malign creativity: china edition

once more, a well meaning feline falls prey to meme entrapment

as many of you likely saw, xi (pronounced “she”) jinping just crossed the rubicon on becoming “dear leader for life” by grabbing a third term instead of retiring as party practice had required.

he stocked the politburo with cronies and purged dissent.

in one of the more striking outcomes, former premier hu juntao was given what could be charitably called a “security escort” out.

official sources said hu was “tired and needed a rest.”

Justin Hart @justin_hart

Darkness at Noon Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao unexpectedly escorted out of room as Party Congress comes to a close.

while this may be bad news for many in china, it’s grand news for meme makers.

this is yet more entrapment and after all, who can resist a chinese abbot and costello routine?

there are many theories about just what led to this: (but a lot of it is a he said/xi said)

(for those who do not know, xi is often described as looking like winnie the pooh and is touchy about it to the point that such images are banned in china.)

because totalitarianism is unfun.

well, unless you’re the boss.

you be the judge:

will he measure up to other chinese leaders?

only time will tell.

but one thing is certain, we know hu did not come back from this walk…

history can change pretty fast, christopher robin…

(well two things as obviously we also know that certain felines simply cannot lay off their favorite meme templates)

in the immortal words of clay davis:

and because memes beget memes (and because history not only rhymes but seems to use the same photoshop techs)

“quit stalin!”

this has led many to wonder if this all had to do with the attorney general’s announcement today of numerous chinese prosecutions.

but my possibly reliable gatosources™ claim that the impetus lay elsewhere: