Mocking SpongeBob

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About

One of the most popular new memes known as “Spongemock”, “Mocking SpongeBob” or simply the “SpongeBob chicken meme”, is spreading like wildfire across social media. The image is also being paired with text that is alternating capital and small letters throughout. "Do IT LiKE tHis." In text, the typing appears to mimic a silly or humorous voice.

Origin

The image that is being used in the meme came from a SpongeBob episode called "Little Yellow Book". In it, Squidward gets his hands on SpongeBob's diary and finds out that anytime SpongeBob sees anything plaid, he begins to act like a chicken. Of course, SpongeBob notices Mr. Krabs in a kilt and begins to bend over and cluck, bulging eyes and all.

The first airing of this episode was November 25, 2012. But the earliest record of the scene being used with a sarcastic or mocking tone wasn't until May of 2017. The image was tweeted and within five days received over 147,000 likes and more than 73,000 retweets.

Meaning

The Mocking SpongeBob meme is used to mock someone. As with most things, the simple plot of the cartoon episode, which had little to do with mockery and much to do with chickens and plaid, became political in nature to some. The image was used quite a bit in offensive posts and jokes making fun of retarded or autistic children. In fact, the term "Retarded SpongeBob" quickly brings this to mind.

In a broad sense, Mocking SpongeBob represents the failure of any kind of empathy for those who disagree or happen to be different.