Thousands of Twitter users piled joke after joke on top of a post by a Florida woman who attempted to make her unwitting son the poster child of the #HimToo movement.
“This is MY son,” she wrote above the picture of the smiling uniformed man, according to The Guardian. “He graduated #1 in boot camp. He was awarded the USO award. He was #1 in A school. He is a gentleman who respects women. He won’t go on solo dates due to the current climate of false sexual accusations by radical feminists with an axe to grind. I VOTE. #HimToo.”
The hashtag #HimToo originally began as a way for men to share their own experiences with sexual assault, but now, it has become something of a reactionary response to the #MeToo movement, propagated by those who say false accusations of rape against men are very common and a threat to men everywhere.
The photo, posted by a woman with the username BlueStarNavyMom3, was quickly turned into a meme by other Twitter users.
This is MY son. He graduated #1 in Army. He is a gentleman who respects women. He won’t go on solo dates due to the current climate of false sexual accusations by radical feminists with an axe to grind. I VOTE. #HimToo pic.twitter.com/sZYQyg72of
— No Dana, only Zuul Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) October 8, 2018
This is MY son. He graduated #1 from the University of Flavortown. He was awarded three banging fajita poppers. He was #1 in flamin’ hot crunch. He won’t go on solo dates due to the current climate of false accusations of taking the last slice of pizza. I VOTE. #HimToo pic.twitter.com/4DY151a2W7
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) October 9, 2018
Pieter Hanson, the man in the original photo, was taking a test when his phone started going off repeatedly. When he checked it, he realized was was happening. He told The Washington Post that he was confused and “dumbfounded” because what his mom wrote does not resemble him at all.
“It doesn’t represent me at all,” he said, according to The Guardian. “I love my mom to death, but boy … I’m still trying to wrap my head around all this.”
Hanson’s brother eventually saw what was going on and got involved in order to defend his brother.
My brother is trending on twitter because of my moms ridiculous tweet. I’m a mixture of laughing hard and feeling bad for him. #HimToo pic.twitter.com/YG93x9ikii
— Jon Hanson (@DancinJonHanson) October 9, 2018
And Pieter, who hadn’t had a Twitter account up until this point, finally got one in order to explain himself, using the appropriately named account @thatwasmymom.
That was my Mom. Sometimes the people we love do things that hurt us without realizing it. Let’s turn this around. I respect and #BelieveWomen . I never have and never will support #HimToo . I’m a proud Navy vet, Cat Dad and Ally. Also, Twitter, your meme game is on point. pic.twitter.com/yZFkEjyB6L
— Pieter Hanson (@Thatwasmymom) October 9, 2018
He went on to try to use his viral fame to do some good, and posted about his younger brother, a childhood survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
I’m new at this… so this time with pictures ! So #negativeintopositives my little brother Cooper is a child survivor of non hodgkin lymphoma and my personal hero. Please donate to @LLSusa @MakeAWish pic.twitter.com/65Zeay8vPa
— Pieter Hanson (@Thatwasmymom) October 9, 2018
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