About

Which Way, Western Man? also misquoted Which Way, White Man? is a catchphrase originating from the name of a 1978 book by white nationalist author William Gayley Simpson. The catchphrase regained popularity in the late 2010s, first used in political image macros and later gaining larger popularity in ironic memes, similar to Reject Modernity, Embrace Tradition. It is commonly used alongside the Dramatic Crossroads meme format.

Origin

Which Way Western Man? is a book written by white supremacist William Gayley Simpson. First published in 1978, Simpson contends that there is an organized conspiracy by an alleged globalist, Jewish network against the "Western Man." Simpson argues in favor of mass deportations of minorities and argues that internal weakness has contributed to the West’s decline.^[1]

Though the exact first memetic usage online outside of references to the book is unknown, the phrase "Which Way, Western Man" started appearing in comment sections on 4chan as early as mid-2016.

The earliest known example of the catchphrase being used alongside an image comes from a May 3rd, 2016, 4chan^[8] post about American politics on the /int/ (International) board in which an anonymous user commented, "Which way, Western man?"

On July 22nd, 2017, another 4chan user included the phrase in a thread featuring a comparison meme about American politics on the /r9k/ (ROBOT9001) board, with the catchphrase seeing increased usage on the site over the following months in the latter half of 2017.

The catchphrase continued to see steady use in memes and image macros throughout 2017 as it spread online, with another early example being uploaded to Imgflip^[2] by an anonymous user sometime in 2017 that depicted an image similar to the Dramatic Crossroads format.

The phrase also began to be used in posts that presented the choice between traditionalism and modernity and became a common response used in comment sections, used with varying degrees of seriousness or irony.

For instance, on August 2nd, 2017, X^[10] / Twitter user Arch_Revival_ posted an example in an image macro meme comparing types of architecture along with the catchphrase, garnering over 110 likes, 50 retweets and 10 replies in nine years.

Spread

Though the phrase had entered regular usage in certain online spheres from 2017 through 2020, it had not yet breached into the wider internet zeitgeist until the 2020s, as it became a more widespread meme. The phrase saw a sudden surge of interest following its convergence with the Dramatic Crossroads meme.

For example, on February 5th, 2021, X^[3] user WereInHellYT posted an edited version of the Dramatic Crossroads exploitable format with the caption "Which way Western man?" The post received over 40,000 likes in five years.

The post prompted a new meme format on the platform over the following months and years, and the phrase and image came to be associated with each other. One such example was shared by X^[12] user _rawrell on October 25th, 2022, garnering over 3,000 likes, 530 retweets and 180 replies in three years.

Though the new format was often utilized to express white supremacist and pro-traditionalist views, the phrase, in conjunction with the image, began to take on a largely ironic usage. As a result, the phrase has taken on an innocuous nature for those unaware of its white supremacist origins.

For instance, on April 9th, 2021, Instagram^[11] user this.and.a.blunt posted an example depicting two songs of the same name with the phrase as an image macro meme, receiving nearly 1,000 likes in five years.

Political Usage By Trump Administration

On August 11th, 2025, the official X^[4] / Twitter account for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, @DHSgov, posted an image to recruit for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The image depicts Uncle Sam before directional signs labeled with different paths and the caption, “Which Way, American Man?” The post was viewed over 5.5 million times as of February 2026.

The post sparked mass outrage, though Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, maintained that the post was not a reference to Simpson's book, stating, "Calling everything you dislike 'Nazi propaganda' is tiresome. Uncle Sam, who represents America, is at a crossroads, pondering which way America should go."^[5]

Despite the controversy stoked by the DHS post, the official X^[6] account for the White House, @WhiteHouse, posted a similar image on January 14th, 2026, this time reading, "Which way, Greenland man?" and featuring an image similar to the Dramatic Crossroads format. The post was viewed 17 million times in just over a month.

The post was once again met with mass outrage and criticism, with a second instance sparking conversation surrounding the intentionality of the "Which Way, Western Man?" reference used in the Trump Administration's posts.^[7]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References