AboutWhat does the meme depict?

The 'Misunderstood D-Bag' meme, also known as 'Misunderstood Mitch,' is an advice animal image macro that centers on a photograph of a man sporting a blue polo shirt with the collar popped and a soul patch beard. The format typically includes a top caption that spells out stereotypically negative or troublesome behavior, reminiscent of the 'Scumbag Steve' meme. This is immediately followed by a bottom caption that provides a humorous or ironic justification for the behavior, turning the initial judgment on its head in a style similar to the 'Successful Black Man' meme captions.

OriginWho did it first?

This meme has its origins in a stock photograph by Justin Horrocks titled 'Optimistic Man,' which was uploaded on January 3rd, 2007. The concept for the meme only materialized years later when it was first used as an image macro captioned 'pops collar to protect neck from sunburn' on the Quickmeme website. This version of the meme further gained popularity after being shared on Reddit here, where it climbed to the front page of the advice animals subreddit. The duality of the meme, blending perceived negative traits with unexpectedly positive justifications, draws inspiration from the essence of previously popular memes like 'Scumbag Steve' and 'Good Guy Greg,' which also played with contrasting the expectations of a character's behavior.^[1]

Origin: 2011