About

I'm Literally Neurodivergent and a Minor, also known as Stop Killing People? Um, I'm Literally Neurodivergent And a Minor?? lol, is a catchphrase typically used in ironic memes as an excuse for reckless or criminal behavior, often coupled with images of villainous characters. It is used to mock people who abuse a condition or disability to excuse unacceptable behavior. It first became popular on Twitter around late July 2021, spreading over the course of the next month. "Neurodivergent" is a term that describes people whose brains learn and process information in an atypical way,^[7] encompassing a wide range of conditions from ADHD to autism.

Origin

On July 16th, 2021, Instagram^[11] page @grimesbangs posted an Instagram text post that reads "'you can't leave without paying for that ma'am' did you forget the part where I'm a minor and also neurodivergent," gaining over 2,000 likes in two months (shown below).

Spread

On July 27th, Wilbur Soot tweeted,^[2] "'i'm sorry for doing [bad thing] i was hyperfixated'" along with the meme, gaining over 2,500 likes in two months (shown below, left). Wilbur's post is made in response to the moderator of a Dream SMP fan page that reports on player Ranboo's lore named @froggietwt, who was exposed for being a part of toxic subtwts, apologized, and deleted his accounts. This was described in a Reddit post to /r/DreamWasTaken2^[3] in July. Froggietwt's response was shared by Wilbur in a comment on his July 27th post, where he blames being a part of the controversial communities on a hyperfixation, something many saw as an excuse (shown below, right).

On August 23rd, 2021, Twitter^[1] user @milfreplyguy posted, "can’t believe mysterio doxxed peter parker he is literally a minor and neurodivergent," referencing the end of Marvel's Spider-Man: Far From Home where Spider-Man's identity is revealed to the world (shown below). The tweet gained over 8,300 likes and 2,000 retweets in three weeks. A screenshot of the tweet began spreading on Instagram. ^[8]

On September 6th, Twitter^[4] user @mabtis posted a piece of fan art showing Light Yagami from Death Note saying "'stop killing people' um.. I'm literally neurodivergent & also a minor?? lol.." gaining over 139,000 likes and 25,000 retweets in a week (shown below, left). On September 11th, Twitter^[5] user @Bravvyy_ posted a similar drawing of Walter White from Breaking Bad saying the same thing, gaining over 107,000 likes and 10,000 retweets in six days (shown below, right).

The meme gained significant popularity on Twitter^[9][10] and Instagram over the next week as people applied versions of the phrase to new images (examples shown below, left and right).

On September 15th, Instagram^[6] page @autisticnormieweeb posted a version of the meme using a drawing of Hitler, gaining over 1,000 likes in a day (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References