There are all kinds of people that make up a society. We all have our interests and niche communities and points of view. Sometimes things can come along that can unite us – very often that happens through comedy or sports or music – or any of the arts, really.
Today we are talking about an Instagram account that snuck quietly into our minds and hearts with its astute and pointed look at some of Hamilton’s most laughable and memable scenarios. Thehammermemer entered our Insta-lives and things haven’t been the same since. It doesn’t matter what end of town you live in or what you do for a living – we can all laugh about messy nights at Hess Village, the bougieness of Locke Street or poor customer service at a grocery store. Speaking of which, a particularly hilarious regular meme focus is the customer service and general experience at Nations in downtown Hamilton. This is done in good fun, of course. We all love Nations. Where else can a gal get a bag of avocados, Croatian wafer treats and the best grocery store level sushi money can buy? Nowhere, that’s where. Thehammermemer gets that. These memes aren’t mean spirited – that would be too easy and too lazy. It takes a clever comedic mind and an intimate understanding of a subject to poke fun at it and have us laugh at ourselves the way we have been with these memes.
We caught up with the mysterious and anonymous figure behind Thehammermemer to learn more about laughing about our struggles.
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What’s your connection to Hamilton? Do you live here?
I’m on the outskirts of hammy actually. Towards the boonies. But a lot of my childhood was spent in downtown due to visiting family friends.
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Why did you start this account?
I started this account because I over-dramatize things in my head and experience many meme-worthy moments that I feel the good people of Hamilton can surely relate to.
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There was a name change at some point. What was that all about?
I wasn’t too sure of how relevant the “hammer” was to Hamilton. So, I thought “hahahahahamilton” was better. But the people have spoken.
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There are a lot of memes about Nations in particular (which I love) what brought this on?
I spend a lot of time at nations as they carry a lot of the ingredients I cook with. So, I’ve had my fair share of having to search for things. As for how it began – I like to make comedy out of my experiences so that I can better accept my losses. I just find Nations employees being such dutiful workers and simultaneously the worst helpers, quite perplexing. So I felt the need to share my confusion with others.
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Do you have a trick for getting everything you need at nations and getting through the check out process in a timely manner?
I haven’t fully cracked the code yet. But i’d definitely say that making it a solo endeavor is a no-go. Tag teaming the journey thru nations is always great for efficiency. Also, going in with a game-plan and strategizing which aisles to maneuver through during peak hours is key. Speaking of which, I highly recommend that you avoid nations from 12-4.
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What inspires your memes?
Inspiration mainly comes from my personal and imagined experiences and interactions with people and places all around Hamilton.
Why do you think Hamiltonians love laughing at ourselves? What does that say about us?
My memes are quite honest. So I guess that makes Hamiltonians honest.
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You are our favourite Instagram account? what is yours?
Not Hamilton related, but I do love goats. @goats_are_family is currently my favourite.
Thank you!
