One of the famous NFT collections, Bored Apes, is facing some claims and lots of critics on the internet. People are claiming that Bored apes depict more than the ape images. They are the face of racists. In this post, we will discover are Bored Apes racist?
At first glance, the apes in Bored Ape Yacht Club might seem innocent. However, several traits indicate that they intend to represent Black people and Asian people. For example, the gold chains trait is called “hip hop,” the gold/diamond grills trait, or the Kamikaze headband from fascist Imperial Japan, offensively labeled “sushi chef headband,” are the clear indications for everyone.
We will be covering more about “are Bored Apes racist?” Is this just a claim, or is any evidence for it. These claims can be mere coincidences, and they can also be true.
So, without wasting time, let’s start.
How Are Bored Apes Racist?
Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is a collection of 10,000 anthropomorphized ape cartoons sold as NFTs. Since the project’s launch in April 2021, the value has amassed over USD 5B and spawned many similar Nft projects. The apes indeed have various clothing and other traits. Most traits are racially oriented or involve some type of military history. Disparaging someone by comparing them to an ape/monkey goes back hundreds of years.
There is a word for it, “simianization.” There are many examples throughout history, and its purpose is to justify violence and racism against another group by dehumanizing them and comparing them to apes. Simianization has occurred with various ethnic groups such as Jewish, Irish, and Asian people, but it is predominantly used as a tactic against Black people.
You might think simianization is something of a past era, but racists are still comparing Black people to monkeys today, such as the trend in Europe of throwing bananas at Black soccer players.
Related: OpenSea Stolen Bored Ape | 1 Million Lawsuit To Be Faced!
Evidence For Are Bored Apes Racist?
We found what we believe to be definitive evidence that the group behind the creation of these images is intentionally embedding Nazi dog whistles throughout their project. Here is how we have arrived at this conclusion –
- There is a similarity between the BAYC logo and the Nazi Totenkopf emblem, even containing the same amount of teeth in the skull, 18, a number the ADL has identified to mean Adolf Hitler. The logos also have a ragged edge, something very uncommon in other circular emblems.
- The project was launched by a company called Yuga Labs. The Kali Yuga is a popular element of traditionalist ideology. Yuga Labs has pulled off an effort to embed the traditionalist philosopher name, René Guénon, who is accredited for bringing Kali Yuga into western thought.
- One of the co-founders is named Gargamel, a character from the Smurfs who is acknowledged as an antisemitic depiction of a Jewish person, also a common term used on 4chan to discuss Jews. Since I’ve brought this up, he has gone through the effort to try to hide it. Gargamel’s real name is Greg Solano, a writer heavily influenced by fiction about Nazis and expressed interest in incorporating a character like Hans Reiter into his writing.
- Another co-founder, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, has the same name as an explicit film from 1971 that features scenes of a boy in a fascist uniform raping an adult bride. The original film is banned in the US and other countries on the grounds of child pornography.
- Another co-founder goes by Gordon Goner and says he picked the name because it sounds like “Joey Ramone”.. being that the group uses anagrams and doesn’t sound like Joey Ramone, maybe this is an anagram. Sure enough, it’s a whole word anagram for Drongo (Gordon) Negro (Goner). Drongo is common 4chan and Australian slang for stupid; it is in the dictionary, as such, the second definition. So, his name means “Stupid Negro.” Writers often use anagrams for character names, and they are also often incorporated within videogames, some of which Yuga Labs have stated they play.
Related: Otherside Metaverse | The Bored Ape Metaverse
Wrapping Up
We end our post here on “are bored apes racist.” After reading the post, we can conclude that the evidence proves the allegations made about Bored apes; still, they can be mere coincidences. It is only the developers who can answer it correctly.
Keep exploring our website to know more about Bored Apes NFTs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Are Bored Apes Generated?
No two images are alike, and each Bored Ape is randomly generated from over 170 possible traits, including expressions, headwear, clothing, etc. Some apes have rarer traits than others, and the rarer the trait, the higher the value.
Q2. Can I Copy Bored Ape?
Bored Ape Yacht Club (or BAYC) NFTs are some of the most expensive crypto art assets. They recently overtook CryptoPunks as the highest-priced NFT avatars, with the cheapest available ape selling for $217,000. Like other avatars, anybody can technically copy or modify the associated ape picture.
Q3. How Was Bored Ape Created?
According to the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) website, the NFT collection was created by four friends who “set out to make some dope apes, test skills, and try to build something (ridiculous).”
