Meaning
What does I Thought This Was America mean?
I thought this was America is a reaction meme that also has several snowclone interpretations.
The format’s essence is to express reluctance of accepting someone’s point in an argument.
Origin
What's the origin of I Thought This Was America?
The original line was said by the character Randy from the satirical American TV show South Park, in season 9 episode 5 that aired in 2005.
During the episode, the Park Country PD makes several arrests on Randy. Each occasion he complains and says the line “I thought this was America!”
Spread & Usage
How did I Thought This Was America spread?
The first community that started using the format was YTMND in 2005.
In 2007 there was a Yahoo Answers thread created to discuss both the episode and the meme.
From 2010, I thought this was America got featured on Urban Dictionary, afterwards Tumblr blogs and Reddit threads were born, dedicated to the format.
External resources
- YTMND – I’M SORRY, I THOUGHT THIS WAS AMERICA
- Urban Dictionary – Oh Im Sorry I Thought This Was America