# Firebomb a Walmart On November 3, 2023, X user @LinkOfSunshine posted the quote tweet that would become Firebomb a Walmart, mocking the online left for threatening to burn down big-box retailers while never actually doing so[3]. The sardonic one-liner caught on with pro-Israel and anti-leftist accounts in late 2023, who used it to deflate activists hyping political violence they had no intention of committing[1]. By January 2024, Niskanen Center economist Matt Darling adapted the template, replacing 'voting' with 'anti-malaria nets' to apply the same jab to effective altruism debates[8]. ## Origin On November 1, 2023, X user @arcanecovet quoted a ceasefire-strategy question with an American eagle image macro reading 'Bad Government? Vote Them Out KILL THEM.' Two days later, @LinkOfSunshine quote tweeted that post with the line that would come to be known as Firebomb a Walmart: 'People on twitter will really be like you believe in voting? that pales in effectiveness to my strategy, firebombing a Walmart and then not firebomb a Walmart.' The reply briefly had its visibility limited after being reported for hateful conduct, but kept picking up reposts and likes in the weeks that followed[3]. - **Platform:** X / Twitter - **Creator:** @LinkOfSunshine - **Date:** 2023 ## Overview Instead of an image macro, Firebomb a Walmart works as a reply formula: a poster calls out someone promoting an exciting alternative to electoral politics, then points out the person did not actually do the exciting thing. The joke lands by draining the pose of its drama. The structure travels well, substituting 'voting' and 'firebomb a Walmart' for whichever behavior and bombastic alternative fits the argument, as when economist Matt Darling later tried it with 'anti-malaria nets'[8]. The line attracted critics almost as fast as it attracted fans. Supporters saw a takedown of armchair revolutionaries during the Israel-Hamas war debate on X[1]. Detractors argued the catchphrase flattens direct-action tactics into a cartoon of a Molotov cocktail, missing the point of anyone advocating anything beyond the ballot box[3]. ## How to Use Writers typically use the format as a snarky reply to anti-electoral posting. Common convention is to name the exciting-sounding tactic the target has posted about, then end with 'and then not [do that tactic].' The template often includes real-world substitutions like 'burn down a police station' or 'anti-malaria nets' when the point is to parody a different flavor of activist posture[8]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Firebomb a Walmart? Firebomb a Walmart is an X catchphrase from November 2023 used to call out posters who claim violent action beats voting but never do anything violent themselves[1]. ### Where did Firebomb a Walmart come from? The line comes from a November 3, 2023 quote tweet by X user @LinkOfSunshine, replying to an eagle image macro posted two days earlier by @arcanecovet[3]. ### What does Firebomb a Walmart mean? It calls out performative radicalism, specifically people online who insist that violent acts are more effective than ballot-box politics while taking no such action themselves[1]. ### How do you use Firebomb a Walmart? People use it as a reply template, naming an unlikely act and pointing out the original poster did not actually do it, as economist Matt Darling did with 'anti-malaria nets' in January 2024[8]. ### Is Firebomb a Walmart still popular? The originating tweet was still accumulating upvotes on Reddit's /r/196 through mid-2024, and the template structure keeps resurfacing in debates about online activism[6]. ## References 1. [https://x.com/westofmain_/status/1724257651633136078]() 2. [https://x.com/FreeRosedark/status/1724249296634106026]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/firebomb-a-walmart]() 4. [https://x.com/SwannMarcus89/status/1726804796274045403]() 5. [https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/21/communist-calla-walsh-once-profiled-by-nyt-npr-arrested-for-allegedly-trying-to-firebomb-elbit-israel-hamas-war/]() 6. [https://www.reddit.com/r/196/comments/1893i1n/rule/]() 7. [https://hiveswap.tumblr.com/post/737797233666293760/listen-i-am-not-american-i-understand-that-even]() 8. [https://x.com/besttrousers/status/1749212643728966115]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/firebomb-a-walmart Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library