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Would You Like to Sign My Petition?
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About
Would You Like to Sign My Petition? refers to a phrase uttered by Postal 2 protagonist Postal Dude during a quest in which he asks the residents of the town of Paradise to sign his petition. In late 2019, the quest spawned an exploitable format, with users superimposing Postal Dude's clipboard and hand gestures over videos of various individuals acting in an irritated manner. In February 2021, the format gained notable spread online.
Origin
On April 14th, 2003, first-person shooter open world video game Postal 2 was released.[1] On Tuesday, the second playable day in the game, the protagonist Postal Dude is tasked with gathering signatures for a petition "to make whiney congressmen play violent video games."[2] The player has to ask the residents of the town of Paradise to sign the petition, often having to repeat his request several times and even threatening the NPCs in order to get the necessary number of signatures (video shown below).
Spread
On August 14th, 2017, YouTube[3] user Grate Googlee Mooglee uploaded the earliest humorous video based on the quest. In the video, an NPC agrees to sign the petition before suddenly dying from spontaneous decapitation (shown below). The video received over 69,000 views in four years.
On November 2nd, 2019, Twitter[4] user shirotheyeen posted a viral meme which combined the dialogue and Postal 2 UI with Why Are You Running? meme (YouTube[5] reupload shown below, left).
On November 4th, 2019, YouTube[6] user RockDad69 posted the earliest found meme in which Postal Dude's clipboard and hand gestures were superimposed over a video. The video, titled "POSTAL 2 NPC," received over 600,000 views in two years (shown below, right).
On April 12th, 2020, YouTube[7] user Arc posted a gameplay video from the quest that received over 645,000 views in one year.
On April 21st, 2020, content creator Conkface[8] (@conkface) posted a Would You Like to Sign My Petition? meme based on a 2017 video of director Quentin Tarantino attacking a person filming him on camera. The post received over 282,000 views, 7,000 retweets and 30,300 likes in one year (shown below).
— conk (@conkface) April 22, 2020
In the following year, Conkface proceeded to use the format in more of their memes, including September 28th, 2020,[9] November 3rd, 2020[10] (shown below) and February 1st, 2021, posts.[11] Additionally, in late December 2020, a 2012 YouTube[12] video "Postal 2 – Osama signs my Petition" gained popularity due to the YouTube Recommendation Algorithm.
— conk (@conkface) November 4, 2020
In early February 2020, the format achieved larger popularity among users online, with a number of notable versions posted in that period.
Various Examples
— conk (@conkface) February 2, 2021
Template
Search Interest
External References
[3] YouTube – Postal 2 – Sign My Petition
[4] Twitter – @shirotheyeen
[5] YouTube – postal 2 why are you running meme sign the petition
[6] YouTube – POSTAL 2 NPC
[7] YouTube – Hi there, would you like to sign my petition?
[12] YouTube – Postal 2 – Osama signs my Petition
Top Comments
ArcadeTwo
Feb 08, 2021 at 02:50PM EST
Talkie Toaster
Feb 08, 2021 at 03:37PM EST