Another classic “are we the baddies?” moment, courtesy of BD-13 67
By David Futrelle
So I was browsing through the #QAnon hashtag on Twitter, as one does, and admiring the amazing graphic design abilities of the Q Believers and MAGAheads in general, when I ran across a couple of memes that made me wonder if I was hallucinating.
After further investigation of the meme artist responsible for them I have concluded that, well, I’m not the one who’s hallucinating. I would try to explain further, but nothing I could write would quite capture the, er, unique vision of this sui generis genius. And so, without further ado, let me present you with some selections from the ever-growing oeuvre of the man they call BD-13 67, a.k.a. @BowsOverBoston, a.k.a. Bobby Dembow.
Here’s the meme that first caught my eye and caused me to wonder if my brain was working properly.
We are in control!#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/dWBlUAPjLX
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 14, 2018
But this is merely the tip of one fucking trippy iceberg.
As the meme above suggests, BD seems to have a bit of an obsession with Ivanka Trump, though his tributes to what he sees as her fierce beauty are undermined somewhat by his inability to understand how human necks work.
Pain is coming.
Are you ready?#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/o1KOD6PbQ6— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 5, 2018
This evil must be destroyed.
Take the SWORD of SPIRIT.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/it7HGE0Tz4— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 5, 2018
BD also seems to think Melania is hot stuff as well.
Be strong.
Use the tools of faith.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/LK89i779o0— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 14, 2018
Light will defeat darkness.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/0XMuSZupP4
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 5, 2018
BD has devoted much of his energy in recent weeks to promoting the hashtag #RedOctober, a reference to a typically vague QAnon promise that something big and terrible is coming this month that will utterly ruin the Democrats before the midterms.
For someone purportedly on the side of “light” and “truth,” BD has a penchant for exceedingly dark and violent imagery; many of his #RedOctober memes look a bit like rejected posters for extremely low-budget horror films. It doesn’t help that he makes frequent use of the stylized skull logo that has come to be associated with Q.
Weirdly, most of these memes are filled with admonitions to vote, though presumably BD is aware that the midterms take place in November, not October.
We must destroy the evil that infests our country.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/jIXx4P70pm
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 4, 2018
Dead Men Walking.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/6nj6NscMWM
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 4, 2018
#RedOctober is a call to action.
It’s on us to change the world.#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/EbMvgWZk5d— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 2, 2018
#RedOctober is a fight for Humanity.#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/nPVPEQGmFo
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 2, 2018
#RedOctober cannot be stopped.#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/asjzF5o9zM
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 3, 2018
#RedOctober has arrived.
WWG1WGA.#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/pRdQLQvovI— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 1, 2018
#RedOctober is operational.
Fight! Fight! Fight!#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/fHbz6oGDY6— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 1, 2018
#RedOctober is coming.#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/cgApmT35ni
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) September 30, 2018
The ones featuring the slogan “Make it Happen” — sometimes rendered in rather hackneyed horror movie fonts — strike me as the most ominous.
#RedOctober is here.
This is War. A Meme War.#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/tUwSCXzNOL— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 2, 2018
#RedOctober
Make It Happen.#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/VlRTO3X9q5— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 1, 2018
Make it Happen.#RedOctober #QAnon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/53jW0vF2VL
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 1, 2018
At this point it’s basically obligatory to make a reference to the Mitchell and Webb “Are we the baddies” sketch. (If you’ve already watched that one too many times, here’s a completely unrelated bit from Mr. Show that’s pretty funny. I mean, there’s really no reason for me to post it here but, hey, it’s been a pretty shitty week.)
My favorite of BD’s “are we the baddies” memes has to be this one, with the phrase “TRUST YOUR FELLOW MAN” incongruously appearing underneath a glowing, skull-faced Trump standing on what I can only assume is supposed to be a beach on the Bikini atoll shortly after the bomb tests that rendered it uninhabitable.
#RedOctober day 2.
Trust your fellow man.#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/4mYZFYeIuS— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 2, 2018
Some of the memes refer vaguely to the alleged “evil” that Trump and his followers are allegedly battling, but in many of them it’s not clear what exactly this evil is supposed to be. Here “evil” seems to be a child … walking on a railing?
This evil must be destroyed.
Vote them all out.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/BgqkO3n01p— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 2, 2018
This one seems to suggest that Trump and his eagle buddy here are themselves the evil to be vanquished.
This evil must be destroyed.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/7VBkwdubir
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 2, 2018
As for this one, your guess is as good as mine:
Vote them all out.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/67OmyZQTaH
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 3, 2018
“Vote them all out” is a rather unusual message for someone supporting the party that controls the White House and both houses of Congress to push. And indeed, more than a few of BD’s memes might at first glance appear to be anti-Trump, anti-GOP memes dreamed up by some graphic-design-deficient #Resistance fighter on a meth binge.
#RedOctober is a call to arms.
Be loud – you have a voice.#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/C5GzjGHSCC— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 3, 2018
The Sky is Falling.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/tsxxrbK0dQ
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 2, 2018
Vote them all out.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/AthZJnrcTV
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 2, 2018
What has BD got against astronauts, anyway?
But BD’s memes don’t just reference horror and apocalyptic science fiction. Some of the #RedOctober memes have a distinctly western feel, having been, er, “inspired” by promo art for the video game Red Dead Redemption 2, which, much like QAnon’s assorted predictions, has been plagued by confusion and delays. (It’s supposedly shipping later this month. We’ll see. But unlike QAnon’s predictions, it’s pretty clear that it will materialize in the real world at some point.)
The gallows are ready.#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/0KP5qpXf59
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 4, 2018
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Vote! Vote! Vote!#RedOctober #Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/fPp85EsAZW— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 4, 2018
Then again, BD may not be able to tell west from east — as evidenced by this enigmatic meme featuring the Great Wall of China as a sort of stand-in for Trump’s as-yet-unbuilt wall on our country’s southern border.
#RedOctober is a fight to #SaveAmerica.#Qanon #VoteRed pic.twitter.com/2TJ9msq8jX
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) October 3, 2018
But of all BD’s puzzling memes, I find this one perhaps the most puzzling.
#RedOctober is nearly upon us- are you ready for the next phase of the Great Meme War of 2018?#Qanon #VoteRed #MidTerms pic.twitter.com/idLSw8omwC
— BD-13 67 (@BowsOverBoston) September 30, 2018
Why an escalator? Because Trump famously rode down one on the day he announced his candidacy to a crowd of “supporters” who were mostly paid actors? In light of the revelations about Trump’s paid supporters at that event, why would any Trump fan want to remind anyone of it in a meme?
I can’t answer those questions. But there IS one question about BD-13 67 that I can answer definitively: Does he happen to have a Soundcloud where he posts exceedingly bland but basically competent self-produced instrumental tracks in a sort of Reggaeton style?
The answer is yes. Yes, he does.
I may return to BD and his memes in a later post, examining his pre-#RedOctober work. But right now, after many hours staring at these weird and baffling memes, I think I need a break and I suspect you all do too.
We Hunted the Mammoth relies entirely on readers like you for its survival. If you appreciate our work, please send a few bucks our way! Thanks!