I Thought This Was America
Meaning
I thought this was America is a reaction meme that also has several snowclone interpretations.
The format’s essence is to express reluctance of accepting someone’s point in an argument.
- #1 Meme: Why Do They Call It Oven?
- #2 Meme: Daddy Chill
- #3 Meme: Donde Esta La Biblioteca
- #4 Meme: Sir This Is a Wendy’s
- #5 Meme: The Peepee Poopoo Man
Origin
The original line was said by the character Randy from the satirical American TV show South Park, in season 9 episode 5 that aired in 2005.
During the episode, the Park Country PD makes several arrests on Randy. Each occasion he complains and says the line “I thought this was America!”
Spread and Usage
The first community that started using the format was YTMND in 2005.
In 2007 there was a Yahoo Answers thread created to discuss both the episode and the meme.
From 2010, I thought this was America got featured on Urban Dictionary, afterwards Tumblr blogs and Reddit threads were born, dedicated to the format.
External References
- YTMND – I’M SORRY, I THOUGHT THIS WAS AMERICA
- Urban Dictionary – Oh Im Sorry I Thought This Was America
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