Has The Rural Man Complaining About 30-50 Feral Hogs Been Vindicated? The Twitter Meme Explained

In 2019, one man's sincere query about how to best tackle a wild animal menace endangering his family made him the subject of much mockery on Twitter. @WillieMcNabb posed his question in response to a debate about whether assault rifles should remain legal in the United States, pointing to the fact that in some parts of rural America, assault rifles are used to target the man-made menace of feral hogs overrunning farmlands.

But the Twitter user's question opened him up to a world of scrutiny, with many accusing the man of being a conservative shill, of overstating the feral hog menace in his neighborhood, and of being a disingenuous, if not downright humorous poster, like the rest of the irony-pilled crowd on Twitter.

Several years later, it appears as though @WillieMcNabb was vindicated in his concerns; but memes about 30-50 Feral Hogs running into his yard within three to five minutes still hold their place in the Twitter Hall of Fame. Here's a recap of how the whole fiasco took off online.

Where Did The 30-50 Feral Hogs Discourse Begin?

In August 2019, Musician Jason Isbell tweeted out a statement about his stance on assault weapons, writing, "If you’re on here arguing the definition of “assault weapon” today you are part of the problem. You know what an assault weapon is, and you know you don’t need one."

Twitter user @WillieMcNabb responded to Jason Isbell's post by posing a genuine query on his part; "Legit question for rural Americans – How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?"

How Did People React To @WillieMcNabb's 30-50 Feral Hogs Post?

The oddly phrased nature of @WillieMcNabb's post (30-50 Feral Hogs? In 3-5 minutes?) piqued the interest of Twitter users who jump at the chance to dunk on unassuming posters online. Many people automatically assumed that @WillieMcNabb was a conservative Trump supporter desperate to hold onto his assault rifles, and that he had made up the concern about wild hogs posing a threat to his children.

How Did 30-50 Feral Hogs Become A Meme?

Soon after the virality of @WillieMcNabb's post, many internet users began making jokes and posting memes about what a swarming attack by 30-50 feral hogs could possibly look like. Others parodied the statement by inserting the hogs into irrelevant pop songs and jingles.

How Did @WillieMcNabb React To The Memes About His 30-50 Feral Hogs Statement?

@WillieMcNabb actually appeared on a podcast called "Reply All" to speak with hosts PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman about the reactions to his tweet. In the podcast, McNabb appeared to take the jokes at his expense in stride.

After Vogt asks him why he thinks his tweet elicited such a backlash, McNabb responded;

"Well it’s kind of preposterous, 30-50, where does 30-50 come from? Why not, you know, why not 20-25? And so that’s odd. And then the 3-5 minutes while my small kids play. And that’s even odd in itself. So when you’ve got all these preposterous notions just sitting there. And how do they tie together? And, and especially, prefacing all that with “legit question for rural America” so people are like, “Wait a second, this is not legit. This is crazy!”."

Moreover, McNabb doubled down on his statement about the feral hog menace in rural America, and shared his own personal experiences with feral hogs endangering the lives of his children in his own yard. However, McNabb does say that he regrets inserting his query into a gun debate, saying that the feral hog problem is one that should be discussed independently of gun violence in America.

So Was The 30-50 Feral Hogs Guy Vindicated After All?

The feral hog menace appears to have slowed down thanks to several measures taken by both locals and the government, but the effects of the feral hog overpopulation still appear in some rural parts of the US. In a February 24th, 2024 post, X user @centx_diesel shared an image of an extremely large hog, saying that it was the result of interbreeding between wild and domestic hogs.

On February 25th, 2024, X user @nathanallebach quoted the image and wrote, "We as a society owe an apology to the 30-50 feral hogs guy." Perhaps this means that public opinion on @WillieMcNabb is turning after all.

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For the full history of 30-50 feral hogs, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.