I don't usually do "Only Ones" posts, but I spotted something the other day that I found interesting.
I like satire as much as the next guy, and tend to read The Onion regularly. Certainly I've been put off more than once by Onion articles that I found to be in rather poor taste, but for the most part, I find them quite funny. The article in question here, "Cop Vows To Hunt Down Punk Who Successfully Pressed Brutality Charges Against His Partner," isn't offensive, but it still doesn't work very well as satire.
Christopher O'Dell, a 16-year veteran of the Detroit Police Department, told reporters Monday that he will not rest until he exacts revenge on the man who got his long-time partner, Officer Rick Noonan, 38, suspended for using excessive force during an arrest at a peaceful demonstration last March. "That punk is going to get what's coming to him again," O'Dell said. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll make sure that scumbag is taken off the streets, not properly informed of his Miranda rights, chained to a radiator beneath the station, and kept awake for days of interrogation without being formally charged."This kind of satire works by exaggerating reality to a ridiculous extent, but the problem is that this is no exaggeration, as demonstrated here, here, here, here, and especially here--and these are all from the past week, and I only picked the "best" among those available. I'm not sure that Onion article would even have made the cut in that collection.
I'm not accusing The Onion of being deliberately misleading, to serve some kind of agenda--I think that like most Americans, the writers there are simply unaware of how pervasive is the problem of "a few bad apples" among the government's hired muscle.
And that's why the "Only Ones" posts are needed.
Stumble it!
5 comments:
I'm pretty sure they were just being ironic; I find that the Onion does an excellent job of making sure noone is safe from satire, Mel Brooks style.
I agree that irony was the intent. I just think that if the writer had realized how much of that sort of thing really goes on, he would have had to come up with something vastly more outrageous, in order for the irony to really have much punch.
I like the sublime nature of some of their stuff, though. One of my favorite headlines ever was "Muscleman Put in Charge of World's Fifth Largest Economy," and it was a seriously-written piece on Arnold being elected CA's governor. I hear you, though. It's really disturbing that many people might not even get that it IS satire, they just might think it's in poor taste, or a reference to some Hollywood movie or something.
I find the "Only One's" posts to be pretty vitriolic and anti-cop, which is why I quit visiting Codrea's site. Most cops are for civilian gun-rights. Doing the whole "Only One's" schtick is divisive and doesn't do anything to further civilian gun-rights or causes.
FWIW...
I don't think vitriol and "anti-cop" sentiment is David's intention, but I also seriously doubt that he ever harbored any illusions that his "Only Ones" posts would be interpreted that way by some.
As long as the Brady Campaign (and every other citizen disarmament advocacy group) exploits society's fantasy that the police are somehow better qualified and more fit to defend us than we are to defend ourselves, it will be necessary to point out how twisted such a belief is.
It's a message that is sure to ruffle some feathers, but what message of any importance doesn't ruffle feathers?
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