I’m pretty up on the Internet meme of the moment generally speaking but, somehow, the phenomena of Pedobear had escaped me. Fortunately, with a little bit of effort and research, I present to you, the general public…Pedobear. In all his majesty.

Background: Pedobear began over at 4chan, which is basically the Internet meme’s big brainstorming session (see: I Can Has Cheezburger), around this time last year. On the most basic level, Pedobear is pedophilia manifested into a child-digestible, yet completely absurd, visage. There’s a whole subtext, I’m sure, attached to the idea of an adorable children’s toy committing complete atrocities of rape and molestation of children across the globe. People wearing ascots studying English across the globe could certainly dissect the symbolism and how Pedobear’s representation says something about a loss of innocence for young adults today typical of a society that simultaneously pays too much, and too little, attention to its youth. It’s also just funny to think about a cute cartoon teddy bear vigorously diddling unsuspecting minors. And it appeals to pedophile furries, a much neglected niche I’m sure. So it works on three levels.

I seriously can’t commend 4chan enough for this brilliance. Pedophilic behavior in the form of a character that could easily fit in on some generic Nickelodeon show about some neglected children having adventures that would absolutely kill them in real life. Eloquently executed. I applaud you, heroes of the Internet.

My favorite is the first one below (click through to see it animated), along with a bunch of others of the best around the Internet.

[For even more, check out Pedobear.org]