At 1740 hours today I wrote the most desperate message of my entire adult life:
I stepped back from the screen to look at the horror I hadst wrought, heart racing and pupils narrowing. I don’t know where I was going with that train of thought but it was, without doubt, a dark place. Never before have I given weight to political memes, let alone *Guild Politics* memes, and if anything I am relieved to find out that most, if not all of the relevant political memes come from either us or Cale Black. There is no underground meme production group a-la Post Aesthetics, let alone one run by marxists akin to Chicago Long March Reenactment Society, Left Action just aren’t dank enough for that and to be honest I don’t think we could handle it if they were.
Instead I got a message from a friend pleading for me to say something about the influx of STAR Harambe memes. Yesterday we asked whether coordinated DP post likes are now a permanent part of the UWA political landscape, and today I suggest that somewhere in some dark and forgotten corner of campus, STAR met together last night to discuss the coordinated use of Harambe memes. It happened under the light of the full moon and involved the sacrifice of a child. Somewhere, kilometres away in a bed in Yokine, I awake in a cold sweat, overcome with a primeval terror.
I don’t know why, but I’ve come to unconsciously associate Harambe memes with Young Liberals, so some part of me was surprised to see STAR’s wholehearted embrace of the meme. Maybe because when it was birthed it was quickly appropriated by a kinda racist street artist, and I have subconsciously associated it with /edgy/ white boys ever since.
This says more about me than it does about STAR.
And it’s true that this isn’t really a valid criticism of STAR, unless you consider the overuse of an unwholesome meme that should have died it’s natural death months ago to be a crime in and of itself. No if i wanted to make valid criticism of STAR I would probably bring up this:
I don’t see how this could be interpreted as anything other than an endorsement from the University admin for STAR, even if the reasons were innocent. As far as I know, Left Action and Launch have received no such platform for exposure. Is it appropriate for Uni Admin to be so cosy with the folks who are hoping to stand up for student interests?
I definitely applaud the fact that the guild is now set to get 50% of the SSAF fee but we only got to this point through active campaigning against university admin’s interests, which has now led to some legislatory changes currently in the works. It may seem like this is the University’s benevolent decision but it is really the result of constant pressure from student activists.
As such, we should still be expecting our guild pollies to fight against University interests where they contradict student interests. This cosiness doesn’t feel wholesome.
Words by Hayden Dalziel
We’re hungry for goss, slightly less hungry for memes. Send to [email protected].