Supervisor mocks MPD in Molotov cocktail meme
Milwaukee County Supervisor Ryan Clancy wants to be the king of the meme.
His first one — tying a local weatherization program to the raunchy song “WAP” — ended up going viral, though perhaps not for the reasons Clancy intended.
Now the first-term Milwaukee County Board member is back with another one.
This one is a Valentine’s Day meme intended to ridicule the Milwaukee Police Department.
“My love for you burns brighter than a Molotov cocktail,” proclaims the post on Clancy’s Facebook page.
Pictured with the pink post is a picture from an MPD tweet of an empty water bottle and a fish tank pump with a tube.
Huh?
To understand you have to be staying up on the news from last year’s protests in Milwaukee calling for justice for George Floyd and others killed by police around the country.
On June 3, MPD put out the photo of the water bottle and fish tank pump on Twitter, saying “an individual threw a molotov cocktail at uniformed police officers” the previous night.
Critics immediately mocked the agency and criticized the characterization. The three elements required for a Molotov cocktail are a breakable material, an ignitable liquid and a wick.
Only months later did Milwaukee police acknowledge this was no incendiary device.
“After further examination it has since been determined it was not a ‘Molotov cocktail’ and the object was not sent to the crime lab,” the department said in an October statement.
Just a false alarm.
So that’s what Clancy said he was trying to communicate in his Valentine’s Day meme. He said no reasonable person would look at the water bottle and see a Molotov cocktail.
“This was intended to draw attention to MPD’s blatant use of propaganda in that incident that they never really apologized for,” said Clancy, who said he favors not just defunding police agencies but also abolishing them. “Yeah, that was the joke.”
Some on Facebook got Clancy’s point and applauded his meme.
“The man is a dedicated public servant — and allowed to highlight the bizarre behavior of our local PD,” wrote one person.
But dozens of others on the Facebook thread clearly were not in on the supposed joke or thought it fell incredibly flat. “How the hell do you not get fired for posting such trash like this?” responded another individual. Added another, “Piece of garbage human.”
Things got only worse after the conservative website Wisconsin Right Now drew attention to the post.
“Is this inciting violence against police?” wrote Jim Piwowarczyk, a former cop. “Or just making a sick joke of something serious? You be the judge.”
Piwowarczyk then pointed to a couple of individuals, including local activist Vaun Mayes, who have been charged with possessing Molotov cocktails or teaching others to use them.
So how has Clancy responded?
Like a seasoned politician.
The Bay View socialist posted a fundraising link for his campaign. You are encouraged to give anywhere from $10 to $1,000 to his re-election kitty.
Clancy clearly likes using memes to communicate his points, something that’s rare for Wisconsin politicians.
In October, he posted one on Facebook promoting the Weatherization Assistance Program, which helps low-income county residents by outfitting their homes to reduce energy use and utility costs.
His post read, “There’s some holes in this house!” over a screen grab of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion from the music video for their hit “WAP.” He was playing off a line from the song, “There’s some whores in this house.”
The meme blew up nationally, particularly on music blogs, because of the humorous controversy over the raunchy song.
This time the reaction has been different. Clancy said most of the feedback he’s getting has been “overwhelmingly positive.” But he said he’s also gotten some threats, including some seriously disturbing stuff, in recent days.
He hasn’t done anything with them.
“I have not reported any of them to law enforcement,” Clancy said.
Not like that’s a good option for the guy right now.