Ole Miss Frat Boys Counter-Protesting Video

About

The Ole Miss Frat Boys Counter-Protesting Video refers to a viral video of white frat boys at the University of Mississippi, aka Ole Miss, counter-protesting their college's Pro-Palestinian protest by yelling, hooting, hollering, chanting "lock her up" and one boy allegedly impersonating a monkey directed toward a Black woman opposing them. One of the male students is also seen wearing American flag overalls while both sides are recording each other and police attempt to intervene. The video went viral in early May 2024 after it was posted to Twitter / X. Viral reactions, reposts and quotes of the video appeared en masse shortly after, with some praising them and the school while many others were critical and called the frat boys racist and ignorant of the 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas Conflict.

Origin

On May 2nd, 2024, X^[1] user @StaceyJSpiehler tweeted a video taken at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) showing a crowd of mostly white male students cheering and hollering amid a confrontation with a Black woman who was recording them — many of the male students recording her too. The boys start chanting "lock her up" and one boy seemingly impersonates a monkey while dancing and making noises.^[9] In one day, the video received roughly 1.9 million views and 2,900 likes (shown below).

A counter-protester jumps up and down and hoots like a monkey toward a protester who was live-streaming on her phone at OleMiss</a> today. <br><br>Chants of “lock her up” as the Dean of Students (<a href="https://twitter.com/marsh_brent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">marsh_brent) and multiple law enforcement agencies regain order. pic.twitter.com/fCU3hTioVL

— Stacey J. Spiehler (@StaceyJSpiehler) May 3, 2024

Spread

Later on May 2nd, 2024, the video was reposted by X^[2] user @ashtonpittman who was critical of the male students, writing, "A white Ole Miss frat boy dances like a monkey and makes monkey noises near a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine." In one day, his tweet received over 16.9 million views and 19,000 likes.

X^[2] user @ashtonpittman's tweet received multiple viral quotes and replies. For instance, on May 2nd, 2024, X^[3] user @EmCohen_ quoted it, writing, "this is a klan rally" (as in the Ku Klux Klan), receiving over 57,000 likes in a day (shown below, left).

Also on May 2nd, X^[4] user @MikePrysner quoted, writing, "If it’s any consolation to the young woman who was subjected to this, she helped further reveal what kind of people support Israel rn," receiving over 85,000 likes in a day (shown below, right).

While many criticized the male students, others championed them, like X^[5] user @PhilHollowayEsq who tweeted the video on May 3rd, 2024, writing, "Looks like I’ll be adding Ole Miss to the list of colleges to visit with my oldest," receiving roughly 6,600 likes in less than a day (shown below, left).

Others then countered @PhilHollowayEsq's tweet in several quotes, like X^[6] user @the_transit_guy on May 3rd, who parodied @PhilHollowayEsq, saying, "*Sees a white student make monkey noises at a black student* 'This seems like a great choice for my child!'" The quote gained over 27,000 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Also on May 2nd, 2024, the video was reposted by Redditor^[7] Equationist to /r/PublicFreakout, captioning it, "Frat bros make monkey noises at black pro-Palestine protester," receiving over 4,100 upvotes in a day. Redditors shared multiple comments under the post that were mostly critical of the male students (shown below).

Congressman Mike Collins' Post

On May 3rd, 2024, Republican Congressman Mike Collins, who'd been serving as the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 10th Congressional district since 2023, reposted the video on X,^[8] captioning it, "Ole Miss taking care of business." His tweet received over 3.5 million views and 4,200 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Congressman Collins' tweet sparked viral backlash among many, evident in a quote^[10] shared by former Ohio Senator Nina Turner on May 3rd, who wrote, "This is a video showing anti-Blackness. This is a sitting Congressman applauding it," amassing over 28,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Various Examples

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External References