That’s half of what was included in the first (also woefully inadequate) round of payments. It somehow both adds insult to injury and is too little too late, a truth elucidated on Twitter in posts that reflected both the anger at the government’s failure to serve anything but elite interests and a caustic sense of humor about the hopelessness of America in 2020. Because sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. Even AOC, one of the few legislators slamming the $600 amount as laughably inadequate, had to add a semi-joking answer to a poll she posted on Twitter. More typical was this tweet that used a photo of a particularly unimpressed Stephen A. Smith to create a stimulus check meme, pointing out the absurdity of expecting a $600 payment to cover nearly a year’s rent. Others used pizza—which certainly counts as currency when you’re a kid—to illustrate how insulting the 600 dollar stimulus check is to the millions of people whose lives have been ruined by the pandemic. Even more jarring was this funny meme comparing the stimulus check to Chuck E Cheese’s tokens. A Britney Spears meme was even blunter: $600 won’t help people keep their homes, and people who lose their homes during a pandemic are at risk of, well, dying. She wasn’t the only pop star to make an appearance in the meme offensive. We finally discovered what this pocket in our jeans is cut out for. While stimulus check memes might not have any effect on the legislative process, they can make you feel a bit better if just for a moment. And like a $600 stimulus package check during a pandemic, it’s not enough, but it is something.
