How Many Upvotes For Our Boys In Blue?

2016image macroclassic

Published August 28, 2026

In December 2016, a Reddit user swapped police officers for Mr. Meeseeks from Rick and Morty in a mock version of the earnest pro-cop Facebook posts asking for likes. The joke rocketed to Reddit's front page and kicked off a wave of copycats swapping any blue cartoon character into the format.

snowclone memessubreddit origin memesexploitable templatesfacebook memes2016 memes

Overview

How Many Upvotes For Our Boys In Blue? is a Reddit joke format that mocks a specific style of Facebook post, the kind where a supporter of the police or military grumbles about half-naked women pulling thousands of likes before begging for likes on behalf of cops or soldiers1. The parody keeps the pleading caption but swaps the sincere photo of officers for a picture of some unrelated blue cartoon character, treating the swap as if it were the earnest original3.

The humor works on two levels at once. It ribs the sanctimonious tone of the source posts, while also delivering an absurd visual pun on the phrase "boys in blue" by taking the color literally3. Early entries used Mr. Meeseeks from Rick and Morty, and the follow-ups grabbed any blue character to hand, from video game mascots to animated film leads1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit
Creator
TankIFuckingAm
Date
2016

On December 5th, 2016, Reddit user TankIFuckingAm posted an image of the Mr. Meeseeks characters to the /r/rickandmorty subreddit under the caption "Half naked women get thousands of up votes; how many for our boys in blue?"2. The submission gathered more than 6,700 points inside a day and hit the Reddit front page, which is where the joke picked up its wider audience3.

The post was a straight lift of the pro-cop Facebook template that had circulated for years, only with a Rick and Morty screenshot standing in for the usual police tribute photo3. That single swap gave the format its rule: caption stays, image becomes any blue character you want.

How It Spread

By December 6th, 2016, the joke had spawned enough copycats that a confused Redditor opened a thread on /r/OutOfTheLoop asking what was going on, and that explainer thread itself pulled around 650 points4. The same day, The Daily Dot wrote up the format for readers outside Reddit, framing it as a fresh parody of the pro-police Facebook genre3.

On /r/MemeEconomy, user HeHasABanana urged the subreddit to "buy" boys-in-blue stock as new versions kept hitting the front page, a post that landed around 429 points5. The variations pulled in Sonic the Hedgehog, Sadness from Inside Out, the Blue Power Ranger, Papa Smurf and other blue figures from cartoons, video games and film31.

How to Use This Meme

The template is a two-part image post. The caption is a near-copy of the original Facebook style, typically something like "Half naked women get thousands of upvotes, how many for our boys in blue?" The image is not a photo of police, but a picture of any character or object that happens to be blue. Common picks include Mr. Meeseeks, Sonic, Sadness, the Blue Power Ranger and Papa Smurf. The comedy comes from playing the swap completely straight.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Upvotes For Our Boys In Blue?

2016image macroclassic

Published August 28, 2026

In December 2016, a Reddit user swapped police officers for Mr. Meeseeks from Rick and Morty in a mock version of the earnest pro-cop Facebook posts asking for likes. The joke rocketed to Reddit's front page and kicked off a wave of copycats swapping any blue cartoon character into the format.

snowclone memes subreddit origin memes exploitable templates facebook memes 2016 memes

Overview

How Many Upvotes For Our Boys In Blue? is a Reddit joke format that mocks a specific style of Facebook post, the kind where a supporter of the police or military grumbles about half-naked women pulling thousands of likes before begging for likes on behalf of cops or soldiers1. The parody keeps the pleading caption but swaps the sincere photo of officers for a picture of some unrelated blue cartoon character, treating the swap as if it were the earnest original3.

The humor works on two levels at once. It ribs the sanctimonious tone of the source posts, while also delivering an absurd visual pun on the phrase "boys in blue" by taking the color literally3. Early entries used Mr. Meeseeks from Rick and Morty, and the follow-ups grabbed any blue character to hand, from video game mascots to animated film leads1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit
Creator
TankIFuckingAm
Date
2016

On December 5th, 2016, Reddit user TankIFuckingAm posted an image of the Mr. Meeseeks characters to the /r/rickandmorty subreddit under the caption "Half naked women get thousands of up votes; how many for our boys in blue?"2. The submission gathered more than 6,700 points inside a day and hit the Reddit front page, which is where the joke picked up its wider audience3.

The post was a straight lift of the pro-cop Facebook template that had circulated for years, only with a Rick and Morty screenshot standing in for the usual police tribute photo3. That single swap gave the format its rule: caption stays, image becomes any blue character you want.

How It Spread

By December 6th, 2016, the joke had spawned enough copycats that a confused Redditor opened a thread on /r/OutOfTheLoop asking what was going on, and that explainer thread itself pulled around 650 points4. The same day, The Daily Dot wrote up the format for readers outside Reddit, framing it as a fresh parody of the pro-police Facebook genre3.

On /r/MemeEconomy, user HeHasABanana urged the subreddit to "buy" boys-in-blue stock as new versions kept hitting the front page, a post that landed around 429 points5. The variations pulled in Sonic the Hedgehog, Sadness from Inside Out, the Blue Power Ranger, Papa Smurf and other blue figures from cartoons, video games and film31.

How to Use This Meme

The template is a two-part image post. The caption is a near-copy of the original Facebook style, typically something like "Half naked women get thousands of upvotes, how many for our boys in blue?" The image is not a photo of police, but a picture of any character or object that happens to be blue. Common picks include Mr. Meeseeks, Sonic, Sadness, the Blue Power Ranger and Papa Smurf. The comedy comes from playing the swap completely straight.

Frequently Asked Questions