# How Many Upvotes For Our Boys In Blue?

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.

## Origin
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 audience[3].

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 photo[3]. That single swap gave the format its rule: caption stays, image becomes any blue character you want.

- **Platform:** Reddit
- **Creator:** TankIFuckingAm (Reddit user)
- **Date:** 2016

## 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 soldiers[1]. 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 original[3].

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 literally[3]. 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 leads[1].

## 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 points[4]. 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 genre[3].

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 points[5]. 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 film[3][1].

## How to Use
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
### What is How Many Upvotes For Our Boys In Blue??
It is a Reddit image macro that parodies pro-police Facebook posts by keeping the earnest caption but replacing the officers with any blue cartoon character[3].

### Where did How Many Upvotes For Our Boys In Blue? come from?
It started on December 5th, 2016 when Redditor TankIFuckingAm posted a Mr. Meeseeks image to /r/rickandmorty using the parody caption[2].

### What does How Many Upvotes For Our Boys In Blue? mean?
The joke takes the phrase "boys in blue" literally, poking fun at sanctimonious pro-cop Facebook posts by pretending a blue cartoon character is the intended tribute subject[3].

### How do you use How Many Upvotes For Our Boys In Blue??
Pair the original pleading caption with a picture of any blue character, such as Mr. Meeseeks, Sonic or Sadness, and post it as if it were sincere[1].

### Is How Many Upvotes For Our Boys In Blue? still popular?
It peaked as a Reddit front-page joke in December 2016 and is now a classic reference for the genre of Facebook-parody image macros rather than an active trend[3].

## References
1. [https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/boys-in-blue-meme/](<https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/boys-in-blue-meme/>)
2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/rickandmorty/comments/5gm0hg/half_naked_women_get_thousands_of_up_votes_how/](<https://www.reddit.com/r/rickandmorty/comments/5gm0hg/half_naked_women_get_thousands_of_up_votes_how/>)
3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/how-many-upvotes-for-our-boys-in-blue](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/how-many-upvotes-for-our-boys-in-blue>)
4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/5gqrp3/whats_the_original_post_for_the_how_many_upvotes/](<https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/5gqrp3/whats_the_original_post_for_the_how_many_upvotes/>)
5. [https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeEconomy/comments/5gmzql/boys_in_blue_memes_skyrocketing_buy_while_you_can/](<https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeEconomy/comments/5gmzql/boys_in_blue_memes_skyrocketing_buy_while_you_can/>)

---
Source: https://meme.com/memes/how-many-upvotes-for-our-boys-in-blue
Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library