Satire is Dead

[Virgil Showlion]

...well and truly dead.

Experts aren't quite sure when he died.

Some claim it was back in 1995 with the birth of Internet blogging, when satirists would receive death threats for their claims that ninjas committed suicide by swallowing frisbees.

Others believe satire died in 2010 when "The Onion" produced a talking heads segment about abolishing the "money hole" (into which trillions of dollars are thrown every day), prompting congressional candidates to field questions from confused voters as to whether there really was a "money hole".

A small but determined group of experts claim that satire was taken from us back in 1925, when a disgruntled newspaper editor, fed up with the many ridiculous "get rich quick" scams, posted a help wanted ad for a "cat and rat farm" where the rats would be fed to the cats, the cats would be fed back to the rats, and an endless supply of cat and rat pelts would be produced. He was subsequently overwhelmed by workers applying for the position.

But whenever it was that satire was taken from us, we can be sure it was before September 12, 2012. For it was on that day that, in response to a lighthearted question about why NMSNM had been so controversial as of late, a poster was blasted as... (no I am not exaggerating)... a racist, bigoted, Nazi, Canadian-hating, Mexican-hating, European-hating, Chinese-hating controversy hater who despises everyone around him for their inability to respect strict subset relationships.

And... I am dismayed to report... this bombastic reply was interpreted by not one person but many as legitimate criticism.

Don your veils.

Lie down in the ashes and weep.

For satire is well and truly dead.

[jarhead1976]

I have a lot of respect fo subset relationships! I've had hundreds.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Satire did not die - but humor is lost to many.

[Virgil Showlion]

Satire isn't always supposed to be humorous. It is supposed to be recognizable as satire.

[Jaguar]

Sept 13, 2012 22:04:55 GMT -5 ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ said:

Satire did not die - but humor is lost to many.

Oh Hell Yeah >>

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Satire's also often mistaken for sarcasm - especially for those who can't read between the lines.

[Green Eyed Lady]

Seriously? Somebody thought that was...real?

[Green Eyed Lady]

I suppose you could make a case for Virgil going completely off his rocker and...


.....no...you couldn't.

[Tennesseer]

Sept 13, 2012 21:57:41 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

...well and truly dead.

Experts aren't quite sure when he died.

Some claim it was back in 1995 with the birth of Internet blogging, when satirists would receive death threats for their claims that ninjas committed suicide by swallowing frisbees.

Others believe satire died in 2010 when "The Onion" produced a talking heads segment about abolishing the "money hole" (into which trillions of dollars are thrown every day), prompting congressional candidates to field questions from confused voters as to whether there really was a "money hole".

A small but determined group of experts claim that satire was taken from us back in 1925, when a disgruntled newspaper editor, fed up with the many ridiculous "get rich quick" scams, posted a help wanted ad for a "cat and rat farm" where the rats would be fed to the cats, the cats would be fed back to the rats, and an endless supply of cat and rat pelts would be produced. He was subsequently overwhelmed by workers applying for the position.

But whenever it was that satire was taken from us, we can be sure it was before September 12, 2012. For it was on that day that, in response to a lighthearted question about why NMSNM had been so controversial as of late, a poster was blasted as... (no I am not exaggerating)... a racist, bigoted, Nazi, Canadian-hating, Mexican-hating, European-hating, Chinese-hating controversy hater who despises everyone around him for their inability to respect strict subset relationships.

And... I am dismayed to report... this bombastic reply was interpreted by not one person but many as legitimate criticism.

Don your veils.

Lie down in the ashes and weep.

For satire is well and truly dead.

Virgil-wasn't it you that had me going last year regarding who discovered the Americas, even before Eurasians crossed the Bearing Straits land bridge ? I think you said if was women from Liberia on a party boat accidentially discovered America and were the first native Americans.

[Virgil Showlion]

*lol*

I forgot about that one.

I initially claimed that Mexicans couldn't speak Spanish, and kept adding on and on.

ETA:

www.notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=politics&action=display&thread=21601&page=3



Virgil:

Well, I'm done arguing with you.

Spanish, true Spanish from Spain, hasn't been spoken in Mexico since the end of the gryphon wars in the 17th century. Cortez and his legion of white-maned gryphons were slaughtered and forced into total retreat by the Mayans, whose skill at wielding South American boomerangs was completely unchallenged in the world at the time.

Cortez fled. The Spanish planned to return, but their gryphons were wiped out by the bubonic plague. Spanish influence in Mexico dropped to precisely nil.

Instead, the Congolese, who had intermarried with the Spanish lords, came under terms of peace decades later. They settled the land and multiplied. For nearly two centuries, Mexico's mammoth-powered mineral quarries and boomerang warriors made her the chief seat of power and civilization on Earth.

Whatever fantasy you've thought up about Spaniards and Christians (thank you for slamming us, thank you very much) and racist fantasies about your laundromat owners being Mexicans rather than Hittites—keep it to yourself. Your ignorance is frankly painful to listen to.

Thank you for the debate, madam.

Toughtimes' Reply:

Virgil, have you actually ever met a Mexican or talked to one? You would discover that they speak Spanish. Granted, Spanish is not the native language of Mexico, any more than English is the native language of Ireland, but that is what colonizers do, they impose their language and culture, usually quite successfully.

[Jaguar]

Virgil you need serious help, now let the nice men put that jacket on you.

[Deleted]

Satire's also often mistaken for sarcasm


If when we find out, when to say, what to say.

We all be a Genius. ;D

[Deleted]

Spanish, true Spanish from Spain, hasn't been spoken in Mexico since the end of the gryphon wars in the 17th century.

[beags]

RIP satire .. . . .


Although I'm pretty sure it can still be found on Saturday Night Live.

[Waffle]

Sept 13, 2012 22:59:06 GMT -5 Green Eyed Lady said:

Seriously? Somebody thought that was...real?

I didn't report it. But, I didn't realize it was satire - I thought something must be bothering Virgil to make him write something so mean.

[Bluerobin]

Satire died when people got too stupid to understand it!

[beags]

Are you sure? I thought it died when all this political correctness came in.

The world ends if something is even taken as a racist comment, or offensive.


Although when I listen to my children and some of their friends . . . . . it's making a come back.

[Deleted]

Satire killed my father. His death has now been avenged.

[Deleted]

Sept 13, 2012 22:09:10 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Satire isn't always supposed to be humorous. It is supposed to be recognizable as satire.

Ahhh, you see the problem is that what you say satirically is said by many here seriously. I have been caught in the opposite trap thinking serious comments were satire.

[NancysSummerSip]

Satire's also often mistaken for sarcasm - especially for those who can't read between the lines.

Don't be mean to people who can't read between the lines. I'm one of them. And it has nothing to do with my comprehension.



I just forget to wear my glasses sometimes, and the lines get all blurry, and..... ;D

[swamp]

Sept 14, 2012 7:05:09 GMT -5 beags said:

RIP satire .. . . .


Although I'm pretty sure it can still be found on Saturday Night Live.

No, it can't. It was last was seen on SNL in the 80's.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

No, it can't. It was last was seen on SNL in the 80's.

[Virgil Showlion]

I didn't report it. But, I didn't realize it was satire - I thought something must be bothering Virgil to make him write something so mean.

Don't feel bad. More people than not are evidently in the same boat.

I should have learned from my failed satire rant against Archie in the Virgil's Rant thread. That piece was actually deleted, and there are " " comments literally lined up after it.

In it (it was a response to Archie's claim that my rant in the OP was only a B effort), I accused Archie of being a lousy "Dungeons with Dragons" nerd, and angrily demanded to know why he called himself "Archie the Dragon" when he clearly had a newt for his avatar.

Archie got it, and a handful of others. Nobody else did.

And, in true broken record fashion, I complained about satire being dead.

Maybe it's an American thing...?

Do we now truly live in a world where a person having a bad day can transform from mild-mannered into a rabid, incoherent, misspelling, ALLCAPS-using, Mr. Hyde? Evidently so.

[Deleted]

Do we now truly live in a world where a person having a bad day can transform from mild-mannered into a rabid, incoherent, misspelling, ALLCAPS-using, Mr. Hyde?

Sweetie, are you new here?

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

It's ok, Virgil... most of us "get" you.

[Virgil Showlion]

I think it's a bias against P&M posters, personally.

Dr. Virgyll can transform into Mr. Vyrg because he's "one of them".

But could Dr. Beerwyll transform into Mrs. Byre?

I'll bet if Beer or Nancy or one of the strict no-P&Mers went off on some mad rant for no good reason, people would assume it was satire.

[Deleted]

Sept 14, 2012 14:32:54 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

I'll bet if Beer or Nancy or one of the strict no-P&Mers went off on some mad rant for no good reason, people would assume it was satire.

No, they'd say it's PMS.

[the flying reindeer]

A curious factoid - the superb wordsmith William Safire died Sunday.

[Jaguar]

[mmmhmm Virgil has a "Virgil Rant Thread"]

[Virgil Showlion]

Sept 14, 2012 17:23:17 GMT -5 the flying reindeer said:

A curious factoid - the superb wordsmith William Safire died Sunday.

His WikiQuote entry on language mechanics is classic.