What's the difference, really? Other than saving those new to the site and unaware how it works from being inundated with memes designed to cause discordance? Many have complained about it killing the site. From the complaints about the solution, it may seem that at least for some, this may be the intention.
There was a bunch complaining early last year about NSFW memes being too, well, NSFW, and that the opt out option wasn't suffficient, that the raunchier ones should be separated into another stream if not banned all together. Some prominent members left because of it.
Seemed silly , one check, problem solved, but bottom line, it's like going to a regular beach that just so happens to have nudists in it and you have the option of shutting your eyes when one walks past if it bothers you.
Not only is it a benefit to those not wanting to be exposed to political memes, it's also a benefit to those who like them. One tap, and that's all there is. No more wading trough memes about legos and goofy puns and cute cat gifs. The main beneficiaries of a separate stream for politics are those who are into them. Go just three pages deep and you'll see memes that wouldn't have gotten past page 8 before.
The only issue I have is not seeing them on someone's profile, plus the others, like reaction gifs and cats. The again, does everyone want to see gaming memes?