Padded jacket - who is it? Meaning of the word “padded jacket”

The language of Internet memes, like any lively colloquial speech, is very gritty, beating to a point, developing. One word is able to express a ton of information, carries an emotional connotation, creates a visual image. But before we begin to analyze the concept of “padded jacket,” let's figure out the meaning of the memes themselves. This is cultural information, usually ironic and witty, a kind of code that quickly spreads in society - first among Internet users, and then among people who rarely surf the Web. Memes aptly and succinctly describe the terms that you need to talk about for a long time, going into historical excursions. Interstate conflicts favor the creation of memes. They create a kind of collective image of the enemy, without distracting the subtleties and differences of a particular individual. So there were "dill", "banderlog", "potsrioty", "colorado". Well and the "padded jacket". We will try to explain the meaning of this Internet meme in this article.

Metamorphoses of outerwear

Ten years ago to the question: “Padded jacket - who is it?” You would be politely corrected. Not "who", but "what". This is a kind of outerwear that is warm but unpresentable. In quilted jackets vested prisoners. And they were worn by the urban poor. The synonyms of this word were: "sweatshirt", "quilted". Does it mean that in the 2000s there were not those who are now called "quilted jackets"? Why, there were. But they called them differently: “limit”, “gopniks”. This type of people was found throughout the post-Soviet space. He meant a man of little education, stupid, not wanting to improve. Often implied a connection with criminals. But how the gopnik differs from the current quilted jacket is an extreme degree of apoliticality. He did not belong to any party and did not even often go to the polls. And an indispensable feature of the modern quilted jacket is a political butt.

When the Internet-meme “padded jacket” appeared

It’s impossible to say exactly, but somewhere in the late 2000s. Moreover, the meme was used throughout the Russian-speaking Internet space. And at first the word “vata” appeared. They designated them a sluggish person. The meme did not wear a bright negative color. You could ask a friend: “Why are you so cotton today?” (inactive, sleepy). Gradually, the epithet turned into a noun. And the word "padded jacket" began to take offensive meaning. In 2008-10, they began to call them an empty man, a loser who promises a lot, but does not keep his word. Records appeared: "Don’t give him a loan, he is a quilted jacket." This type does not know how to behave. He, like the former gopnik, clicks seeds at the entrance (and not into the garbage bin, but around him), loves vodka and prison chanson, and is still apolitical. “Chewing cotton wool” means not having a clear citizenship.

Politicized Gopota

For the first time on the Internet, this term was used in the current meaning of the word by a blogger from Novorossiysk Anton Chadsky in September two thousand and eleven. He created a drawing inspired by the image of “the sponge of Bob”, depicts a stylized tipsy man in a quilted jacket. But unlike the “Gopniks,” those who are called quilted jackets now already had a clear civic position. Although often these were people involved in politics out of selfish interest, they soon sincerely believed in ideas that praised the struggle for stability, order and a “big hand”. In this they coincided with another meme - “scoops”.

"Golden age"

There was a whole class of people who were nostalgic for the USSR and the times when "prices were low and there was order." Basically, these were pensioners who traditionally voted for the Communists, because they believed that it was this party that personifies their “golden dream” - to turn history back. The sweatshirt, padded jacket, gray faceless clothes in which the Gulag prisoners were dressed, served as the basis for the creation of the Internet meme. But in those years, grandparents who were nostalgic for the Union and Stalin were simply called: “scoops”. They were far from politicized gopniks, but in the old days they belonged to the “middle class”, did not survive the transition to a market economy and gradually slipped into a social “bottom”.

“Padded jacket”: meaning of the word

Since the beginning of the economic crisis of 2007, the level of income among the population has fallen sharply. This influenced the fact that the average age of the “scoop” began to decline rapidly. Even those who happened to live in this country only in early childhood started talking about "paradise life" in the USSR. The Communist Party in every possible way speculated on this myth in order to raise its rating. And gradually, in the brains of many people, the Russian Federation, as the successor of the USSR, began to be associated with a great power, the “sixth part of the land” that threatens world imperialism with nuclear weapons. The level of political engagement of yesterday's “scoop” has risen sharply. An Internet meme “liberalist” (a liberal-minded person) was launched. On arguments about problems in the economy, the “scoops” blamed liberals for everything. Prices, you say, are high? But under the Union ... Then there was order ... And who is to blame? The liberals, the opposition (opposition), all kinds of demagogues who want to put us, the Soviet people, on their knees in front of American imperialism. So crystallized modern meme “quilted jacket”. The meaning of the word in modern jargon varies from a passive scoop sighing over a bygone state to a cheer-patriotic Russian nationalist. The most aggressive of them were even ready to kill for their "golden dream" of restoring the Great Power.

What does “padded jacket” mean in Russia?

The term has completely "matured" by the end of 2013. What does this meme represent? What kind of image does he draw? This is no longer a lumpen gopnik. His income may be average. And he did not graduate from vocational school, but, for example, a technical institute. This is not an elderly “scoop”, who likes to speculate about the delights of life “under Brezhnev” in his spare time and goes on a demonstration by the seventh of November with a portrait of Stalin. And this is not even a paid “demonstrator”, ready to stand behind the bribe under any flags. He has a clear civic position. What is this collective image - a quilted jacket? Who is it? Let's try to briefly characterize it. Basically, he is male, thirty to fifty years old. Although there are "quilted jackets" or "quilted". His patriotism is pathological. He loves everything that he considers Russian, and vehemently hates everything that in his opinion is not such. However, he often prefers German cars to “Zhiguli” cars and enjoys watching American blockbusters with pleasure. He does not speak foreign languages ​​and is proud of it. He likes to drink vodka, sincerely considering binge a national tradition.

Padded jacket and power

He loves totalitarianism with all his heart and is ready to tolerate all its manifestations. To comments on any problems in the social situation of Russia comes into affectation, explodes in a flood of abuse. Usually, he was never outside his country and was sure that the “West is rotting”, and that American well-being will soon come to an end - if not from a military strike, then from internal degeneration. Why are people called quilted jackets bending so actively under a strong arm? They are weak-willed, do not want to talk about the complex and love when they are being controlled. It is much worse that they want to make everyone the same. Turn into a herd of sheep, put on a dark gray quilted sweatshirts. Therefore, it is believed that the authorities should only give the command “face”, so that quilted jackets - mind you, free of charge - rushed to beat political opponents.

Parasitism on the Great Victory

Hooray-patriotism must be constantly fueled by something. As a rule, the victories of the past and the country's armed forces are a matter of pride. Very often, in conjunction with the description of such fermented patriots, “dead-eaters” are mentioned. This meme, like Colorado, has recently become synonymous with the term “padded jacket”. Who is this and why did he get a name from a potato pest? Padded jacket thinks of history only in the vein of political conspiracies. He is sure that Americans, fascists, "junta", "Caucasians" and, of course, Jews are weaving intrigues around Russia. Padded jacket anti-Semitism in the blood. He hates Hitler, but he understands him very much in the Holocaust plan, and considers the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact a great achievement, since he allowed the USSR to expand its territory at the expense of its neighbors. The padded jacket is very fond of the St. George ribbon and considers this symbol sacred. He is indignant at the allegations that fascism in the forty-fifth year was defeated by the joint efforts of the Allies.

Padded jacket and minorities

This social type, as a rule, refers to other nationalities with contempt, but out loud speaks of the fraternal union of all peoples. Under the direction of Big Brother, of course. Until 2013, Ukrainians were also brothers for him. Vatnik sincerely wonders why the population of neighboring countries that used to be part of the USSR is offended by Russia. After all, she carries the light of culture, Orthodox spiritual bonds! For quilted jackets, there is often an equal sign between Russia and the USSR. Perhaps that is why Christian values inspire a little patriot. We can say that imperial chauvinism is the religion that the quilted jacket professes. Who is this in terms of geopolitics? He believes that soon the Great Power will rise from the ashes, and gather again under his wing once stolen (by the Americans and other enemies) lands. Something like this can describe the universe of the “padded jacket”.

Embroidery

Narrow-minded fanatics are everywhere - and in the opposite camp too. What does a padded jacket mean in Ukraine? On the one hand, these are yesterday’s gopniks and scoops who want to live under a firm hand. On the other hand, they are supporters of a violent solution to the conflict. Their dream is to conquer territories at any cost, to silence those who disagree and plant their values. They likewise hate “rotting, spiritless Europe” and believe that they have their own spiritual bonds. Such people are called "embroidery" (from the Ukrainian national shirt).

Last metamorphosis

A year after the outbreak of armed conflict in Ukraine, Internet memes acquired a different emotional color. The word "dill" has ceased to be abusive. They began to be proud of him. Chevrons and other humorous insignia with this seasoning appeared. Memes “My favorite junta”, “Zhidobandera” and “punishers” arose. The retaliatory strike was also made by Russian cheers. "Why are they called padded jackets only stupid scoops?" - the site "Directory of the Patriot" wonders. And he convinces: this meme has lost the negative meaning of Russian citizens. Now a true patriot does not see anything shameful in being called a quilted jacket.

Unfortunately, many such memes, especially in situations of cold and “hot” conflicts, serve to “humanize” opponents and see them not as people, but as a kind of inanimate mass.