In the patriarchal society where I grew up, in Fanta Citron, Mvog Ada, in Yaoundé, Cameroon, men were always seen as being right. Yet, it was our mothers, aunts, and grandmothers who were the true lifeblood of our community. They helped weave the social fabric, provided for our daily needs, and took charge of the education of our children. The list of their contributions was long and invaluable.
But officially, it was men who were the foundation of society. Fathers, uncles, and grandfathers were elevated to a pedestal, where they were granted glory, but never dishonor. The latter was reserved for women. Almost everything was given to them — granted and tolerated. They had the right to be polygamous, could disappear for days or even weeks without needing to provide an explanation, and always received the best cuts of meat, fish, and other delicacies. Our mothers made sure they ate first, long before us, their children. Men had rituals that elevated their status. For some women, they were a commodity in a society where a single woman was often seen as cursed, bad luck for her family, or labeled a “slut.” Sometimes, she was even rejected by her own people — a fate unknown to men. To say that men were kings would be an understatement. In this kingdom, men stuck together like a brotherhood, a bond they swore to protect at all costs. The brotherhood never abandoned its members. Once a member, always a member. Support was always guaranteed. It was their code of honor — only broken in the most exceptional cases.
The year after Cousin Medounga married Lundi, his mother-in-law, Auntie Ebogo (my mother’s older sister), invited him to visit. That summer, Lundi had no idea he was about to face a crucial test that many men in our tribe had to undergo: clearing a field for his mother-in-law, who wanted to grow peanuts. The day after his arrival in the village, Auntie Ebogo gathered us boys — Cousin Vieux, Cousin Papi, my little brother, and me — and took us, along with Lundi, into the forest. We were each handed a machete. She pointed to a section of the forest and told us it was our job to clear the trees and wild vegetation from that area.
The forest was dense, and as often happens in deep woods, unexpected dangers — like snakes — could be lurking. Auntie Ebogo sat down while we divided the area into five equal sections, despite our age differences. Normally, it should have taken us about four hours to finish. Two hours in, my brother, my cousins, and I had cleared more than half of our sections. Lundi, however, had barely finished a quarter of his. He complained about the deeply rooted shrubs, the wild grass, and a viper that had almost bitten him. His mother-in-law listened quietly, without a word. The rest of us were too focused on our work to pay him much attention.
A little over two hours later, the four of us had completed our sections. Lundi had barely cleared half of his. Auntie Ebogo was clearly mortified. Though she said nothing, her face was full of contempt. Normally calm, she seemed to be boiling with frustration. She kept getting up and sitting back down, her body language showing she wanted to storm over, rip the machete from his hands, and finish the job herself. Meanwhile, Lundi continued to complain. After another half hour, Auntie Ebogo finally asked us to go and help him, which we did.
“Lundi should have stayed in Yaoundé to finish his office work,” Auntie Ebogo replied when her husband, Uncle Simplice and the other adults asked her how the trip to the forest with her son-in-law had been. “I think he is better off in Yaoundé.”
Uncle Simplice didn’t intervene, but the message — though subtle — was a clear, negative criticism of Lundi. He understood that his wife was signaling her disappointment, implying that Lundi had been of no help. It was an unexpected critique. This meant that the male solidarity and the pedestal on which Lundi had been placed — both because he was a man and because the family felt it was urgent for him to marry Cousin Medounga — were now being questioned. At the time, he had seemed like a hero to my family, particularly to my mother and aunts. The men had also welcomed him into the Songo’o circle, the traditional game they played during my childhood.
The next day, Uncle Simplice went to the section of the forest to confirm what his wife had subtly criticized. He immediately recognized the area Lundi had cleared, which stood out because the shrubs and wild grass were much taller than in the other sections. According to our traditions, a man was expected to know how to use his hands. Clearing land for farming was one of the skills every man was supposed to have. Failing to do so was seen as a betrayal of one’s people and the brotherhood. It meant you could not be trusted. You were labeled “weak,” the opposite of “strong,” a quality that was supposed to be inherent in men — hence the pedestal they were placed upon.
The news spread quickly. At Songo’o, the players became hesitant to include Lundi. They observed his every move, searching for any reason to dismiss him. His every gesture was under scrutiny. My mother and aunts now wore a sort of smirk whenever Lundi’s name was mentioned or when he appeared. They had subtly bent the little finger of their hand. Nine fingers remained. It seemed they were beginning to question their decision to give him Cousin Medounga’s hand in marriage. There was no regret yet, but they were certainly on the path toward it. They would still drink his Kool-Aid, but with far less blind enthusiasm than they had just a few months earlier. Criticizing Lundi was now allowed.
Joe Rogan, an icon of masculinity for both young and adult men in the United States, recently opened a small window of criticism, similar to what happened to Lundi, by unexpectedly criticizing President Donald J. Trump — despite being a supporter.
Rogan, one of the world’s most popular and influential podcasters, is not officially a member of the MAGA movement, but he endorsed Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris before Americans went to the polls on November 5, during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, which is frequently listened to by millions. He was also a guest at Trump’s inauguration on January 20 in Washington, D.C.
“The great and powerful @elonmusk. If it weren’t for him, we’d be f***ed,” Rogan wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on November 4, referring to the CEO of Tesla, Trump’s new close ally. Musk recently launched an overhaul of the federal government through DOGE, the department tasked with cutting costs and finding efficiencies, which he was put in charge of by President Trump. “He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you’ll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way.”
Rogan then threw his support behind Trump: “For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump.”
The tweet has been seen by more than 52 million X members as of time of writing.
Two months after his strong endorsement, Rogan unexpectedly criticized Trump on his podcast. The criticism was directed at the meme coin $TRUMP, the cryptocurrency launched by the President just three days before his inauguration.
“It’s unbefitting of a president,” Rogan said on January 30, during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with stand-up comedian and actor Kurt Metzger, as they discussed $TRUMP and the criticism Trump had faced since launching the cryptocurrency. “I get that argument. It makes sense. You know, you shouldn’t do that,” he added, criticizing Trump’s decision to launch a meme coin that had contributed to fueling another crypto frenzy.
“You should really concentrate on running the country. You shouldn’t have some obvious, like, money, grab,” Rogan, who revealed that he owned Trump sneakers, lambasted.
He added that he doesn’t understand how the Trump meme coin was valued at billions.
“Trump coins were [worth] $36 billion which means 36,000 people put a million dollars in. That doesn’t make sense. So that’s 36,000 million. That’s what? 36 billion. That sounds insane,” adding that “it still seems insane if you’re using real money.”
On January 30, the market value of $TRUMP was around $5.5 billion. It is difficult to know whether Rogan is talking about the total supply of $TRUMP or the amount of $TRUMP available for people or investors to trade.
During their exchange that has received more than 1.1 million views on YouTube as of time of writing, Rogan and Metzger compared the meme coins world to a casino and investors to gamblers, saying that “idiots” are going to shoulder the losses.
“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE!” the then President-elect announced on January 17. “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to http://gettrumpmemes.com — Have Fun!”
$TRUMP is a meme coin or a cryptocurrency that seeks to capitalize on his own personality.
The next day, January 18, marked the first day of trading for $TRUMP. On that day, the President, who issued 1 billion $TRUMP tokens, sold only about 200 million on the market at a unit price of $23.93, according to CoinGecko, a crypto data firm. He thus pocketed $5.8 billion, having never purchased the tokens.
Investors who bought $TRUMP that day also, in theory, made a significant profit, as the coin rose to a closing high of $44.28 on January 21. However, since then, $TRUMP has fallen to $16.15 as of this writing. Essentially, if someone bought one $TRUMP at $44.28 on January 22, for instance, their investment would have dropped by more than $28, or close to 64%, in less than three weeks.
It is worth noting that $TRUMP briefly peaked at $73.43 on January 19, giving it a market cap of $14.7 billion, if one considers the available supply. Currently, $TRUMP is valued at $3.2 billion, meaning nearly $11.5 billion has evaporated in just three weeks.
Unlike more established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, meme coins are designed to capitalize on the viral appeal of a personality, movement, or internet phenomenon. There is no intrinsic economic utility other than making quick profits at the expense of others. It is pure speculation — a ruthless game where the winner is the one with the most tricks up their sleeve. In this game, the average investor typically loses.
Creating meme coins is easy, as it doesn’t require special technical knowledge. Meme coins operate on existing blockchains — the technology powering cryptocurrencies. The most famous meme coin, Dogecoin, was inspired by a viral image of a Japanese Shiba Inu dog. Elon Musk, a major supporter of Dogecoin, is one of the personalities whose words can cause the price of Dogecoin to fluctuate dramatically.
President Trump still holds 800 million $TRUMP tokens, which he can sell at any time. No matter the price he sells them for, he will make a fortune since he didn’t spend a dime acquiring them. It is important to note that meme coins often disappear as quickly as they appear. These coins are typically scams, operating under “pump and dump” or “rug pull” schemes, where creators hype the coin on social media to attract investors, inflate its value, and then flood the market with tokens, causing a crash before disappearing to launch another scheme.
What sets $TRUMP apart from other meme coins is that it is designed to enable MAGA supporters to prove their loyalty. It is essentially a “fan coin” or “MAGA coin,” meaning that some buyers may not expect any substantial financial return.
However, seeing one of his most influential supporters — especially among the young men who played a crucial role in his November 5 victory — criticize the move is unwelcome. This could open the door to more criticism if $TRUMP were to collapse entirely, potentially damaging the support he has among crypto enthusiasts. It would add insult to injury for a young industry already struggling to rebuild trust after the Sam Bankman-Fried fraud and other high-profile bankruptcies.
Decades ago, the forest was the kryptonite of Uncle Lundi, who went from being revered as the savior of my family to being questioned. In a similar vein, the $TRUMP meme coin could become President Trump’s weakness at a time when Democrats are struggling to find a clear line of attack against him. The crypto bros he courted, and who promoted him to young men, could open a window for criticism. If $TRUMP collapses, it could tarnish his image as a savvy businessman and erode support from his base.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of Luc Olinga's work on Medium.