Angry Planet Assassinations Are Shitposts Now
Oct 2, 2025
In this intriguing discussion, Michael Senters, a PhD candidate at Virginia Tech specializing in online culture's influence on politics, dives into the peculiarities of political violence and internet memes. He unpacks the bizarre inscriptions found on shell casings from a recent assassination, revealing the layers of irony and significance behind them. Senters explores the crossover of gaming culture with political messaging, and how online communities have warped perceptions, ultimately questioning the disturbing implications of memes in violent acts.
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4,000 Hours Across Seven Games
- Senters analyzed a suspected Steam account showing thousands of hours across several games.
- He tallied over 4,000 hours on seven reviewed games, indicating heavy screen immersion.
Memes Are Performance, Not Proof
- Memes on the casings are often ironic performance, not clear ideological declarations.
- Treat meme inscriptions as context-dependent signals, not definitive motives.
Cultural References Lose Political Fixity
- Songs or cultural references like Bella Ciao lose original meaning once meme-ified across platforms.
- Presence of such media on a shooter’s items does not reliably indicate political allegiance.
