutiae of everyday life like doing homework will matter after the election:
@jordanpretzel
This video rightly points out the dangers of planning or promoting any actual kind of violence against others:
@legionofdoon Hey guys, maybe we shouldn’t harm members of our community? Just a thought tho #election #civilwar #democrat #republican #fyp #foryourpage
After images of a boarded-up Sweet Green started circulating on social media, many people joked about the idea of a cashless salad restaurant preparing to be looted.
me + the girls launching a tactical strike on sweetgreen https://t.co/wQa1Ji4rTo pic.twitter.com/UIbJNFvrMG
— hormonal jew (@degendering) November 3, 2020
Some people are using this as an opportunity to be horny on main:
before all the civil unrest this week do anybody wanna admit they have a crush on me?
— abs 🙂 (@tropicanapussy) November 2, 2020
Today is Election Day. They saying it might be a lil civil war or whatever. kind of got me thinking bout how i used to go to war for your love. they can suppress my vote but they can’t suppress these feelings I have for you. anyways lol , you don’t have to reply. be safe pic.twitter.com/N2ssqL4ySZ
— ♓︎ (@PISCESSSBBY) November 3, 2020
Others have noted that these jokes aren’t always in good taste as they can make light of violence, spread fear, and trivialize serious issues.
seeing yt people make jokes about a civil war is really rubbing me the wrong way considering they are not the ones in direct danger from the results of this election
— alda (@ohemaa_claribel) November 3, 2020