# What Are You Gonna Do, Stab Me? A grainy KHQ screenshot captioned "Quote From Man Stabbed: what are you gonna do, stab me?" hit Imgur in June 2012 and turned into a go-to template for anyone taunting their way into an obvious outcome. By 2018, Reddit users were remixing it with Surprised Pikachu reactions and Julius Caesar history jokes. ## Origin On June 17, 2012, an Imgur user posted the screenshot in a gallery titled "Well, are ya?"[2]. The post gathered more than 551,000 views and 1,200 upvotes in the nine years that followed[2]. Writers at Cracked initially tied the chyron to a July 2012 KHQ story about a man stabbed in the throat near Mission and Fiske in east Spokane[4]. KHQ's own report described a suspect in a light blue tank top who was still at large[3]. That attribution turned out to be wrong. In 2020, BNet writer followed up with KHQ reporter Cory Howard, who said the actual stabbing happened on September 23, 2011, in west Spokane, and that the station had no archived article for it[1]. Howard shared two transcripts from the original news segment, but the video itself has never surfaced[5]. - **Platform:** Imgur (first viral upload) / Meme Center and Reddit (format spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2012 ## Overview Each image macro keeps the KHQ chyron's deadpan structure, the "Quote From Man Stabbed" label stacked above the dumbfounded question, so the viewer gets setup and punchline in a single frame[5]. Posters apply it to anyone who provokes an avoidable consequence, from historical figures to minor sitcom characters. The humor sits in the gap between the taunter's confidence and the fact that yes, they are in fact about to be stabbed. Variations keep the chyron intact while changing the surrounding visuals. A common move is placing the screenshot above a reaction image like Surprised Pikachu or next to a scene of someone being attacked[7]. BNet writer called the still an archetype of hubris and foolishness that internet audiences love to mock[1]. ## How to Use Most versions keep the KHQ screenshot intact and add a second panel showing the stabbing's inevitability. A common setup places the "Quote From Man Stabbed" image above a reaction like Surprised Pikachu or beside a historical scene such as the Ides of March[7]. The joke works when the second visual makes the outcome look cosmically obvious. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is What Are You Gonna Do, Stab Me?? A screenshot from a 2011 KHQ news report in Spokane, Washington, showing a chyron that reads "Quote From Man Stabbed: what are you gonna do, stab me?"[2]. ### Where did What Are You Gonna Do, Stab Me? come from? KHQ reporter Cory Howard told BNet the stabbing happened on September 23, 2011, in west Spokane, and the screenshot first went viral through an Imgur post on June 17, 2012[1]. ### What does What Are You Gonna Do, Stab Me? mean? It mocks anyone who taunts an obvious threat into carrying it out, a visual joke about hubris meeting an easy consequence[1]. ### How do you use What Are You Gonna Do, Stab Me?? Posters keep the KHQ chyron and add a second image such as Surprised Pikachu or a historical scene like Caesar's assassination, making the stabbing look inevitable[7][8]. ### Is What Are You Gonna Do, Stab Me? still popular? It stayed in Reddit and Instagram circulation through at least 2020, when an Instagram Yes Chad edit by user memelord collected over 49,000 likes[10]. ## References 1. [https://bnet.substack.com/p/what-are-you-gonna-do?utm_source=url]() 2. [https://imgur.com/gallery/qwKqx]() 3. [https://www.khq.com/news/first-on-khq-man-stabbed-in-the-throat-in-east-spokane/article_72ea7680-d037-5f7c-ac53-4d9f51268448.html]() 4. [https://www.cracked.com/blog/5-awful-stories-you-shouldnt-laugh-at-but-probably-will]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/what-are-you-gonna-do-stab-me]() 6. [https://www.memecenter.com/fun/807193/rmx-watcha-gonna-do-stab-me]() 7. [https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/comments/9vjh3q/what_are_you_gonna_do_stab_me/]() 8. [https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/comments/9ygt6t/what_are_you_gonna_do_stab_me/]() 9. [https://www.instagram.com/p/qzF3NxK8rG/]() 10. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CI5nCT5g8mr/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/what-are-you-gonna-do-stab-me Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library