Part of the debate
between Hillary and Trump is the perspective of how to deal with terrorists. To
many republicans, including Trump, the terrorists are to be called by the
religion they identify with, Islam. To Hillary, the terrorists are to be
excluded religion. This meme points out that the Amish are extremely religious
yet there are no terrorists in the name of the Amish religion. To this
Instagram user, the terrorists are committing crimes because of their religion,
and infers that being extremely religious should not be a reason for mass
murder. The meme is an over simplification of the users feelings toward
terrorism. This meme uses an aspect of religion the user agrees with,
Christianity, and one they disagree with, Islam, to demonize the radical sects
of Islam while affirming the radical sects of Christianity. This is a blending
of the offline and online realms of religion. The ideas of each religion
appeared in the offline sphere as well as the idea of Islam being a contributor
of radicalized terrorism. No new content is created. The user is propagating
the idea of radical Islam informing terrorists actions and contrasting it with
the ultra-radical Christian faith to make a point already explained in the
offline spheres.
A second meme quotes
Donald Trump talking about a radicalized Islam movement aimed at causing
terror. The user is conveying a belief that they agree with Trump's stance on
terrorism. It is similar to the first meme in that it is used to propagate an
idea that a radicalized group is the problem according to the user and his/ her
audience. This quote came from the offline and is being redistributed in the
online culture to build solidarity between the user and his/ her followers.
Almost every meme
seen thus far has blended the offline and online realms of religion. The ideas
of religious identities have originated offline and expressed online to build
support for the idea being presented in the meme. New contexts are not created, merely repeated.
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