The sad ant with bindle meme is a popular reaction image featuring an anthropomorphized ant with a blue bag on a stick looking defeated. The sad depiction is often used as a “how it feels” joke or to convey the idea that someone has been ousted from a home or community for unjust reasons, such as because they are “weird” or don’t fit in.
Internet users also frequently ironically deploy this meme, mocking those who set boundaries or try to gatekeep.
What is the sad ant with bindle meme?
The sad ant meme takes artwork from a pest control company that shows an ant on its hind legs (with no middle legs) holding a long, ragged stick with a blue bindle or knapsack on the end with his eyes drooping half-closed and a frown. He’s meant to look depressed, dejected, and despairing as he walks, and is also known as the homeless ant.
Likely the most common use of the meme is as a reaction or to mock someone who is trying to keep certain types of people out of their space, whether online or in real life, but mostly online. Some of the first uses of the meme was in response to Tumblr users who put “DNI” disclaimers in their bio, which is short for “do not interact” and directs certain populations to avoid their posts.
The disclaimer, of course, doesn’t do anything to stop bad actors from interacting with their content anyway. In general, this meme is used to make fun of any effort that seems futile. Others have used it as part of the “how it feels” meme genre to convey any action that feels shameful or degrading.
Sad ant with bindle origins
The artwork with the rejected ant originated from a Virginia-based company called Zap Flea Pest Control or Zap Pest Control. The company appears to no longer be in business, as their website is just an error page and their Facebook page hasn’t seen an update since 2014. The social media account is still up, however, and its profile image features the ant next to a sketch of a house in the distance.
The first known use of the ant as a meme came from a deleted tweet by user @roxylalondeswag, now @roxybnnuy, who posted the little guy with the house cropped out and said: “Homophobes reading ‘homophobes dni’ at the end of your seizure inducing danganropa filled carrd.”
Danganronpa is a Japanese video game franchise in which high school students murder each other after coming under the control of a robotic teddy bear.
Happy ant without bindle meme
As the meme spread, someone eventually Photoshopped the sad ant with bindle guy to make him look happy and hopeful instead, removing the bindle and smiling at him while tilting his body so that he’s standing upright. Without his stick and bindle, he looks like he’s holding his hands up in little fists as though he might thrust them into the air in joy and/or triumph.
This is a common trend with popular memes, especially those meant to portray something sad or negative, as part of a rejection of the idea that only grim or mean-spirited jokes are funny.
Meme examples
Related memes:
- Sad memes to help laugh the pain away
- ‘This is me if you even care’: The ‘Sad Hamster Meme’ is TikTok’s adorable new way of expressing their inner feelings
- Sad cat memes to make you laugh (or cry)
- ‘Sad Keanu’ meme spotted in Ukrainian textbook
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