Thanks to meme culture, there are certainly no shortage of clever ways to low-key ridicule, put on blast, or generally throw shade around on the internet. But that doesn’t stop the internet from constantly churning out new and creative memes, and one of the latest call-out memes to trend, “stop pitting [blank] against each other,” may very well be the most passive-aggressive so far.
Essentially, the meme lists people, fictional characters, places, or things with a directive to stop “pitting [blank] against each other,” in which each list item is given a typically positive adjective for one reason or another … except for one, glaring omission.
‘Stop Pitting Against Each Other’ meme
As you can see in a handful of the examples below, the “stop pitting against each other” meme is applicable to everything, including Black actors and characters from The Office to Dungeons & Dragons and scientific practices. (Our most sincerest of apologies to Michael B. Jordan and, uh, Toby.)
STOP PITTING BLACK ACTORS AGAINST EACH OTHER
— laila (@lailatweetzx) August 18, 2019
Daniel Kaluuya is TRANSCENDENT
Viola Davis is ASTOUNDING
Mahershala Ali is GIFTED
Michael B Jordan
Brian Tyree Henry is AMAZING
Regina King is BREATHTAKING
STOP PITTING THE OFFICE CHARACTERS AGAINST EACH OTHER!
— The Office on Peacock (@theofficetv) August 23, 2019
Michael is EXCEPTIONAL
Jim is INCREDIBLE
Pam is WONDERFUL
Dwight is STRONG
Oscar is AMAZING
Creed is MYSTIFYING
Toby
Angela is POWERFUL
Kevin is IMPORTANT
Meredith is ICONIC
Kelly is AMUSING
Ryan STARTED THE FIRE
https://twitter.com/andthejets/status/1165109970284605442
stop pitting the sciences against each other
— J (@jesftn) August 28, 2019
biology is AMAZING
chemistry is ENJOYABLE
physics
social science is INTERESTING
computer science is FUN
And then there’s this particularly savage burn at the expense of Kanye West, who apparently doesn’t even deserve our collective praise or scorn:
https://twitter.com/archersmedicine/status/1168852732297564161
The origin of the “stopping pitting against each other” meme, however, appears to have derived from a much more wholesome tweet.
Following the release of Taylor Swift’s music video for “You Need To Calm Down” on June 17, Twitter user @SelOwnsMySoul tweeted the following, in an apparent reference to the lyrics “But we figured you out / We all know now, we all got crowns,” with the caption: “STOP PITTING WOMEN AGAINST EACH OTHER.”
Lady Gaga has a CROWN.
— Here for Sel and Gaga. (@SelOwnsMySoul) June 17, 2019
Taylor Swift has a CROWN.
Adele has a CROWN.
Beyoncé has a CROWN.
Katy Perry has a CROWN.
Ariana Grande has a CROWN.
Selena Gomez has a CROWN.
Miley Cyrus has a CROWN.
STOP PITTING WOMEN AGAINST EACH OTHER 👏🏼#YNTCDmusicvideo #YouNeedToCalmDown pic.twitter.com/resFdAoBJX
The tweet was likewise accompanied with a screengrab from the video, depicting drag queen versions of Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Adele, Cardi B., Swift, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, and Nicki Minaj—as portrayed by various RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants.
A few weeks later, the Pop Crave Twitter account posted a similar sentiment that went viral, with the same caption: “Stop pitting woman [sic] against reach other,” which has since been retweeted over 300 times.
https://twitter.com/popcrayye/status/1148566563160674304
But by August, the “stopping pitting against each other” meme had taken on a mind of its own. And of course, there have also been plenty of Marvel-inspired variations of the meme to go around. (Our sincerest apologies to Jeremy Renner.)
https://twitter.com/babybarness/status/1162143256303546373
STOP PITTING THE OG MCU AVENGERS AGAINST EACH OTHER!
— wrongrogers (@wrongrogers) August 18, 2019
tony was BRILLIANT
steve was BRAVE
natasha was CUNNING
thor was MIGHTY
clint
bruce was COMPASSIONATE
Chris Hemsworth has a CROWN.
— wendy (@cinedicta) August 25, 2019
Tessa Thompson has a CROWN.
Brie Larson has a CROWN.
Chadwick Boseman has a CROWN.
Anthony Mackie has a CROWN.
Mark Ruffalo has a CROWN.
Jeremy Renner is a CLOWN.
Sebastian Stan has a CROWN.
STOP PITTING MARVEL ACTORS AGAINST EACH OTHER!!!
https://twitter.com/vormirloki/status/1162478255691223040
Over Labor Day weekend, the “stop pitting against each other” meme evolved yet again, when Twitter user @matt_digs posted a tweet that went crazy viral (with over 103,000 likes and 2,000 retweets at the time of this writing) that took a potshot at the city of Philadelphia—which this Philly-based writer will refrain from adding personal commentary to.
“STOP talking shit about different US cities,” he wrote, accompanied by a list of various cities that all received glowing adjectives–with the noticeable absence of the City of Brotherly Love.
STOP talking shit about different US cities
— matty-boh (@matt_digs) September 2, 2019
New York is INSPIRING
Los Angeles is ICONIC
Chicago is MAGNIFICENT
DC is HISTORIC
Philadelphia
San Francisco is CUTTING EDGE
The tweet inspired others to begin others using the meme format to roast other geographical locations, such as cities in Texas, Midwestern states, and so on.
stop talking shit about texas cities!
— ethan (@ethanisgroovy) September 3, 2019
houston is STELLAR
austin is WEIRD (in a good way)
san antonio is LEGENDARY
dallas
el paso is INSPIRING
amarillo is YELLOW
Stop talking shit about the Midwest
— ARL (@notarlatall) September 4, 2019
Nebraska is BEAUTIFUL
South Dakota is VAST
Wisconsin is SCENIC
Iowa
Ohio is LOVELY
STOP talking shit about different Utah colleges
— Jacob McNeil (@realjakemcneil) September 3, 2019
University of Utah is a MEDICAL GIANT
Utah State is a MOUNTAIN PARADISE
Weber State is a PURPLE POWER
UVU is a COMMUNITY BUILDER
byu
Dixie State is a RED ROCK PLAYGROUND https://t.co/VmbZdp5gPj
Stop talking shit about different cities in Arizona
— Jayden (@JaydenNavarro5) September 3, 2019
Phoenix is VIBRANT
Flagstaff is MAGNIFICENT
Sedona is BEAUTIFUL
Bisbee is HISTORIC
Tempe is INNOVATIVE
Tucson
Scottsdale is CUTTING EDGE https://t.co/1ddZeBdVle
Although at least one person used it to rate vegan food:
stop talking shit about vegan food
— em (@emilyyy_aileen) September 3, 2019
tofu is VERSATILE
tempeh is DELICIOUS
gardein is MUNCHIES MATERIAL
daiya
oat milk is CREAMY
cashew cheese is EXQUISITE
If there’s one good thing to come from the “stop pitting against each other” or “stop talking shit” memes, it’s that most of us can agree that Daiya is not the best vegan cheese.
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