Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition
FUBAR is the final military slang we’ll explore. What I like about FUBAR is that it’s humorous sounding, but represents a situation that is hopelessly broken.
Defined:
disordered, ruined, no longer identifiable
Shorthand: FUBAR
Alternative: Fucked Up Beyond All Repair
In a sentence:
“Who allowed this FUBAR to happen?”
“Shit, my phone is completely FUBAR.”
If you read my SNAFU post, you might be interested to know that Private Snafu had two brothers who were also bumbling soldiers. A dog trainer named Fubar, and a pigeon keeper named Tarfu (Things Are Really Fucked Up.)
Of all the Fuck variations, this one means things are screwed up permanently. Proper usage is for ‘throw it out and start from scratch’ circumstances.
A good example of FUBAR is Pepe the Frog.
Artist Matt Furie created Pepe long before lonely, disenchanted white guys on Reddit turned him into a meme of apathy, which later grew into a fascist monster. Prior to Pepe becoming a news story and entering the 2016 political debates, he was a lovable character, created by a very chill cartoonist.
How Pepe went from innocent creation to being listed as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League, is a fascinating story captured in the documentary, Feels Good Man.
It’s important to note that Furie was selling Pepe comics and art as part of his career as a creative. When his creation was co-opted for fascism, he had to make an impossible choice. Let all of his years of work go, or try to reign in an internet meme.
The problem is that once something has gone FUBAR, there’s no controlling or fixing it. Attempts to shift Pepe the meme back to a fun and loving character failed. In 2017, Furie decided there was no other action but to officially kill his creation in a final comic strip.
After killing Pepe, Furie lawyered up and successfully sued Alex Jones for copyright infringement.
Pepe the Frog in Hong Kong.
In a strange turn of fate, Pepe was given an international rebranding in 2019. He became a frequently used symbol in the Hong Kong protests for democracy and freedom. He became “Press Pepe,” wearing the signature yellow protest helmet.
From playful art, to apathy, and an official symbol of hate, Pepe ended up a political Hello-Kitty. That’s one hell of a character journey.
Furie seems like a really decent human. He isn’t Dr. Frankenstein who created a monster; the internet did that. Consider checking out his art, which is psychedelic, colorful, and oddly comforting.