The 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' gesture and slogan became a powerful symbol of protest and social justice following the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. While rooted in serious civil rights movements, the imagery of a figure with their hands raised has been adapted in internet culture to represent moments of comedic surrender, being 'caught red-handed,' or admitting defeat in a lighthearted argument. On meme platforms, it is frequently used to depict situations where a person is defenseless against a humorous accusation or an inevitable outcome, transitioning from a socio-political statement to a versatile template for everyday relatability.