The closed Facebook group is fielding an influx of member requests. I’m skeptical that mine will be accepted. Here goes nothing.
The Simply Garfield Group has attracted a wellspring of attention this week, largely due to Gizmodo writer Ashley Feinberg’s recent piece about its sincerity and dedication to the nearly 40-year-old comic strip character.
The group garnered ridicule following a photo of Garfield leaning on the Eiffel Tower, and one member saying that the iconic feline should “go find those ISIS RATS!!” Feinberg writes that the group is “almost entirely free of any irony-addled millennials and teens. Combine that with the fact that these people’s particular passion is a cartoon cat who only has enough hate in his heart for Mondays, and you’ve got a perfect storm of sincerity.”
Upon receiving an acceptance notification an hour later, I’m elated.
The first post I spot is from one of the page’s administrators responding to Feinberg’s piece. I’m sure that the admin will feel a bit betrayed, but Connie agrees with Feinberg. She only takes issue with screenshots including the last names of members.
Simply Garfield’s Group Page
Connie’s honest and open heart with regard to the evolution of her page is admirable. Do the members feel the same way? For the most part, almost surely:
Simply Garfield’s Group Page
“Clean and positive” seems to describe the very essence of this page. Perhaps Connie knows that despite the trolls her tribe may now attract, authentic lovers of the cartoon cat will also get word of the page and at last join forces.
Simply Garfield’s Group Page
As a long-time lover of Garfield and cats—I even have a chubby orange one—it thrilled me that the group could absorb the shock of notoriety.
Honestly, this page has some great content.
Simply Garfield’s Group Page
Simply Garfield’s Group Page
Perennial Web chat go-to “get the fuck outta here” (GTFO) remastered as “Garfield the feline overlord”? It’s hard to beat content this fine-tuned.
I’m curious what the group thinks about the Garfield Minus Garfield Tumblr page. Will some find the complete lack of Garfield offensive? As of this writing, no one in the group has engaged with my content.
Simply Garfield’s Group Page
In the meantime, I’m contemplating the profundity of this group’s sincere love of clean and positive Garfield content—and the ways that we can, as society, move closer to this group’s vision of a singular focus which binds us all.
H/T Gizmodo | Photo via JD Hancock/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)