I Am A Free I Am Not Man A Number

Submission 17,592

Part of a series on Don't Dead Open Inside. [View Related Entries]

About

I Am A Free I Am Not Man A Number refers to a sign seen at an anti-coronavirus lockdown protest in Hyde Park, London, UK in May of 2020. The sign is meant to read, "I am a free man. I am not a number," but the way its letters are formatted makes the meaning unclear, leading to a misunderstanding similar to Don't Dead Open Inside. The original phrase is a reference to the 1967 television series The Prisoner.

Origin

On September 29th, 1967, the British television series The Prisoner premiered.^[7] On the show, the main character Number 6 says, "I'm not a number, I'm a free man!"

On May 16th, 2020, a group of anti-coronavirus lockdown protestors demonstrated at Hyde Park in London.^[1] A protestor there carried a sign intended to read, "I am a free man. I am not a number," but unclear letter formatting led many to read it as "I Am A Free I Am Not Man A Number." It was tweeted several times that day, including by user @ladyhaja,^[2] who gained over 3,500 retweets and 34,000 likes (shown below).

Spread

As the image spread on Twitter, users joked that the sign reflected the intelligence of the protestors. User @SpillerofTea^[3] wrote, "I’m not saying the dickheads in Hyde Park today are as thick as fucking pigshit. I’m not saying that, but the sign that reads: I am a FREE I am not MAN A NUMBER …is fucking bellowing it with a full throat," gaining over 1,000 retweets and 5,600 likes (shown below, left). User @davemacladd^[4] joked, can anyone unlock the riddle of the #covidiots?" in response, gaining over 390 retweets and 2,500 likes (shown below, right).

Others made photo edits with the phrase. User @kappa_kappa^[5] posted a sign bunny meme with the phrase, gaining over 340 retweets and 3,100 likes (shown below, left). User @HappyRa33981776^[6] joked the phrase was like a riddle on a game show (shown below, right).