Social media topic meme: "Sue me if you dare, my dad is Li Gang"

[Wippen (inactive)]

I am personally interested in memes in Chinese, ie. a phrase that is said in a certain context and which becomes viral and is subsequently reused to mean something specific for a broader context.

 

If anyone has more such memes (they can also be positive ones too), I would be really interested

 

One of the most famous ones from China from a few years ago is the story about a son of a high-ranking official in the local crime department. The son  had been drink-driving and ended up doing a hit-and-run. When the crowd stopped him, he just shouted the phrase " report me if you dare, my dad is Li Gang “有本事你们告去，我爸是李刚“. It is the last phrase „My dad is Li Gang“ which is the meme and phrase that has come to mean: "to avoid responsibility or to use connections to avoid responsibility. "

 

(An recent English example 'Covfefe' = f*** up on Twitter and what happened in Sweden last night for a non existent event).

 

I am posting the My Dad is Li Gang story and vocabulary below (first few paragraphs). I just dug it out from past material I have studied with a tutor. This is upper-intermediate level.

 

酒后驾车 drink-driving

拦截 tackle, catch, intercepted, prevent, block exit,

口出狂言- here: make an outragous comment /arrogant comment

披露 publish This word is neutral and is used for things for example published by the press. ( as opposed to泄露 is leak information and this is not the case here or 曝光 and 曝出further down the text)

刑侦 criminal investigation; refers to the department. Often see it in the context of investigating a case.

曝光 Expose

众怒 public outcry

揣测 speculate

封口 hush

蝴蝶效应butterfly effect

I presume the use of 门 here used as in „scandal“ xzy-gate?

抚平 – smooth out

in this phrase有本事你们告去 is this word chosen deliberately? Chinese has a few other words for skills/ability. What does this word reflect here?

http://www.people.com.cn/GB/209043/210114/13515122.html

[陳德聰]

披露 generally means “disclose” by any means

 

“有本事...” is a set phrase that means “if you have it in you, then ...” and is often followed by a rhetorical invitation to do something the speaker believes the listener probably doesn’t have it in them to do. E.g. 有本事就來啊 is equivalent to English slang “bring it.” These are fighting words. I dare you to xyz, essentially. Alternatively can be used to say “well if you’re so great and capable, then you do it,” when you are doing something (perhaps not skillfully) and someone comes along and criticises you.

 

我爸是李剛 is now well known enough as a meme that 我爸是___ can be used for endless extended memes.

[Wippen (inactive)]

1 hour ago, 陳德聰 said:

if you have it in you, then ...” and is often followed by a rhetorical invitation to do something the speaker believes the listener probably doesn’t have it in them to do

That is a better translation. The explanation also shows how ride and arrogant his statement is.

1 hour ago, 陳德聰 said:

我爸是__

Love those memes where such a short phrase says it all.

 

Do you think out recent topic 紫光阁地沟油 could become a meme signifying maybe `Chinese whisper` though it is not quite the same. Or where someone get the wrong end if the stick.

 

[abcdefg]

I remember the original incident. Mister Wise Mouth and his dad both wound up in the soup if I'm not mistaken.