What Is NPC, the Pro-Trump Internet’s New Favorite Insult?

UglyCasanova

Lifer
Mar 25, 2001
19,275
1,361
126
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/us/politics/npc-twitter-ban.html

Several months ago, users on 4chan and Reddit, the online message forums, started using the term NPC to refer to liberals. These people, they said, join the anti-Trump crowd not because they are led by independent thought or conscience to oppose President Trump’s policies, but because they’re brainwashed sheep who have been conditioned to parrot left-wing orthodoxy, in the manner of a scripted character.​

As a Reddit user, BasedMedicalDoctor, explains in a thread about the appeal of the meme, NPCs are “completely dependent on their programming, and can’t do or think on their own.”​


Odd that the NYT did a write up on this. And that Twitter came down with the banhammer on anything related to the meme. Why? They gave some rationale that some of the accounts posted info meant to mislead about the election. Ok fair enough, but that wasn’t really the point of the NYT article, just a piece of it. Kotaku explains further

https://kotaku.com/how-the-npc-meme-tries-to-dehumanize-sjws-1829552261

Long article about how the meme dehumanizes sjw’s and the NPC term is encroaching on the sjw label itself (doubtful imo). But maybe it’s the term encroaching that’s feared. The left and especially progressives used to view themselves as being the counter culture, with the good and bad that came with it. Now the alt-right has donned that crown. Are the sjw's afraid that maybe they’ve been infiltrated with an echo chamber thought process, that much of the rebellious streak is lost, pc culture has rotted the soul, and they’ve become the society they’ve failed against?

Maybe not but a thought.
 

ivwshane

Lifer
May 15, 2000
32,194
14,863
136
Its no surprise that the only thing you took away from this article was that NPC is being used to describe liberals.

The whole point of the article was to explain how the "NPC" movement was simply more trolling from right wing idiots.

Congrats on your inability to think critically and understand what you read though.

The trolling is laughable but only because it's yet another example of right wing projection (and your post highlights this perfectly!).

No one but internet douchbags and incels give a shit about what's posted on reddit or 4chan (which is why you always try to bring it into the conversation).


Good job bubble boy
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
72,284
6,026
126
I know you are but what am I. I’ve been running into idiots like you since kindergarten. Maybe you’re not just a giant brain-dead jack-off but it’s a thought.
 

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
37,715
17,990
146
"Odd that NYT did a write up on this" - a guy void of independent thought, fooled by propaganda and shouts of "failing NYT" and "fake news"

Thanks for the post OP, since I don't visit 4chan, rarely Reddit, and never Twitter, it's good to know the right is still busy trolling and living off 100% projection.

I like how your deeply concern for "sjw's" well being. Whodathunkit.
 

interchange

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,011
2,840
136
I think it's pretty scary how much righteous zeal platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and 4chan can engender. There is instant access to ego soothing. Somehow the right has capitalized on the notion that mainstream media is intentionally suppressing facts that don't fit a leftist narrative. The capitalization isn't toward healthy skepticism but rather to create a bias where someone telling you what you want to hear is seen as credible on that very basis. This phenomenon is not so simple as a loosening of the need for reliable sourcing. It is a paradoxic support for unreliable sourcing as more valid, and this article highlights one of the projective mechanisms used to ward off awareness of this reality. This is a power in numbers phenomenon, except numbers aren't number of individuals, it's number of posts. In this day and age, a vocal minority can wield enormous influence over the masses without being seen as a minority.
 

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
37,715
17,990
146
Wtf is the op concerned about this time?

Must be how easily lies and misinformation spread on social media, especially when it's fake accounts and intentional propaganda by the mainstream right. Yup, that's it ...
 

dawp

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
11,345
2,705
136
what so funny about this is NPC can be used for trump followers. they have no critical thinking skills and believe every thing trump says hook, line and sinker. it's like they're on cruse control. or following their programming.
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
12,951
7,873
136
NPC?

Gosh, these guys really are nerds!

Also, amusing that a motif intended to imply that 'liberals' can't think for themselves seems to have have been adopted sheep-like by multiple conservatives.

It's the internet effect, I guess. Jargon and buzzwords and identikit thinking seems to spread that way now, on all sides (one conservative calls someone a 'snowflake' and suddenly they are all at it...one liberal uses 'woke' and suddenly every other middle-aged Guardian columnist is using the word in the hope of sounding more like a young hip American....).
 
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Paratus

Lifer
Jun 4, 2004
16,600
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/us/politics/npc-twitter-ban.html

Several months ago, users on 4chan and Reddit, the online message forums, started using the term NPC to refer to liberals. These people, they said, join the anti-Trump crowd not because they are led by independent thought or conscience to oppose President Trump’s policies, but because they’re brainwashed sheep who have been conditioned to parrot left-wing orthodoxy, in the manner of a scripted character.​

As a Reddit user, BasedMedicalDoctor, explains in a thread about the appeal of the meme, NPCs are “completely dependent on their programming, and can’t do or think on their own.”​


Odd that the NYT did a write up on this. And that Twitter came down with the banhammer on anything related to the meme. Why? They gave some rationale that some of the accounts posted info meant to mislead about the election. Ok fair enough, but that wasn’t really the point of the NYT article, just a piece of it. Kotaku explains further

https://kotaku.com/how-the-npc-meme-tries-to-dehumanize-sjws-1829552261

Long article about how the meme dehumanizes sjw’s and the NPC term is encroaching on the sjw label itself (doubtful imo). But maybe it’s the term encroaching that’s feared. The left and especially progressives used to view themselves as being the counter culture, with the good and bad that came with it. Now the alt-right has donned that crown. Are the sjw's afraid that maybe they’ve been infiltrated with an echo chamber thought process, that much of the rebellious streak is lost, pc culture has rotted the soul, and they’ve become the society they’ve failed against?

Maybe not but a thought.

You see the term NPC stands for Non-Player Character, an extremely important but underrated part of any Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Your NPCs need to have decent backstory and behave realistically otherwise it breaks the immersion if the campaign.

Now unfortunately for you OP you failed an intelligence check and have now become a drone in the mindflayers army. We’ll have to see if you get a chance to be rescued or if you’ll spend the rest of the campaign trapped as a mindless slave. ;)
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,380
8,129
126
You see the term NPC stands for Non-Player Character, an extremely important but underrated part of any Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Your NPCs need to have decent backstory and behave realistically otherwise it breaks the immersion if the campaign.

Now unfortunately for you OP you failed an intelligence check and have now become a drone in the mindflayers army. We’ll have to see if you get a chance to be rescued or if you’ll spend the rest of the campaign trapped as a mindless slave. ;)

Yep. NPC = Non Player Character. Make D&D great again!
 

Commodus

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 2004
9,206
6,799
136
There's a tremendous irony to this perception when the pro-Trump camp turns a blind eye to any and all criticism of Dear Leader, chants mindless slogans and is all about enforcing the status quo.

In their world, you're not allowed to point out that Trump lies about virtually everything, that he's corrupt to the core, that he's anti-science and that his policies are frequently ineffective or quantifiably dangerous. You're not allowed to crusade for meaningful social change, unless of course it's to turn back the clock on protections and rights. And of course, these are the same people who'll wear MAGA hats and repeat Pepe memes while pretending that they are the independent thinkers.

Mind you, not at all surprised to see a post like this from UglyCasanova... champion of Grave Concern, defender of the status quo... when he sees someone being oppressed, he checks to make sure the oppressor is feeling okay.
 

ivwshane

Lifer
May 15, 2000
32,194
14,863
136
Uh oh, it looks like this thread has turned into yet another thread where the OP doesn't show his face again.

Womp womp
 
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sactoking

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2007
7,501
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You see the term NPC stands for Non-Player Character, an extremely important but underrated part of any Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Your NPCs need to have decent backstory and behave realistically otherwise it breaks the immersion if the campaign.

Now unfortunately for you OP you failed an intelligence check and have now become a drone in the mindflayers army. We’ll have to see if you get a chance to be rescued or if you’ll spend the rest of the campaign trapped as a mindless slave. ;)
giphy.gif
 
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IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
68,788
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OP, why did it take 'til post 11 for someone to let on just what the hell it is you're going on about? That was your job in your first post and you blew it. Zero points awarded and back under the bridge for you.
 
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UglyCasanova

Lifer
Mar 25, 2001
19,275
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OP, why did it take 'til post 11 for someone to let on just what the hell it is you're going on about? That was your job in your first post and you blew it. Zero points awarded and back under the bridge for you.


What? I provided links to two different articles on the topic as well as my opinions on why I think this particular meme has caused a stir. How did I not let on what it was about, you'd have to be dense to not get it.
 
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WHAMPOM

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2006
7,628
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/us/politics/npc-twitter-ban.html

Several months ago, users on 4chan and Reddit, the online message forums, started using the term NPC to refer to liberals. These people, they said, join the anti-Trump crowd not because they are led by independent thought or conscience to oppose President Trump’s policies, but because they’re brainwashed sheep who have been conditioned to parrot left-wing orthodoxy, in the manner of a scripted character.​

As a Reddit user, BasedMedicalDoctor, explains in a thread about the appeal of the meme, NPCs are “completely dependent on their programming, and can’t do or think on their own.”​


Odd that the NYT did a write up on this. And that Twitter came down with the banhammer on anything related to the meme. Why? They gave some rationale that some of the accounts posted info meant to mislead about the election. Ok fair enough, but that wasn’t really the point of the NYT article, just a piece of it. Kotaku explains further

https://kotaku.com/how-the-npc-meme-tries-to-dehumanize-sjws-1829552261

Long article about how the meme dehumanizes sjw’s and the NPC term is encroaching on the sjw label itself (doubtful imo). But maybe it’s the term encroaching that’s feared. The left and especially progressives used to view themselves as being the counter culture, with the good and bad that came with it. Now the alt-right has donned that crown. Are the sjw's afraid that maybe they’ve been infiltrated with an echo chamber thought process, that much of the rebellious streak is lost, pc culture has rotted the soul, and they’ve become the society they’ve failed against?

Maybe not but a thought.

The mega-irony found in this post leaves no room for thought.
 

UglyCasanova

Lifer
Mar 25, 2001
19,275
1,361
126
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-45888176

BBC write up on it. Plenty of examples in these links on the meme in question. I’ll refrain from posting an actual image of it since that goes against the rules but it’s the grey guy. Yes as was referenced earlier NPC is a character from a game that isn’t playable and just says whatever it’s underlying code dictates, hence why it is being used this way. From the BBC article:

Who cares?
Well Twitter, clearly, since it has suspended profiles set up to spread them. And many conservatives are upset by that action.​

Plus what looks like a row over a meme sits in the broader context of ongoing culture wars. Trump supporters complain liberals denigrate them all as fascists or Russian bots. Liberals are angered by their mass characterisation as snowflakes, cucks or NPCs.​

It seemed this one struck a nerve. My opinion on why is what I listed in the OP, that the left prided themselves on being anticonformist and the radical spirit of America. There’s been a shift culturally and now the progressives find themselves in much the same place as he religious right neocons and the new "burn it all down" alt right is the one whose taken on the persona of fighting The Man.
 
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IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
68,788
26,489
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What? I provided links to two different articles on the topic as well as my opinions on why I think this particular meme has caused a stir. How did I not let on what it was about, you'd have to be dense to not get it.
You could have simply said what the acronym NPC stood for.