22 May 2023

Blinking White Guys and The Debt Limit Deadline...Let's leave it there for now

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reaffirmed June 1 as the “hard deadline” for the US to raise the debt ceiling or risk defaulting on its obligations. “I indicated in my last letter to Congress that we expect to be unable to pay all of our bills in early June and possibly as soon as June 1."

When people on social media want to react to something they see with incredulity, they normally seek out a meme known as the blinking white guy.

He has become a cornerstone of internet culture for millions - yet few people know his story, nor how he reached the dizzying heights of meme fame.

For the past two-and-a-half years, Drew Scanlon has pretty much been the official face of "what the f***?".

Recalling the moment that would become the stuff of internet legend, he recalled: "I don't remember doing it at all.

"It was one joke in a two-hour stream that we did every week, and a very forgettable moment for me at the time."

That stream was a 2013 episode of Unprofessional Fridays - a show by video game website Giant Bomb. . .

Blinking white guy: The three stages of incredulity
Image:Blinking white guy: The three stages of incredulity

Playbook: No one’s blinking on the debt limit anytime soon

Presented by

 

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

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QOD: You can dig it