They Can't Unrape You / *Undoes Your X*

About

Go Ahead, Call the X, They Can't Un-Y Your Z is a phrasal template based on a dark joke Go Ahead, Call the Cops, They Can't Unrape You. In late 2010s, the snowclone format gained popularity in memes in which users brag about reversing various irreversible acts. Undoes Your X is another version of the snowclone.

Origin

The exact origin of the dark joke "Go ahead, call the cops, they can't unrape you" is unknown but is estimated to be late 2011. On November 8th, 2011, Twitter^[1] user @FoluOyefeso made the earliest discovered post of the joke (shown below).

In 2011 and 2012, the joke was actively circulated on Twitter. On May 19th, 2012, Twitter^[2][3] user @Fatt_Stacks tweeted the joke, with the post going viral. On July 5th, 2012, Twitter^[4] user @miilkkk tweeted it, with the tweet gaining 370 retweets and over 200 likes.

Prior to July 16th, 2012, an unknown user created an image macro based on the joke that was widely circulated in the following years (shown below). On July 16th, the macro was posted to 9GAG,^[5] which is the earliest found post of it.

Spread

In late October 2014, a video in which a police officer whistles at a female passerby and tells the joke to fellow officer received viral spread,^[6] with multiple news outlets reporting on it.^[7] An investigation into the incident was conducted.

Prior to 2019, the phrase saw moderate spread online, with several memes utilizing it as a snowclone template. On August 11th, 2012, Know Your Meme^[8] user archived the earliest derivative meme based on the snowclone, with the caption changed to "Go ahead, report me, they can't un-butt hurt you" (shown below, left) On August 30th, 2012, Know Your Meme^[9] user Spidervance archived a My Little Pony image macro captioned "Go ahead, call the cops, they can't unhug you" (shown below, center). On April 8th, 2014, MemeCenter^[10] patrick107449 posted a Godzilla version of the meme (shown below, right).

Prior to 2020, thee snowclone format only saw limited use online. On September 17th, Facebook^[11] page Unit 731: weeb division posted an ironic Doge meme (authorship unconfirmed; shown below) utilizing the snowclone that referenced the car bombs used by the Irish Republican Army in the second part of the 20th century. The post received 29 reactions and 15 shares.

In late 2019 and 2020, the image was circulated online, including reposts on Facebook^[12][13] and iFunny.^[14][15]

Through 2020, several viral versions of the snowclone were posted in /r/okbuddyretard subreddit. For example, on May 17th, 2020, Redditor^[16] grizzly_fam posted a version of the meme that gained over 42,400 upvotes in six months (cropped version shown below, left). July 9th, an unknown Redditor posted a version of the meme that received viral circulation in the following weeks (shown below, center).^[17][18]

On December 21st, 2021, Redditor SuperHotdog789 posted a Doge version of the meme to /r/dogelore,^[19] where it gained over 26,000 upvotes in four months (shown below, right). The image received viral spread online and was followed with more versions of the meme on Reddit, Twitter and other platforms.

In addition to the original version of the snowclone, "Undoes Your X" phrasal template has also seen use.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References