Storm Area 51: They Can’t Stop All of Us
Everything you need to know about the raid
September 12, 2019
As meme culture continues to evolve, more and more people are beginning to recognize the influence that millennials and Gen Z’s have on a cultural scale. Influence from the popular Facebook post by American user Matty Roberts has been growing nonstop since he wrote the post on June 27, inviting the readers to “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us”. The post has been since deleted by Facebook.
The date of the raid, as just about everybody knows, is Sept. 20 at 3 a.m. The raid’s popularity has even gained attention from celebrities including Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Guy Fieri, and Mason Ramsey. The undeniable presence the meme holds has even caught the attention of the U.S. government, which has already taken action bracing against the possibility of people actually showing up.
As we near Sept. 20, the meme continues its internet influence as hotels close to the Area 51 base report sold-out bookings. As the joke continues to increase in popularity, more people continue to grow uneasy. Area 51, while popular for the idea that it harbors secrets on information regarding extraterrestrials, is an active unit of a functioning Air Force base built for testing combat aircrafts. The Air Force warns aspiring invaders to be aware of the security measures base employees are authorized to enforce. Signs outside the base state that both prison time and deadly force can be enacted on those who pose a threat to the base’s security. The attendance expected for the raid is considerable, from 250,000-2 million people.
Many people are wondering: is this actually going to happen? To get a localized point of view, Liberty students were interviewed on their thoughts on the topic.
Many agree that the raid will be fruitless.
“I think they’ll find some cacti. That’s about it,” freshman Morgan Feinstein said. “If there really were aliens there, it would push science in technology so much further. There’s no point in hiding them.”
Many people who have signed up for the raid vary, from true-blue alien believers to people looking for internet brownie points.
“Oh, definitely. They want to be famous,” Feinstein continues regarding the majority of the crowd: clout chasers.
People continue to worry even for the safety of those planning on coming to the raid.
“[I think] they’re gonna get shot,” sophomore Neil Sinclair said in regard to people who will actually show up for the raid, and what may happen when they do. “I feel like they’re too stupid to know what they should or shouldn’t do.”
Some people think the raid will be an embarrassment on a global scale. However, some also look at it from an angle of celebration of American belief.
“America is built on freedom and curiosity. So it’s fair that [people] want to know what’s going on in their own base-their own country.” Sinclair adds.
In addition to the popularity the post has gained with help from Gen Z, millennials are also reluctantly riding the meme train. Local millennial Mr. Schaper speculates that the raid will be as successful as previous alien sightings.
“Why is it, that in the age of the smartphone, these UFO and alien sightings seemed to have gone sharply downhill?” wonders Schaper.
Many wonder how the increase of chance to capture extraterrestrials on camera is fading as more people opt to dive into written conspiracies, such as the idea that Area 51 does indeed harbor aliens.
“Conspiracies are really fashionable now, because everyone wants to appear smarter than they really are. But who doesn’t want the good gossip or the hot take?”
When the fated day finally comes, nobody is entirely sure what’s going to happen. Whoever goes to the raid is surely in for the experience of a lifetime to witness history in the making. Until then, we can rest assured that whatever happens is sure to be out of this world.
