# Which Way Western Man > Which Way, Western Man? is a political image-macro catchphrase derived from William Gayley Simpson's 1978 book, presenting binary choices between tradition and perceived degeneracy. "Which Way, Western Man?" is an internet slogan derived from the title of a 1978 white supremacist book by William Gayley Simpson. Online, the phrase is used in memes that present a binary choice between "tradition" and values deemed "degenerate" by the poster[5]. The meme gained worldwide attention in August 2025 when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's official X account posted a variation, "Which way, American man?", as part of an ICE recruitment campaign, drawing sharp criticism from the Anti-Defamation League and extremism researchers[1]. ## Origin The phrase originates from *Which Way Western Man?*, a book written by William Gayley Simpson and first self-published in 1978 through his own Yeoman Press imprint in Cooperstown, New York[4]. Simpson was a former left-wing Christian activist and Franciscan who shifted toward Nietzschean philosophy and eventually white supremacist ideology[4]. The book argues that "World Jewry" is conspiring to destroy Western civilization, advocates for the deportation of all Black people and Jewish people, and describes Christianity, communism, capitalism, and democracy as Jewish plots[4]. Simpson cites antisemitic texts including *The Protocols of the Elders of Zion*[4]. The original edition runs 758 pages. William Luther Pierce, founder of the neo-Nazi National Alliance, was impressed by the book and distributed it through the organization's publishing arm[4]. Pierce advertised it alongside *Mein Kampf* as a book "every responsible, racially conscious White person must read"[4]. A revised second edition of over 1,000 pages was published posthumously by National Vanguard Books in 2003, fulfilling a promise Pierce made to Simpson before Simpson's death in 1991[4]. Despite the book's poor sales due to its extreme length, it influenced prominent white supremacist figures including John Tyndall, Ben Klassen, David Duke, and Robert Jay Mathews, leader of the neo-Nazi terror group The Order[4]. The phrase migrated to internet spaces in the 2010s, adopted as a meme format on platforms like 4chan and Telegram, where users paired the caption with fork-in-the-road imagery[6]. - **Platform:** White supremacist publishing (book), 4chan / Telegram (meme format), X/Twitter (mainstream virality) - **Creator:** William Gayley Simpson (book author), Unknown (community-created meme format) - **Date:** 1978 (book), ~2010s (meme format), 2025 (mainstream breakout) ## Overview The meme takes the form of an image showing a figure at a fork in the road or crossroads, with signs or labels pointing toward two opposing paths. One path typically represents a return to traditional or conservative values, while the other depicts outcomes framed as cultural decline[5]. The caption reads some variation of "Which way, Western man?" The format reduces complex social and political issues into a stark binary, and the imagery often draws on vintage illustration styles, propaganda posters, or AI-generated art[6]. While some users deploy the phrase casually or ironically, the slogan carries a specific ideological lineage rooted in white nationalism[2]. The memes frequently target LGBTQ+ communities, immigrants, and feminism as the "wrong" path[5]. ## How It Spread For years, "Which way, Western man?" circulated in far-right online spaces as a relatively niche dog whistle. The phrase appeared in memes across Telegram channels, 4chan boards, and fringe social media, typically presenting viewers with a choice between idealized traditionalism and what posters considered cultural decay[5]. The format was well-known enough within extremist circles to be catalogued by hate-monitoring organizations[5]. The meme broke into mainstream consciousness on August 10, 2025, when the Department of Homeland Security's official X account posted "Which way, American man?" over a 1936 political cartoon titled "Uncle Sam at the Crossroads"[3]. The post was a recruitment ad for Immigration and Customs Enforcement[1]. On August 13, the Anti-Defamation League issued a public response on X, calling it "the latest problematic ICE recruitment post" and noting the reference to Simpson's book, describing the author as "a white supremacist and antisemite"[3]. The DHS post was not an isolated incident. A month earlier, the agency had posted "Remember your Homeland's Heritage" with both H's capitalized, a detail that both progressive commentators and X's own AI chatbot Grok identified as a possible reference to "HH," shorthand for "Heil Hitler"[3]. Other DHS posts during this period included imagery from John Gast's 1872 painting "American Progress," which depicts white settlers displacing Native Americans, captioned "A Heritage to be proud of, a Homeland worth Defending"[2]. The White House X account later posted its own variation: "Which way, Greenland man?" alongside an image of sled dogs with Danish flags, with paths leading toward either a U.S. flag or Russian and Chinese flags[1]. Multiple extremism researchers identified these posts as deliberate signals. Robert Futrell, a professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who has studied far-right movements for over two decades, said the phrasing connected to "movement rhetoric" and "a white supremacist canon"[1]. Proud Boys members on Telegram circulated the DHS posts with comments like "Message received"[1]. Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, described the posts as "no longer dog whistles" but "bullhorns"[1]. ## How to Use The "Which Way, Western Man?" format typically works like this: 1. Find or create an image showing a figure at a crossroads, fork in the road, or decision point. 2. Label one path with something the poster considers positive (often framed as traditional values, strength, or cultural preservation). 3. Label the other path with something the poster opposes (often framed as decline, weakness, or cultural change). 4. Caption the image with "Which way, Western man?" or a localized variation like "Which way, American man?" ## Cultural Impact The meme's adoption by official U.S. government accounts in 2025 marked one of the most discussed examples of extremist internet rhetoric entering institutional communications. Six academics consulted by NBC News, all of whom had spent their careers studying extremism, identified the posts as references to far-right ideology connected to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement push[1]. The ADL's criticism was particularly notable because the organization had been relatively measured in its criticism of the Trump administration, making its public objection stand out[3]. The controversy drew coverage from major outlets including NBC News, NPR, Haaretz, CNN, and The Guardian[1][2][3]. The Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles was flooded with inquiries after DHS used John Gast's "American Progress" painting in a related post[2]. Museum director Stephen Aron described the painting as offering a "whitening vision of the West" that erases conflict and violence from westward expansion[2]. The episode also raised questions about the administration's broader social media strategy. The DHS and White House accounts had been posting a steady stream of meme-format content celebrating immigration enforcement, including an "ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight" video and promotion of a detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz"[2]. ## Fun Facts - The original book sold poorly, likely because of its extreme length at over 700 pages in the first edition and over 1,000 pages in the revised edition[4]. - X's own AI chatbot Grok flagged one of the DHS posts as potentially containing white supremacist dog whistles, writing that the "HH capitalization … and a painting symbolizing white colonial expansion over Native lands mirrors known white supremacist dogwhistles"[3]. - Robert Jay Mathews, leader of the neo-Nazi terror group The Order, credited Simpson's book as one of his key influences[4]. - The book was one of only four titles directly sponsored by William Luther Pierce, who also authored *The Turner Diaries*[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Where did "Which Way, Western Man?" come from? The phrase comes from Simpson's book, first self-published in 1978 and later distributed by the neo-Nazi National Alliance[4]. It became an internet meme format on platforms like 4chan and Telegram before breaking into mainstream awareness in 2025[6]. ### What does "Which Way, Western Man?" mean? The phrase asks its audience, assumed to be Western men, to choose between a return to traditional values and an embrace of what the poster considers degenerate. It often targets LGBTQ+ communities, immigrants, and feminism[5]. **How do you use "Which Way, Western Man?"** Users create images showing a figure at a crossroads with two labeled paths, then caption the image with the phrase or a variation of it[6]. ### Is "Which Way, Western Man?" still popular? Yes. The meme gained significant new attention in August 2025 when U.S. government accounts posted variations, and it is still actively used and discussed as of early 2026[1]. **Why did the DHS post "Which Way, American Man?"** The post was part of an ICE recruitment campaign during a push to hire over 10,000 new agents. It used a 1936 political cartoon of Uncle Sam at a crossroads[3]. ### What did the ADL say about the DHS post? The ADL called it "the latest problematic ICE recruitment post" and cited the reference to Simpson's 1978 book, describing Simpson as "a white supremacist and antisemite"[3]. ### Who was William Gayley Simpson? Simpson was a former left-wing Christian activist who became a white supremacist. He wrote *Which Way Western Man?* in the 1970s and was a member of William Luther Pierce's National Alliance[4]. ### Is "Which Way, Western Man?" considered a dog whistle? Multiple extremism researchers and organizations including the ADL and the SPLC have identified it as a dog whistle that sounds like a neutral question to most people but carries specific white nationalist meaning to those familiar with its origin[1][3]. ### What was the White House response to criticism? DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said "Calling everything you dislike 'Nazi propaganda' is tiresome," while White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told NPR that "The White House consistently posts banger memes"[2]. ## References 1. [Which Way American Man: Why This Viral Phrase Is More Than Just a Meme - Muver Pro]() 2. [Which way, Western Man? • Hatepedia]() 3. [‘Which Way American Man?’ U.S. Homeland Security Posts ‘Antisemitic Dog Whistles’ in ICE Recruitment Tweets - World-Outlook]() 4. [Which Way Western Man?]() 5. [Some Trump administration social media posts mirror extremist rhetoric]() 6. [Trump officials post viral memes about deportation : NPR]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/which-way-western-man Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library