In October of 1991, a man was arrested outside a restaurant in Queensland. What was the charge? Eating a succulent Chinese meal? Though the officers didn’t answer him at the time, it looks like a decade-long friendship was struck up between the arrestee and at least one of the cops, as a picture on Reddit of them reuniting has broken the Australian internet. This is democracy manifest!
For unknowable reasons, the clip of Jack Karlson‘s arrest almost 34 years ago strikes a chord with all who view it.
There’s just something about a man shouting random phrases like, “Get your hand off my penis!” and “Succulent Chinese meal!” while being arrested by half a dozen police officers that speaks to Aussie larrikin culture.
A succulent reunion
On the r/Australia subreddit on April 8, one user shared they were friends with someone who claimed to be the son of one of the officers who arrested Mr Democracy Manifest.
The Redditor’s friend apparently shared a photo of the two men as they appeared in the viral clip, and also of them in the present day, reuniting for a beer. This photo was then reshared by the Redditor.
A friend’s dad was one of the coppers in the Democracy Manifest video and posted this today
byu/SpadfaTurds inaustralia
Immediately the comments flowed in about exactly which officer the father was, with Redditors wanting to confirm one detail in particular.
“Was he the one who had him by the penis?” one user asked, referring to one of Karlson’s iconic outbursts.
However there is another officer he could have been, with may others questioning if the dad “knows his judo well?”
Unfortunately for the curious netizens, the friend could not confirm for sure if any of Karlson’s memorable quotes were directed towards the officer he reunited with this week.
But hey, given that we didn’t know Karlson’s identity for a decade or two, I’m sure we can wait to have confirmation of the identity of the police officer too.
What is the “Succulent Chinese meal” clip from?
If you somehow haven’t seen the clip of Karslon’s arrest before, it is mandatory viewing and vital for your education. Watch it now or have your passport revoked.
Since the moment skyrocketed into Aussie meme stardom, Karlson has been the subject of books, interviews, and even true crime podcasts trying to figure out exactly what he asked: “What is the charge?”
The “Democracy Manifest” moment has been viewed millions of times online, turned into all sorts of merchandise, recreated in a music video, and spawned countless memes.
Originally maintaining an air of mystery, the identity of Mr Democracy Manifest was uncertain for some time. However, in recent years he was confirmed to be the Queensland-based artist Jack Karlson we know today.
And now, more than three decades after he was pulled into a police car, Karlson has reunited with one of the cops who arrested him.
In 2020 the identity of Mr Democracy Manifest was believed to have been uncovered by Aussie band The Chats as they recreated the iconic moment with Karlson in their “Dine n Dash” music video.
Karlson was not arrested for a dine and dash, but was allegedly arrested for credit card fraud.
He maintains his innocence to this day.
And that, GENTLEMEN, is DEMOCRACY MANIFEST.
