Why Is It That 'We Are Not The Same?'

Twitter is a jungle. Every living thing there is competing for sunlight, sustenance and space. The place is brutal. One catchphrase meme describes (and spoofs) this struggle for dominance better than any other: we are not the same. In a world of clout chasers, some feel no need to lift a finger because the clout is already within them. These are the people posting “We are not the same” memes.

What Is ‘We Are Not The Same’?

The meme is a catchphrase used in the frame of a comparison. The first part describes what a lesser “you” does, the second part describes what a superior “I” does, and the last part concludes: “We are not the same.”

In the spirit of ironically self-aggrandizing copypastas like the famous Navy SEAL copypasta, we are not the same is often deployed in joking contexts, going way over the top to make fun of people who claim superiority over others.

Where Does “We Are Not The Same” Come From?

Around August 2019, a trend of self-aggrandizing posts using the phrase spread on Twitter, often used in a sincere context. Users seemed, in general, to compare their values and choices to those of others, often justifying how and why they chose differently than might be expected.

In September, the first image macro of the meme, using the phrase more ironically, gained prominence on Instagram and Facebook. Beginning with the phrase “You in her DMs,” it compared this accomplishment to the speaker’s greater accomplishment, generally something that was actually silly.

This kind of posting, often referencing DMs, peaked on Twitter in the fall of 2019. Since then, it has continued to recur at a low intensity, with many examples popping up in the years since.

The meme took an interesting turn in 2021, combining with two other threads of memery: spoofs on the Breaking Bad universe and takes on the emerging sigma male subculture. Many used Gamer Joker or a picture of Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring from Breaking Bad to represent the superior person in the meme, and used the same phrases as the original but applied them to a new context. The 2021 resurgence of the memes seemed to focus on sexual practices of sigma males.

How Do People Use We Are Not The Same?

People tend to use “We are not the same” memes to mock and question ideas of hierarchy. Usually, the notion of someone being better than someone else is mocked. While the memes may have been sincere when they first started up, they have since become something highly ironic.

Why Do People Use "We Are Not The Same?"

If your social media feed is full of people flexing, you may want to do a kind of anti-flex: that’s exactly what “We are not the same” accomplishes. Or, if you’re a Sigma male, you may want to prove just how little you care about competition and hierarchy, and in that case, the meme is also perfect for you.

For the full history of "We are not the same," be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.