This week for On The Media I decided to listen to the story talking about debunking migration memes. A little bit about these memes are that they are saying that refugees are poor and need to be taken in. Philip Clinefeld is the journalist who is covering the story. He brings up some very interesting points. Anti-migration messages are spread throughout social media.
Physical: This is happening a lot over in Europe. The main meme that was created was geared towards England. It was showing a really buff guy refugee asking if he could come live in England because he heard there were steroids there.
Psychological: Some people don't quite know how to handle the situation. It is showing that all refugees are poor and need help, when in all reality that is not how it is. Some people are just looking for a better lifestyle. In order for that to happen they need to move away. These memes don't help their cause at all.
Social: There are rules set that if you enter a foreign country you are considered a foreigner or immigrant. If you start living in a new country without properly getting paperwork settled then you are known as an illegal immigrant. This is really bad, especially for refugees who are poor and can't afford citizenship.
Temporal: This is happening right now, and has been happening for quite some time. Refugees have been around since the beginning of time. People are always looking for better lifestyles. Some have the money to afford it, while others don't and have to scrape by to make ends meat.
Cultural: Some cultures are asked to pack up everything and move away to somewhere different. Some stray away and become refugees looking for a decent place to live. Not everybody's beliefs are the same so not everybody has the same mindset of the perfect place to live. If England is giving away free steroids I would definitely stay away from there.
I think it is wrong to make memes about different countries trying to get a certain group of people to move there. Lifestyle changes can be very hard, but sometimes they are crucial and need to happen. Although memes are meant to be funny, quite a few people get offended easily and think they are not. The memes are meant to stop migration, but who knows maybe they will aggravate it and make it worse?
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