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What Is The 'Smugler' Meme? 4chan's Controversial 'Smug Hitler' Drawing Explained
Remember rage comics? Well, there's a new exploitable meme face going around 4chan right now and it's reminding some people of the classic rage face characters. The image, deemed Smugler, is not only inspired inspiring tons of memes across social media, it's also got a complicated backstory about a Jewish teacher who resigned after an incident involving a 12-year-old student. Here's what you need to know.
What Is The 'Smugler' Meme?
"Smugler" is a nickname awarded to a very amateur drawing of Hitler that was given to former Massachusetts teacher Morrison Robblee, along with a poorly written note, by his 12-year-old student.
According to reports, the student had exhibited increasingly hateful behavior towards Robblee because he's Jewish, including making fun of the Kippah Robblee wore during Passover. Robblee felt the situation wasn't being dealt with appropriately by the school administration and resigned.
The 12-year-old student now faces a misdemeanor charge of alleged criminal harassment. His drawing and note on the other hand, the latter of which features the phrases "I don't appreciate you :)" and "no cap manbun," are going viral online since they were shared in the media.
How Is 'Smugler' Used In Memes?
The story broke in mid-June 2023, and since then, the amateur drawing has spread across social media, with notable impact on 4chan and Twitter. The former site has popularized the name "Smugler" for the character, a portmanteau of "smug" for his facial expression and "Hitler."
The face is mostly being Photoshopped into new contexts, such as over real historical images and into other meme formats. Many of the memes include phrases from the note, like "I don't appreciate you :)." Regardless of the troubling backstory behind it, the image has struck a chord with people online, who have quickly turned it into one of 2023's biggest memes.
For the full history of Smugler be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
