Gagged Goggins Is the Reaction Meme for Our Confusing Times

ABLUpdated 1 month Ago2 Mins read11

We live in a bewildering age. Every day, some new completely inexplicable bullshit emerges, and we all collectively go “Okay.” As a result, some of the most long-running memes are one of confusion, panic, and overwhelm. “This is fine” dog, Troy coming back with the pizza, Math Lady. There are so many, and we need so many more, because things continue to up their cah-razy quotient at exponential levels.

This week’s The White Lotus provided us with a new blank-eyed reaction image: Walton Goggins’s Rick as he listens to his friend Frank (a surprise cameo Sam Rockwell) explain his spiritual journey in Thailand and its …unconventional starting point, shall we say?

Frank says he fell into a compulsive sex hole once he got to Thailand. “I was picking up girls every night, always different ones; petite ones, chubby ones, older ones, sometimes multiple ladies at night. I was out of control, I became insatiable, and, you know, after about a thousand nights like that, you start to lose it,” he tells Rick. “I started to wonder: Where am I going with this? Why do I feel this need to fuck all these women? What is desire? The form of this cute Asian girl, why does it have such a grip on me? Because she’s the opposite of me? Is she gonna complete me in some way? I realized I could fuck a million women, I’d still never be satisfied — maybe what I really want is to be one of these Asian girls.” After that, he explains his experiments with gay sex and crossdressing, and how he overindulged in that type of sex as well. Eventually this path led him to Buddhism and asceticism as a way to escape what he calls “the never-ending carousel of lust and suffering,” ie: samsāra.

Goggins told Vanity Fair that the main thing he wanted to get across with his reaction to Rockwell’s 5-minute monologue was acceptance. “The only thing that I can say is that I had no judgment,” he said. “It took me a moment to wrap my head around this particular life experience, so it was like, ‘wow, wow, okay.’ But without judgment – I think that’s so beautiful about it.” Which is often what this meme is about: the need to process new information.

If I send you this, it means I’m listening but I’m going to need a second to process this #WhiteLotus pic.twitter.com/Iy0aM4eXpY

— Draké (@Tally__Drake) March 17, 2025

when someone teaches me a board game pic.twitter.com/r7cnOhjHzW

— Alyssa Limperis (@alyssalimp) March 17, 2025

Sometimes there is judgement, however. Like when a Senator is reacting to whatever nonsense Trump is on today.

https://t.co/Oea6DH7f3k pic.twitter.com/IaPP4bhzt1

— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) March 17, 2025

And the astrology folks always know how to twist a meme to horoscopal education.

“You may find that people often unload their own problems onto you, and you’re able to listen…” ✨♏️ Rick White Lotus Scorpio traits pic.twitter.com/GAqtt9RZrs

— Severed Girlfriend™ (@existandchill) March 18, 2025