# Call An Ambulance But Not For Me
Call An Ambulance But Not For Me is a two-panel image macro built from a 2018 Las Vegas self-defense video, showing an elderly man drawing a handgun on a would-be mugger. The template blew up on Reddit in January 2020 as a reversal-punchline format and got a second life as a TikTok lip-sync sound later that year.
## Overview
Call An Ambulance But Not For Me is a two-panel image macro built from stills of a self-defense workshop video, showing an older man being threatened at knifepoint in the first panel before pulling a handgun on his attacker in the second[1]. Captions are placed over both figures so that the apparent victim and the aggressor swap roles in the reveal[6].
The joke is a role-reversal setup. The first panel names a threat or a setup, and the second panel flips the frame so the target is actually the bigger danger[3]. Because both panels come from the same continuous shot, the reversal reads as one real beat instead of a staged edit, which is a big part of why the template stuck[6].
## How It Spread
The image macro template broke out on January 23, 2020, when u/fishrrrrr posted a version on r/Memes joking that the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak still couldn't reach Greenland in Plague Inc., which pulled over 35,000 upvotes[3]. The same user posted variants to r/Pokemon and r/DankMemes the next day, and u/TheBois24 followed with a history-themed version on r/HistoryMemes that hit nearly 70,000 upvotes[6]. On January 24, 2020, Reddit user Burg_er uploaded a clean template to r/MemeTemplatesOfficial, which seeded further reuse[6].
Gaming communities picked it up fastest. On January 25, 2020, G2 Esports tweeted an esports-flavored version that pulled over 2,200 likes[7]. The format then jumped to iFunny, Facebook, and Twitter through the winter of 2020[6].
A separate wave hit TikTok in late 2020 when user zookeye uploaded a lip-sync of a remixed version of the audio on September 12, 2020, faking a heart attack before recovering to deliver "but not for me" over a Saiki K reference[5]. TikToker iminlovewithsugawara pushed a similar anime-themed clip on September 18 to over 530,000 views[6]. In November 2020 the sound was retooled around "when a kidnapper tells me" premises tied to absurd demands like naming every Adam Sandler movie, with tvboba's version on November 10 hitting 1.9 million views and allidois_winn's on November 12 hitting 1.6 million[6].
## How to Use
The standard image macro uses the two-panel screenshot with text captioning both figures. The first panel typically names a threat, opponent, or setup, and the second panel reveals that the "target" is actually the more dangerous side of the exchange. Common conventions include gaming matchups, historical rivalries, or current events where an underdog surprises the aggressor. The TikTok version uses the remixed audio, with the creator faking a collapse before snapping back for the "but not for me" line.
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Call An Ambulance But Not For Me?
It's a two-panel image macro from a Las Vegas self-defense video showing an old man drawing a gun on his mugger, used to set up reversal punchlines[1].
### Where did Call An Ambulance But Not For Me come from?
The clip was first posted to Facebook by Las Vegas Gunfights on August 30, 2018, promoting a self-defense workshop for residents over 65[1].
### What does Call An Ambulance But Not For Me mean?
It signals a role reversal. The person who looks like the victim in panel one turns out to be the real threat in panel two[3].
### How do you use Call An Ambulance But Not For Me?
Add captions over both figures so the target in the first panel becomes the aggressor in the second, or lip-sync the TikTok audio while faking a collapse[6].
### Is Call An Ambulance But Not For Me still popular?
It saw its biggest run through 2020, with the Reddit template blowing up in January and the TikTok sound trend running through November of that year[6].
## References
1. [https://www.facebook.com/lasvegasgunfights/]()
2. [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=las+vegas+gunfights+call+an+ambulance]()
3. [https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/]()
4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/youtubehaiku/]()
5. [https://www.tiktok.com/@zookeye]()
6. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/call-an-ambulance-but-not-for-me]()
7. [https://twitter.com/G2esports]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/call-an-ambulance-but-not-for-me
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