This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

This is why we can’t have nice things also referred to as Arguecat is a popular image macro series, depicting felines that look enraged, paired with the titular captions.

The format is predominantly used on image boards and forums, in situations where the conversation has been sabotaged or trolled by various users.

“This is why we can’t have nice things” expresses the futility of investing into good things, due to the destructive nature of others.

Other cat image macro formats, used for expressing emotions include CoolCat and Crying Cat.

“This is why we can’t have nice things” has been around since before the days of the internet, appearing in numerous sources throughout the 1990’s, including a standup from Paula Poundstone as well as the 1998 movie Jane Austen’s Mafia!.

The earliest image macro, featuring the line was uploaded to LiveJournal on December 4^th, 2007 by user foxbaby.

In the following years, “This is why we can’t have nice things” gained a large audience, with the growing trend of cat memes online.

Their decline following 2012 has led to the replacement of the cats with various other characters on the image macros, leading to various new iterations of the meme.

“This is why we can’t have nice things” surged in popularity on November 10^th, 2017, when Taylor Swift released a song, named after the meme on her album Reputation.

• Urbandictionary.com – This is why we can’t have nice things
• Time.com – 6 Sneaky References You Might Have Missed in Taylor Swift’s ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’
• Grammarhow.com – True Origin Of “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” Revealed
• Reddit – r/AskReddit