Memecenter Inspires “Faith In Humanity”
I was stumbling on memecenter.com, a website that publishes memes (an element of a culture or behavior passed from one individual to another, in this case, photo collages which gain viral popularity as they spread online) made by the public to share with other browsers such as myself. I came upon an author by the name of Vlade who publishes memes that focus on specific groups or causes. The one I found most intriguing was titled “Faith In Humanity,” in which Vlade makes a collage of stories and pictures of certain people and groups giving back to the community.
Vlade’s “Faith In Humanity” memes show that humankind, as a whole, has integrity. These memes started about two months ago in November. “Faith In Humanity” is popular, averaging about 2.5 to 3 thousand likes.
One of his highlights was of a couple who won €161 million, which translates into $216,496,700 U.S. currency, from a EuroMillions draw in 2011. With the great fortune they received, they bought a new prosthetic limb for an Olympic torchbearer who lost his leg to cancer. One of his other highlights showed a number of Virginia Tech students help a recent graduate in a wheelchair hike a two-mile trail. When I read stories such as these, I have an almost nonsensical pride in myself and the people in the post. It makes me feel good about myself and broadens my perspective about the general public. These memes show us that even though the ever-encumbering media highlights and almost exaggerates violence and crime, that there still is an everlasting integrity in people around the world.
Memecenter’s jokes, generally aimed to entertain an audience of teens and young adults, range from innocently funny to others with a dark and almost non-admissible humor. I love how Vlade’s posts stand in contrast to typical memes on Memecenter. He doesn’t aim to entertain his general audience through comedic efforts. Rather, “Faith In Humanity” shares experiences and pure morals, integrity and selfless accomplishments. These memes give people an almost refreshing breath, and for many like myself, a great way to start the day. I hope Vlade continues to publish his work so that the people who do these selfless acts will have their time to shine in his posts. This is my way to highlight his story, his act of sharing the stories of others.
In 2006, over 25 youth began participating in weekly after-school writing workshops where they congregated in the hallway of a two-story building in West Fresno and learned the essentials of creating media and telling their stories. The group evolved over the next five years and is now proudly recognized as The kNOw Youth Media.
Through our program, we create opportunities for our youth participants, who in turn create long-term positive change in their communities. Our approach weaves youth development and youth media innovation to produce our biannual youth publication, multimedia projects, and community forums.
The kNOw began as a project of New America Media, which was the country’s first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations. In 2018 The kNOw became a project of Youth Leadership Institute.
