A GOP Lawmaker Accidentally Started A Great Meme After Tweeting About "Life And Mortality" And The Coronavirus

"Been thinking about life and mortality today. I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus."

Been thinking about life and mortality today. I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus. In a way it doesn’t matter. But it kinda does.

Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona member of Congress who's elected to be in isolation after coming in contact with someone who was hospitalized with COVID-19, has unintentionally started a meme.

"Been thinking about life and mortality today," he tweeted on Monday as he was still self-quarantined. "I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus. In a way it doesn’t matter. But it kinda does."

The tweet included an image of a gruesome scene from the 2018 movie The Great Battle.

At first, people were confused by Gosar's musings, with one person literally responding, "This is weird, dude."

And then, soon after and fantastically, his tweet took off.

Been thinking about life and mortality today. I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus. In a way it doesn’t matter. But it kinda does.

Been thinking about life and mortality today. I'd rather die gloriously in a gigantic battle mech fighting kaiju than from a virus. In a way it doesn't matter. But it kinda does. https://t.co/tixk08k2rI

People on Twitter copy-and-pasted it word for word, attaching their own depictions of bitter and gruesome battle.

There are so many multifaceted interpretations!

Been thinking about life and mortality today. I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus. In a way it doesn’t matter. But it kinda does.

Been thinking about life and mortality today. I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus. In a way it doesn’t matter. But it kinda does.

Been thinking about life and mortality today. I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus. In a way it doesn’t matter. But it kinda does.

Nonpolitical organizations even got in on it.

"Been thinking about life and mortality today," shelter cat Simba says. "I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus. In a way it doesn’t matter. But it kinda does. Adopt me and we will defeat the red dot together, or go down fighting!" https://t.co/lUku7d3dCo. 😺⚔️ https://t.co/ZECiV744wa

In response to the memes, Gosard said he finds them "greatly amusing" and "a healthy way to express" yourself in times of heightened fear.

"This is greatly amusing. There is a lot of stress over the politics of corona virus," he told BuzzFeed News over Twitter DM.

"I see this as a healthy way to express oneself. I love the creativity and humor. Some are laughing with me. Some at me. But it’s all good.”

Before inspiring a meme, the Arizona representative drew much less amusing reactions when he first referred to COVID-19 as "the Wuhan Virus" in a tweet on Sunday. Many people called Gosar out for it, letting him know the term was dated and xenophobic. The World Health Organization officially named COVID-19, the disease caused by a novel coronavirus, last month to try to destigmatize the disease from its origins.

Gosar previously got national attention as the candidate whose six siblings famously put together a political ad supporting his opponent in 2018.

Been thinking about life and mortality today. I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus. In a way it doesn’t matter. But it kinda does.


Topics in this article

Skip to footer