November 22, 2011
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The pepper-spraying of protestors by a California university policeman has given birth to an Internet meme in which the officer is photo-shopped into famous paintings, historical events and other settings.
Videos of Friday's incident at the University of California, Davis, have been watched millions of times on YouTube and led to the suspension of the college police chief, two policemen and calls for the chancellor to resign.
In the videos, a police officer casually strolls along a line of seated protestors spraying them with an orange mist from a canister in his hand.
On the Internet, images of the officer have been photo-shopped into a variety of settings.
In one, the officer is seen spraying the naked picnicking woman in Edouard Manet's painting "Le dejeuner sur l'herbe," or "The Luncheon on the Grass."
In another, the officer directs pepper spray at the open mouth of the ghostly figure in Edvard Munch's "Scream."
The officer has also made an appearance in photographs of historic events, spraying John Lennon and Yoko Ono while they lay in bed, and Mahatma Gandhi, the advocate of non-violent protest, while he addresses his followers.
A collection of some of the efforts is at peppersprayingcop.tumblr.com.
Others can be seen at knowyourmeme.com.
