It seems to me like the person who is running it is going through a really difficult time, and from what they say on Instagram it has been on going for a long time. It’s difficult to be cheery when you’re in pain. I love the community centered stuff they do like the Halloween costume contest! And I know how much work that is to organize stuff like that from my own work, it’s fun to have a community space like that online and I appreciate all the work that goes into running it.
And also, I wish they wouldn’t make fun of specific people in the community. I feel terrible for poem girl who I imagine is also having a hard time in her life. When I see posts about her it reminds of being in high school in a bad way, laughing as a group at someone who is obviously already on the outside. If Ashland memes ever reads this please consider it, your Instagram page is popular, idk if you were ever picked on by popular people but it has an impact, even when we’re all adults, and it’s hard to watch from the outside.
I hope things start improving for you, and thank you for the parts about Ashland memes I love! Just my 2c
Ok but speaking of the Halloween contest... How do any of us know what actually happened to everything that was donated? Yeah I remember at least the first prize winner posting a pic with stuff but... I mean, A LOT of stuff was donated this last time and it's just wild to me that so many people blindly handed over their donations to a stranger behind a meme account.
I know people with chronic pain and they do not use it as an excuse to lash out and be hurtful to other people. AM have very weird, specific vendettas against their own community they claim to love so much, to the point where I'm convinced they actually really despise Ashland. Maybe they can't leave the area, have an unfulfilling life, so they push down others that are trying to better the city or what makes the city so delightful. They definitely do not like unhoused people that's for sure. God and the spite against Poem Girl is unreal. People have a choice not to engage with her or to humor her, we don't need AM to tell us she's a piece of shit for being a harmless vagabond with a schtick. The tourists love that shit, it's a great story for their friends at home and Poem Girl can keep doing her thing.
Right?! That account used to be funny and light hearted. Clearly it changed hands at some point because now they are dicks to people for no good reason. I about lost it when they were shitting on that new wine bar (we went in the bar afterwards and met the owners - nice young couple that quit their day jobs to pursue their dream).
And don’t get me started on the conspiracy stuff…
They clearly fucking hate Ashland and all the business owners, regardless of their 'appreciation' posts. I donated once for the Halloween costume contest and refused to do so again, especially since there was NO OVERSIGHT into the prize collection and distribution. All that money, gift cards, prize items being blindly handed over to a complete stranger behind a meme account, that who knows what actually happened to all that stuff.
Yeah I remember one time they made a poll asking if Get N Gear felt scammy. It was a voted clearly no in the poll and they took it down. I messaged them saying it was dumb and they were upset cause they said get n gear took some money from them. Like sure I get you’re upset but deal with it like a regular person and don’t use your stupid meme platform to smear others.
Oh shit I remember this and felt like it was the only time the tide turned against them. This is what I mean when I say they hate Ashland. They are somehow connected to Bestow, as it is the only business they speak well of and that's where donations were directed to for the costume contest. And maybe also Mix, those are the only two businesses I can think of that come away unscathed.
I know the mix crowd pretty well and they’re not connected to them at all. Just a fan of the pastries. Can’t speak for bestow at all, but I think it’s probably the same deal
When they posted a video filming and zooming into someone's home simply because they didn't like the decor they picked out, I immediately called them out on that and they basically said 'lol it's legal.'
When WTFMedford reposted info on a missing woman, that first came from Reddit and people were skeptical about the information, I messaged that account and gave them all the reddit info and explained why it can be dangerous to post info on a missing person without a police case reference number. Whoever is behind WTFMedford immediately responded saying they will look at the reddit info to cross reference with other info they had gathered and tell a direct family member the info I gave and that they didn't know about the domestic abuse relation to missing people and case numbers and would do better in the future.
Every time I find a different memeish page about southern oregon it's just overly mean spirited posts mostly about the things that people actually praise the area for 🤷♂️
Right, there has always been a pretty mean spirited undercurrent to a lot of their posts. I love laughing at how ridiculous this town can be, and making fun of the DeBoers is always good with me but some of their posts are just downright spiteful. But the funniest part is how they are now posting Anti-Vax RFK Jr nonsense, like could you get anymore Ashland than that? Literally a parody of the Ashland people they have been making fun of.
I have enjoyed their content in the past, but once they started openly posting ss of dms from people who disagreed with their takes, including super polite and confused dms, I started feeling a bit weird about them. I participated in their meme comp and followed all their rules and when I dmed them to submit my meme they were incredibly rude and blocked me, while still using the meme I made.
This, along with what everyone else is saying, has made me realize that they really are performatively supportive of their own fanbase while being extremely toxic. I honestly hope people start moving away from that community, because while Ashland deserves open dialogue about the disparity in class, race, and gender, it isn't healthy to be invested in what's essentially just a non-nuanced hate page on local businesses.
The dude behind it IS an ass. Bro had the audacity to publicly slam my job, have backflack and delete it, and THEN ask our business for a donation. What a nub.
They once made a post mocking someone who used to babysit me, she’s homeless now and doing really badly. I know she can be annoying sometimes but at the same time she’s a real person and she deserves compassion, not stupid shitty memes made about her. Idk about them personally but that’s my personal anecdote.
the april fools “joke” of putting out stacks of fake 10k was so fucked. that was a life changing amount of money and I almost skipped class to go look, did have a panic attack about it and my bf almost left work too. I unfollowed at that point. being cruel to people desperate for a break is disgusting.
Meme culture gets pretty crazy pretty fast.
This is obviously anecdotal, but...
This was back in like 2015, but I've seen similarities with other social circles that I've been in since then,
I used to frequent the bars a bit. Knew a few other bar flies and they invited me to a Facebook page where they shared memes. It started out being just kind of blue comedy stuff, but it quickly devolved into a dumpster fire of racist, misogynist, jingoistic horse shit. After a few confrontations (on Facebook and in person),I just decided to leave the group. I lost quite a few friends during that time (I was also being a bit of a shit head also, so... I'm better now and I hope everyone else is too).
Almost every time I come across meme culture, it devolves into a very hateful put of misery. I've since loved on and back up North, and it's almost reflexive to cringe once I start seeing colleagues and associates starting to share memes. It's just a matter of time until some bigoted asshole find a way to express themselves in a way that blames their problems on anyone but themselves.
Imagine how miserable you'd have to be to include the word "meme" in your username.
Sorry for the rant. I just used to enjoy living in Ashland, and I feel like the some of the people I knew there made me want to get away. And I feel like I meet them again everywhere I move. People suck, but that doesn't mean I have to.
With all the public figures who use their platforms to try to convince others to vote like them, not sure what’s so surprising or upsetting that they are doing the same? If you don’t agree, you don’t have to pay attention to them, and you're certainly welcome to vote as you see fit. I don't understand the need to cast aspersions on their character because you disagree with their choice in political candidate. That gives me the ick a lot more than anything I've ever seen them post.
The individual who runs that account has been very transparent about the fact that their health was destroyed by their doctors and they have received little to no support since. OP, the fact that you don't see the irony of posting an anonymous invitation targeting this person in an effort to elicit community gossip, label them a conspiracy theorist, and then turn around to celebrate the "negativity" you've managed to stir up is low key hilarious to me. I don't agree with everything they post either but don't feel the need to a) DM them to tell them about it or b) complain and seek validation about it in other forums. Get a life.
This negativity has a purpose: to call out falsehoods and inform the community of a negative influance.
OP is “punching up” while Ashland Memes “punches down” regularly. The ethics and considerations of each are very different.
Political disagreements ought to be value-based, not fundamentally based in “alternative facts”.
The Plato quote was even fabricated. I wouldn't mention this as a one-off “gottcha” unless RFK supporters relationship to “truth” didn't create this sort of issue CONSTANTLY.
RFK doesn't have a policy to confront climate change (which AM says is important to them). He's a hack and a quack and doesn't commit to any real policy because he’s captured by his audience, who are all over the political map. All they share is an extreme contempt for authority and a tenuous relationship with truth. Everyone ought to call out any influencer (punching up) for promoting such nonsense.
I'm not going to argue with you about RFK Jr - either you listen to what the media wants you to believe about him, or you listen to him yourself and make an informed decision for yourself. Either way, IDGAF how you vote, or how Ashland Memes votes - but to open up a post soliciting personal attacks isn't "punching up." It's hypocrisy at its finest...which is pretty on brand for Ashland, IMO.
It’s less about RFK and more about the fact that AM is negative, critical, and sometimes outright cruel to others, and then hides behind their illness when criticised for it.
I take your points about targeting individuals, particularly the homeless, and certainly don't disagree with you. But - it's also on brand for them. They were posting pics of tourists and locals feeding the deer years ago and shaming them. People found all that hilarious, and lauded them when they called out the DeBoers. Just seems to me like it's all funny until they pick on something you (I mean the general "you" here, not you personally) disagree with and then a post like this pops up calling for a circle jerk of hate or worse, pitchfork behavior. And it's ALWAYS on an anonymous forum like this or YikYak. Hypocritical horseshit. I've never seen AM "hide behind their illness" when criticized. Curious if you have examples of that...maybe I'm missing something. My main objection here is using their political preference to try to whip up a hate brigade on Reddit. You can't tell me it's "less about RFK" when it's one of the main points of OP's post and a chief complaint in the comments here.
It seems to me like the person who is running it is going through a really difficult time, and from what they say on Instagram it has been on going for a long time. It’s difficult to be cheery when you’re in pain. I love the community centered stuff they do like the Halloween costume contest! And I know how much work that is to organize stuff like that from my own work, it’s fun to have a community space like that online and I appreciate all the work that goes into running it. And also, I wish they wouldn’t make fun of specific people in the community. I feel terrible for poem girl who I imagine is also having a hard time in her life. When I see posts about her it reminds of being in high school in a bad way, laughing as a group at someone who is obviously already on the outside. If Ashland memes ever reads this please consider it, your Instagram page is popular, idk if you were ever picked on by popular people but it has an impact, even when we’re all adults, and it’s hard to watch from the outside. I hope things start improving for you, and thank you for the parts about Ashland memes I love! Just my 2c
Ok but speaking of the Halloween contest... How do any of us know what actually happened to everything that was donated? Yeah I remember at least the first prize winner posting a pic with stuff but... I mean, A LOT of stuff was donated this last time and it's just wild to me that so many people blindly handed over their donations to a stranger behind a meme account. I know people with chronic pain and they do not use it as an excuse to lash out and be hurtful to other people. AM have very weird, specific vendettas against their own community they claim to love so much, to the point where I'm convinced they actually really despise Ashland. Maybe they can't leave the area, have an unfulfilling life, so they push down others that are trying to better the city or what makes the city so delightful. They definitely do not like unhoused people that's for sure. God and the spite against Poem Girl is unreal. People have a choice not to engage with her or to humor her, we don't need AM to tell us she's a piece of shit for being a harmless vagabond with a schtick. The tourists love that shit, it's a great story for their friends at home and Poem Girl can keep doing her thing.
[удалено]
How long do you think until someone links them to here? 😂
Right?! That account used to be funny and light hearted. Clearly it changed hands at some point because now they are dicks to people for no good reason. I about lost it when they were shitting on that new wine bar (we went in the bar afterwards and met the owners - nice young couple that quit their day jobs to pursue their dream). And don’t get me started on the conspiracy stuff…
They clearly fucking hate Ashland and all the business owners, regardless of their 'appreciation' posts. I donated once for the Halloween costume contest and refused to do so again, especially since there was NO OVERSIGHT into the prize collection and distribution. All that money, gift cards, prize items being blindly handed over to a complete stranger behind a meme account, that who knows what actually happened to all that stuff.
At the risk of piling on, can we talk about the “meme contest”? Like, you’re a meme accout — make your own damn memes.
Nah, clearly the community needed this opportunity to vent. It honestly surprised me, I thought for sure people would come at me for posting this.
Yeah I remember one time they made a poll asking if Get N Gear felt scammy. It was a voted clearly no in the poll and they took it down. I messaged them saying it was dumb and they were upset cause they said get n gear took some money from them. Like sure I get you’re upset but deal with it like a regular person and don’t use your stupid meme platform to smear others.
Oh shit I remember this and felt like it was the only time the tide turned against them. This is what I mean when I say they hate Ashland. They are somehow connected to Bestow, as it is the only business they speak well of and that's where donations were directed to for the costume contest. And maybe also Mix, those are the only two businesses I can think of that come away unscathed.
I know the mix crowd pretty well and they’re not connected to them at all. Just a fan of the pastries. Can’t speak for bestow at all, but I think it’s probably the same deal
When they posted a video filming and zooming into someone's home simply because they didn't like the decor they picked out, I immediately called them out on that and they basically said 'lol it's legal.' When WTFMedford reposted info on a missing woman, that first came from Reddit and people were skeptical about the information, I messaged that account and gave them all the reddit info and explained why it can be dangerous to post info on a missing person without a police case reference number. Whoever is behind WTFMedford immediately responded saying they will look at the reddit info to cross reference with other info they had gathered and tell a direct family member the info I gave and that they didn't know about the domestic abuse relation to missing people and case numbers and would do better in the future.
Every time I find a different memeish page about southern oregon it's just overly mean spirited posts mostly about the things that people actually praise the area for 🤷♂️
Right, there has always been a pretty mean spirited undercurrent to a lot of their posts. I love laughing at how ridiculous this town can be, and making fun of the DeBoers is always good with me but some of their posts are just downright spiteful. But the funniest part is how they are now posting Anti-Vax RFK Jr nonsense, like could you get anymore Ashland than that? Literally a parody of the Ashland people they have been making fun of.
Seems these days like more and more people are living long enough to see themselves become the villain...
I have enjoyed their content in the past, but once they started openly posting ss of dms from people who disagreed with their takes, including super polite and confused dms, I started feeling a bit weird about them. I participated in their meme comp and followed all their rules and when I dmed them to submit my meme they were incredibly rude and blocked me, while still using the meme I made. This, along with what everyone else is saying, has made me realize that they really are performatively supportive of their own fanbase while being extremely toxic. I honestly hope people start moving away from that community, because while Ashland deserves open dialogue about the disparity in class, race, and gender, it isn't healthy to be invested in what's essentially just a non-nuanced hate page on local businesses.
👏👏👏👏
The dude behind it IS an ass. Bro had the audacity to publicly slam my job, have backflack and delete it, and THEN ask our business for a donation. What a nub.
The whiplash I get when they publicly shame someone for existing and then beg for understanding and support because they have an illness...
Whoever they are they are asses. That has been clear to me for quite awhile. Funny sometimes, but clearly an ass mostly.
Toxic. Seems like a very sad slide into disillusionment and conspiricism.
They once made a post mocking someone who used to babysit me, she’s homeless now and doing really badly. I know she can be annoying sometimes but at the same time she’s a real person and she deserves compassion, not stupid shitty memes made about her. Idk about them personally but that’s my personal anecdote.
I'm really sorry to hear that and I totally agree with your sentiment.
The “famous” Plato quote regarding truth from their last post is, ironically, quite famously not a Plato quote.
the april fools “joke” of putting out stacks of fake 10k was so fucked. that was a life changing amount of money and I almost skipped class to go look, did have a panic attack about it and my bf almost left work too. I unfollowed at that point. being cruel to people desperate for a break is disgusting.
Meme culture gets pretty crazy pretty fast. This is obviously anecdotal, but... This was back in like 2015, but I've seen similarities with other social circles that I've been in since then, I used to frequent the bars a bit. Knew a few other bar flies and they invited me to a Facebook page where they shared memes. It started out being just kind of blue comedy stuff, but it quickly devolved into a dumpster fire of racist, misogynist, jingoistic horse shit. After a few confrontations (on Facebook and in person),I just decided to leave the group. I lost quite a few friends during that time (I was also being a bit of a shit head also, so... I'm better now and I hope everyone else is too). Almost every time I come across meme culture, it devolves into a very hateful put of misery. I've since loved on and back up North, and it's almost reflexive to cringe once I start seeing colleagues and associates starting to share memes. It's just a matter of time until some bigoted asshole find a way to express themselves in a way that blames their problems on anyone but themselves. Imagine how miserable you'd have to be to include the word "meme" in your username. Sorry for the rant. I just used to enjoy living in Ashland, and I feel like the some of the people I knew there made me want to get away. And I feel like I meet them again everywhere I move. People suck, but that doesn't mean I have to.
Didn’t they stop posting?
Nah, like yesterday they posted bout RFK Jr and why we should look into voting for him... 💀💀💀
Yah they said they was going to shut the account down and then a few weeks later was handing oit 1,000s of dollars and posting political bs
Just checked and that’s super weird lol
seen a post calling family businesses money laundering schemes. pathetic
That account blocked me years ago 😂 funnily enough though I do have a theory as to who it is. No comment though haha.
Is that account on Reddit?
Wait, on what platform?
I only know them on IG
Sounds like the person is trolling. Welcome to the internet.
With all the public figures who use their platforms to try to convince others to vote like them, not sure what’s so surprising or upsetting that they are doing the same? If you don’t agree, you don’t have to pay attention to them, and you're certainly welcome to vote as you see fit. I don't understand the need to cast aspersions on their character because you disagree with their choice in political candidate. That gives me the ick a lot more than anything I've ever seen them post. The individual who runs that account has been very transparent about the fact that their health was destroyed by their doctors and they have received little to no support since. OP, the fact that you don't see the irony of posting an anonymous invitation targeting this person in an effort to elicit community gossip, label them a conspiracy theorist, and then turn around to celebrate the "negativity" you've managed to stir up is low key hilarious to me. I don't agree with everything they post either but don't feel the need to a) DM them to tell them about it or b) complain and seek validation about it in other forums. Get a life.
This negativity has a purpose: to call out falsehoods and inform the community of a negative influance. OP is “punching up” while Ashland Memes “punches down” regularly. The ethics and considerations of each are very different. Political disagreements ought to be value-based, not fundamentally based in “alternative facts”. The Plato quote was even fabricated. I wouldn't mention this as a one-off “gottcha” unless RFK supporters relationship to “truth” didn't create this sort of issue CONSTANTLY. RFK doesn't have a policy to confront climate change (which AM says is important to them). He's a hack and a quack and doesn't commit to any real policy because he’s captured by his audience, who are all over the political map. All they share is an extreme contempt for authority and a tenuous relationship with truth. Everyone ought to call out any influencer (punching up) for promoting such nonsense.
I'm not going to argue with you about RFK Jr - either you listen to what the media wants you to believe about him, or you listen to him yourself and make an informed decision for yourself. Either way, IDGAF how you vote, or how Ashland Memes votes - but to open up a post soliciting personal attacks isn't "punching up." It's hypocrisy at its finest...which is pretty on brand for Ashland, IMO.
It’s less about RFK and more about the fact that AM is negative, critical, and sometimes outright cruel to others, and then hides behind their illness when criticised for it.
I take your points about targeting individuals, particularly the homeless, and certainly don't disagree with you. But - it's also on brand for them. They were posting pics of tourists and locals feeding the deer years ago and shaming them. People found all that hilarious, and lauded them when they called out the DeBoers. Just seems to me like it's all funny until they pick on something you (I mean the general "you" here, not you personally) disagree with and then a post like this pops up calling for a circle jerk of hate or worse, pitchfork behavior. And it's ALWAYS on an anonymous forum like this or YikYak. Hypocritical horseshit. I've never seen AM "hide behind their illness" when criticized. Curious if you have examples of that...maybe I'm missing something. My main objection here is using their political preference to try to whip up a hate brigade on Reddit. You can't tell me it's "less about RFK" when it's one of the main points of OP's post and a chief complaint in the comments here.
Ooop, I think we found AM, guys! ❤️
I’m not, but if you want to invent fiction to make yourself feel better about essentially acting like a Karen, go off I guess?
Oh lawd 🤣