>>1473752A meme is a unit of culture. So if a certain type of gear 'is a meme' (like tacticool gloves for example) it's because people use it more because they think it's part of the culture- "I'm going hiking so of course I need some tacticool gloves and random karabiners to look the part" than for actual practicality. If we say it's a meme, we're saying it's more for fashion than practical.
LARP means live action roleplay, which is a fancy way of saying pretending. All boys pretend, and most men are still boyish at heart. So sometimes pretending you're an old timey explorer with victorian lamps is kinda fun for some people. I often pretend to have bugged out, so I have to 'move quickly' or stay inconspicuous. Ultimately pretending is supposed to be a boy's way of practicing for real life, which is why they all playfight- genetically they're built for war and hunting. Nobody really minds people who LARP as a medieval woodsman with an axe and canvas bedroll, or a militia in a guerilla war, we know they're just trying to reconnect with some feeling of rootedness or danger that they dont have in the modern world.
It's only when you pretend something really silly like "I'm an orc warrior, check out my foam sword" or "my fedora makes me look like a classy gangster" that people will take the piss. LARP is a mild meme.
