Q&A with Ken Bone

ou either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain" Harvey Dent once said in The Dark Night. But on the night of October 9th, when the microphone was passed on to an audience member named Ken Bone at the presidential town hall debate, he didn't sign up to be made into an icon, a hero or a villain. All Ken sought to do was to ask the candidates what they would do to tackle the looming energy crisis without ruining the environment. It was America, in desperate search of someone, perhaps anyone, who could save the entire country from moral implosion or existential crisis, even just for a few days, with a moment of levity, that decided to make Ken Bone an icon. What's more it was also America that set the stage for his fall from grace a few days later. Yet, Ken Bone did not despair, or worse, go on a self-defensive rant and delete his accounts. Instead, Ken did what many sensible nanofamers have been doing in recent years: a popup charitable for-profit project for his local community.

Interview

Q: Let’s start from the night of the debate. You've mentioned in previous interviews that you realized your sudden viral fame as soon as you left the venue and turned your phone back on. Could you sum up the feelings and thoughts that were going through your head at that exact moment?

A: Humbled, Excited, Surprised, Confused, Exhausted.

Q: This year’s election memescape (and Halloween!) certainly wouldn't have been the same without Ken Bone. You must’ve seen a few parodies or Halloween costumes that were inspired by your appearance during the debate. Do you have any favorites that actually made you laugh out loud? Like, until your stomach hurt?

A: The prayer candle proclaiming me “The Patron Saint of Indecision” still gets me.

Made and sold by The Eternal Flame on Etsy

Q: As you would probably agree, much of the online buzz seemed to focus on your attire, from the red sweater to your mustache. But what about that disposable camera? What were you taking pictures of on the stage after the debate ended? And how did they come out?

A: When I get the photos back on Tuesday I’ll share them [note: to be be updated].

Q: Not long after the night of the debate, you hosted an AMA event on Reddit. Clearly, the fact that you had been an active member of the community for over a year made you even bigger of a hero to some. What are some of your favorite subreddits that you like to frequent?

A: r/upliftingnews helps me recharge when the negativity creeps in.

Q: What makes your story of viral fame really stand out from the precedents is the baffling speed at which you went from being hailed “as the American hero we needed” to being labeled “a kind of an awful guy” in the news media. As a family man, it must have been unpleasant to see your reputation and image get toyed around like that in public. Do you have any takeaway or lesson from this fiasco that you’d like to share with us?

A: Any negative media tends to be ignored by those who really know me. They know I’m just a regular guy, flaws and all. Besides, all the negative stuff only affects me, the good I’ve been a part of helps the whole community.

Q: On a related note, social media sleuthing and crowdsourced investigating have increasingly become major variables and powerful forces in online storytelling, which doesn’t always add up to a happy ending for everyone. And as a result of that, the grey area between citizen journalism and invasion of privacy has only gotten greyer. You mentioned in your AMA that you had received a few death threats. What were the motives behind and the nature of these threats?

A:I think the people threatening violence against me are just attention seekers, and it doesn’t really get to me. People threatening violence against my family will be prosecuted if caught.

Q: The average life cycle and lifespan of overnight internet stardom has been getting shorter and shorter. Once the election is over, do you have any plans or projects to turn your nano-fame into something more semipermanent? Or are you comfortable with staying in the #BONEZONE until it lasts?

A: I don’t plan to try to drag out my time in the spotlight. I may start a YouTube channel, but I don’t really know what to talk about. Other than that I will only be responding to incoming media requests like always. I don’t do anything to try to get back on the air.

Q: Could you tell us about your charitable t-shirt campaign to raise money for the homeless? How's it going?

A: I don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking it was pure charity. I made a profit from the shirts too. I gave 10% of my profits to St. Patrick's Center, totaling over $7,000, in addition to a contribution from the shirt company. By the time all of my charitable efforts for all the charities I’m trying to help are totaled, we’ll be at over $30,000 between myself, my sponsors, and regular folks donating on my behalf.

Q: We're well aware that you have repeatedly declined to talk about your choice of candidate in this year’s election, but we gotta give it a try! Have you made up your mind yet?

A: I made up my mind not long after the third debate, but I remain committed to raising voting awareness in a non-partisan way. I won’t be telling anyone who I voted for.

Q: As per our long-running tradition, here's our final question. What is your favorite meme of all time?

A: I got the most enjoyment from "Shoop Da Whoop". I still find myself chuckling about "firin’ ma lazor" every now and then.

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Ken Bone is an American plant technician who has been working at Prairie State Generating Company since 2010 and currently lives with his wife of 12 years, Heather, and their cat in the suburb outside of St. Louis, Missouri. Shortly after rising to viral fame in early October 2016, Bone launched a t-shirt merchandise line bearing a design of his face in a charitable for-profit campaign to raise money for the homeless in St. Louis. For more information, check out the official merchandise store over at Represent.com!

This interview was conducted via email by the Know Your Meme staff in November 2016.