Two weeks ago, the internet was packed to the brim with news of the upcoming campaign rally for President Donald Trump at the Target Center—and the massive protest awaiting him.

As you may recall, the storm of headlines, soundbites, and knock-down-drag-out social media brawls included a tidbit of news about the giant “Trump baby” balloon, which found a temporary home on top of the Saloon nightclub until the big day. KARE 11 picked up the story and posted it on Facebook, and a predictable scuffle broke out in the comment section between the pro-Trump and anti-Trump crowds.

Then, something wonderful happened.

A Facebook user named Pamela—an older woman hailing from Olivia, Minnesota with short, curly gray hair—jumped into the comments and posted the following missive:

“The Saloon lost my business.”

At first, nobody wanted to break the spell.

“Were you a frequent visitor??” one commenter asked.

A minute later, someone named Louise Blystone went straight for the kill.

“Its [sic] a gay bar Pamela.”

The comment was screenshotted and immediately started pinballing around the internet. There were other older Trumpsters—some seemingly pictured with their opposite-sex partners—who made similar gaffes about boycotting a Minneapolis bar famous for its drag showstoppers and weekly “shower contest.” But none were as perfect, as crystalline, as Pamela.

Reddit and Twitter users both called her “the new Karen,” or went the other way entirely and suggested she’d just outed herself.

“Pamela no,” one Redditor said.

“Pamela’s gaaaay,” another responded.

Then the memes started flooding in.

Pins were made.

...and T-shirts.


Even queer advocacy nonprofit OutFront Minnesota got in on the action.

The only one seemingly not weighing in is Pamela herself, who didn’t respond to the kerfuffle and couldn’t be reached for interview requests.

Neither could Blystone, and that’s a damn shame, because sometimes we learn the most from the people who become the butts of our internet jokes. Even the “30 to 50 feral hogs” guy, who was made the laughingstock of the gun control debate this summer, taught us about a very real invasive species epidemic rampaging through the American South.

In the end, we may never know what Pamela’s deal is—whether she has ever been to the Saloon, or what she thinks of having her name splashed across forums and merch alike. All we know is she gave us a break from the vitriol, and a few good T-shirts.

- Hannah Jones