Great, now I have to be afraid of Dr. Seuss characters?
Here is what I just read from some online news source (I don’t usually identify these sources, as they are all pretty much the same, give or take their specific biases, and God knows they don’t ever name us here at FU):
Dozens of videos on TikTok and other platforms early Tuesday show users dressed as the tall, black-and-white cat first featured in the classic 1957 book. In these videos, users can be seen lurking outside of windows, homes, or along isolated highways. Some of the content appears to be AI-generated, and some clips have led to arrests.
To which I say…huh?
It seems what is being called a ‘viral phenomenon’ began this past July on Snapchat, later spreading on X in a post that earned more than 10 million views… which is, I guess, what a viral phenomenon does: spread virally across social media? Those who know of these things are saying that the CitH trend is similar to “killer clown” postings that appeared ten years ago (“that was so, 2016”), where some clowns (and I use the word ‘clown’ for a multitude of reasons) posted warnings of clowns coming to terrorize schools and towns. Actual threats were sent to schools at the time, and two students were arrested in Greeley, Colorado, after alleging that a killer clown would carry out attacks on Halloween.
Ya know, as killer clowns do.
Why Colorado seems a hotbed of this stuff, who knows? But Monday a teen was arrested in that state for “allegedly” implying someone dressed as the Cat in the Hat would appear outside a middle school and residential homes and do something or other…who knows what?
Viral CitH posts have also prompted official responses in Texas, Michigan, and Oklahoma.
Right now, it seems the posts are the problem more than actual Cat sitings or what a CitH actually does if and when he shows up someplace. And I have to say, I love this police response from one of the above municipalities that was posted on Facebook:
“The Cat in the Hat is all over the net, but here’s what we know from what we’ve seen yet. No credible threat has come to our view, but we’re checking each tip to make sure that stays true. See something concerning? Here’s what you should do: Don’t share it—report it. We’ll take it from you.”
That ‘no credible threat’ is a point that should not be overlooked here and speaks to the times we are in. Because of social media, the most insidious made-up disease humans have encountered, worse than that recent COVID thang, things like the above Cat In The Hat trend, killer clowns, the Slender Man phenomenon (which unfortunately did cause some violence) grow with fevered rapidity even when there truly is no there there.
Sprinkle in some AI; God knows what’s real and what isn’t, posted online these days.
Masturbatory mind games at best, the sure rot of a generation at worst, posting viral trends across the web to incite fear is what too many people live for and enjoy, looking for affirmation or just a connection with others that might lift them from their sorry, staid existence. And even though Dr. Seuss’s most famous feline says, “But I like to be here. Oh, I like it a lot!” as the police post up above clearly indicates, whether or not the Cat is ‘here,’ the trend needs to be addressed by the law, who surely know a credible cat when they come across one.
Either way, I am keeping an eye out.
