Member-only story
It wasn’t funny but…..
How satire nailed events at the Capitol better than mainstream media
The thing about satire is that if you find it funny and you recognise the truth that makes it funny, it’s probably wasted on you. That’s not to say that good satire is worthless or that a good belly laugh at the absurdities of the politics of the day is neither satisfying nor restorative. It just means that those on ‘the other side’ won’t be laughing along with you.
On the back of the mob gate-crashing the Capitol, there were a number of tweets and posts that captured the events with humour. This is in contrast to the apocalyptic responses from those so worried about democracy they immediately forget what the US has done recently in Venezuela, Honduras, and Bolivia, to name just three near neighbours.
So, first, the Onion explained why police numbers were low at the Capitol:
Then there were a couple of tweets that appeared in my feed. Neither of which I saved or copied because I’m an idiot.
The first tweet went along the lines of:
“At last, a right-wing coup not supported by the Democrats”.
That was both accurate and timely, I thought. Kudos to its originator and I apologise for the lack of attribution.
