Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

College Football Playoff (concept) 1 — A 10-year-old voluntary invitational tournament in college football that left undefeated ACC Champion Florida State out ...

ACC (concept) 1 — Atlantic Coast Conference, a 70-year-old East Coast based college football conference facing potential dissolution

Big Ten (concept) 1 — Midwestern college football conference that now spans from LA to NYC as part of conference consolidation

Pac-12 (concept) 1 — 108-year-old West Coast based college football conference that died in 2023

Big 12 (concept) 1 — Texas and Great Plains based college football conference with 116 years of history that has been gutted

ZOG (concept) 1 — Antisemitic conspiracy theory acronym for 'Zionist Occupied Government' used in discussion of FBI-ADL tensions

Night (book) 1 — Holocaust memoir by Elie Wiesel, cited as one of multiple Holocaust narratives assigned in American schools as part of t...

Number the Stars (book) 1 — Holocaust-related children's book assigned in American schools, part of a larger pattern of Holocaust education in Engli...

The Book Thief (book) 1 — Holocaust novel assigned in American schools, criticized as part of a pattern of focusing English curriculum on Holocaus...

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (film) 1 — Holocaust film shown in American schools as part of extensive Holocaust education, questioned for its political purpose ...

PSAT (concept) 1 — Preliminary SAT exam discussed in the context of wealthy families' intense micromanagement of their children's academic ...

Ehlers-Danlos (concept) 1 — Chronic illness discussed as appearing to affect only a very specific type of personality

Beats (concept) 1 — Brand of overpriced over-ear headphones that were once considered cool, contrasted with current generation's lack of int...

r/advice (place) 1 — Reddit subreddit where users working minimum wage jobs talk about their work using high-skilled professional language

Panera Bread (place) 1 — Food service chain used as example of where Redditors work while describing their jobs using professional corporate lang...

Upper Manhattan (place) 1 — New York neighborhood mentioned sarcastically by a wealthy poster complaining about only having parking for one Cybertru...

Los Angeles County (place) 1 — Area where ICE operations in Latino-heavy cities are described as scaring residents, leading to understanding of flag an...

My Hero Academia (film) 1 — Japanese manga and anime series, mentioned as the source of fan fiction that a creative writing student submitted for an...

Facebook Reels (concept) 1 — Social media feature mentioned as a platform where ICE officers allegedly recruit mail order brides.

EMPRESS (person) 1 — Russian hacker woman in her early 20s who is the only person able to crack the latest video game DRM protections, descri...

Ronaldinho (person) 1 — Brazilian soccer player referenced in a complaint about men who don't pass the ball during pickup games.

Zhuang Zhou (person) 1 — Ancient Chinese philosopher used by a student to provoke a debate about Taiwan between Chinese international students an...

Paterson, NJ (place) 1 — New Jersey city referenced as representative of working-class multi-ethnic America, contrasted with wealthy internationa...

Printed in North Korea: The Art of Everyday Life in the DPRK (book) 1 — Book by Nicholas Bonner about North Korean art, recommended for learning more about traditional North Korean printmaking...

Nicholas Bonner (person) 1 — Author of a book about North Korean art and everyday life in the DPRK.

Tokyo Bay (place) 1 — Location where some Manhattan Project scientists believed the atomic bomb should have been demonstrated at 30,000 feet a...

Ice-T (person) 1 — Rapper and actor mentioned in connection with 'Cop Killa' controversy and later career as a police officer on television...

N.W.A (album) 1 — Rap group referenced as 'N-Words with Attitude' in satirical critique of gangster rap culture.

REO Speedwagon (album) 1 — Rock band cited as example of 'REAL music you can dance to' in contrast to gangster rap.

G.G. Allin (person) 1 — Punk rock musician cited alongside REO Speedwagon as example of 'REAL music' in satirical post.

Cop Killer (album) 1 — Controversial Ice-T song referenced in discussion of rap music promoting violence against police.

Claire's (place) 1 — Accessories retail chain that continues to operate in malls as of 2025 alongside other millennial-era stores.

Sbarro (place) 1 — Pizza chain that continues to operate in mall food courts as of 2025.

D.A.N.C.E (album) 1 — A song by Justice recommended as something to put on when feeling bad.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (film) 1 — A film popular because it depicts young people not institutionally affiliated, with friends in a social world, having fu...

Fat Liberation (concept) 1 — A movement described as one of the most unhealthy and destructive to ever gain national attention, criticized when suppo...

Archons (concept) 1 — Entities blamed for wanting people in perpetual self-pity and victim complexes through practices like journaling, distin...

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (book) 1 — Essay collection by David Foster Wallace containing reflections on time, choice, and mortality

Quicken Loans (place) 1 — Company referenced as employer of Oxford shooter's father who made $200K annually

Paradox of Tolerance (concept) 1 — Philosophical concept criticized as justifying censorship and avoiding conflict rather than supporting actual tolerance

University of Waterloo (place) 1 — Top Canadian university from which a computer science graduate who used ChatGPT extensively graduated

Plymouth Shooting (concept) 1 — UK shooting incident incorrectly attributed to incel ideology, when perpetrator was actually engaged in anti-incel conte...

Anatolia (place) 1 — Historical region discussed in relation to cultural diversity lost over recent decades

Harrison Butker (person) 1 — Chiefs punter whose traditionalist views surprised Taylor Swift fans

Sean Strickland (person) 1 — MMA fighter cited as example of someone with opinions reflecting their profession of getting hit in the head

Freudian psychosexual development (concept) 1 — Psychoanalytic theory invoked to explain societal oral fixations and mukbang consumption

Venus figurines (concept) 1 — Prehistoric artifacts discussed as never depicting mouths to avoid depicting oral consumption

Whataboutism (concept) 1 — Rhetorical term criticized as a way to dismiss legitimate pointing out of hypocrisy.

Trump Hotel (place) 1 — Hotel mentioned as a landmark near where the poster's grandmother lived with a roommate who allegedly died under suspici...

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (film) 1 — Comedy film mentioned as something watched while the poster's grandmother's roommate was dying.