The Boise Sad Cowbell Girl Meme started out so innocently, with Internet lurkers delighting to her lackluster cowbell stylings. And then, we found out she was blind and that we, subsequently, are bad, bad people.

The viral video, featuring a beret-wearing college student banging on a cowbell (bereft of joy), was posted to YouTube yesterday after the Fiesta Bowl.

Soon, it made its way to sites like College Humor, and inevitable spin-offs were concocted, such as "Boise Sad Cowbell Girl Doesn't Fear the Reaper" (as you can see, some smart cookie took that vid down, along with the original).

The mockery was short-lived, however, as a tweet by Boise State student Gloria Miller revealed that the girl in question is, in fact, blind, and did not notice the camera panning by her.

Although I myself did not find this video all that funny — seriously, it ended and I was like, "Wha? That's it?" — the aftermath of the realization is rather fascinating. Internet memes, while hilarious, are usually inherently cruel. I guess that there are limits to what even the most hardened of humorists will tolerate. Who would have thunk it?





