Octopus Overlords

Moliere wrote:

LordMortis wrote:I must be missing something. What's so special about Obama and John Kerry shaking hands?

I was thinking that Sarah Jessica Parker has big arms.

If I was drinking my coffee this morning, it would be over my monitor

Not a picture, but a video:

The Minimum Wage? Superfragalisticexpialibullshit

Defiant wrote:Not a picture, but a video:

The Minimum Wage? Superfragalisticexpialibullshit

The Rebuttal

Moliere wrote:

Defiant wrote:Not a picture, but a video:

The Minimum Wage? Superfragalisticexpialibullshit

The Rebuttal

Well, I couldn't get through the first one, but at least the second was short.

GreenGoo wrote:

Moliere wrote:

Defiant wrote:Not a picture, but a video:

The Minimum Wage? Superfragalisticexpialibullshit

The Rebuttal

Well, I couldn't get through the first one, but at least the second was short.

Do they not show classic movies in Canada?

The second one was much less clever. "Just 3 pages of econ?" Ok, not clever at all.

Mary Poppins: Practically perfect people never permit sentiment to muddle their thinking.

Zarathud wrote:

GreenGoo wrote:

Moliere wrote:

Defiant wrote:Not a picture, but a video:

The Minimum Wage? Superfragalisticexpialibullshit

The Rebuttal

Well, I couldn't get through the first one, but at least the second was short.

Do they not show classic movies in Canada?

The second one was much less clever. "Just 3 pages of econ?" Ok, not clever at all.

Mary Poppins: Practically perfect people never permit sentiment to muddle their thinking.

I didn't say I didn't understand it, I just couldn't sit through it. It was pretty awful. The second one was also awful, but ended before I closed to tab.

GreenGoo wrote:

Zarathud wrote:

GreenGoo wrote:

Moliere wrote:

Defiant wrote:Not a picture, but a video:

The Minimum Wage? Superfragalisticexpialibullshit

The Rebuttal

Well, I couldn't get through the first one, but at least the second was short.

Do they not show classic movies in Canada?

The second one was much less clever. "Just 3 pages of econ?" Ok, not clever at all.

Mary Poppins: Practically perfect people never permit sentiment to muddle their thinking.

I didn't say I didn't understand it, I just couldn't sit through it. It was pretty awful. The second one was also awful, but ended before I closed to tab.

You are a terrible person. They were both well done. (the second I'm giving more credit for for the speed at which it was created)

Defiant wrote:
You are a terrible person.

Well, duh.

"Should I turn my head and cough while you're down there?"

Protest Warrior-style lampoon signs against zealots.

Lame. Mocking people because they disagree with you is not argument.

Satire is totally a thing.

The pictured signs aren't satire by any stretch. They're just "Get a Brain, Morans" with better spelling.

(After following the link, I think the "Women's Rights Expert -->" sign is the only one that has any oomph.)

I think the "He is single" sign would qualify as satire (whether it's well done or not is another issue). He's advocating support for pregnant women instead of abortions, so the sign is letting the pregnant women know that he is single and ready to support them. Again, it's arguable whether it's well done or not, but it's still more than just mockery.

If the original protestors do indeed switch focus from the people looking to access the clinic's services and engage with the couple with the silly signs instead, as stated... mission accomplished.

They're not looking for a debate. They're creating a diversion. I like it.

The Catholic.org view on it is "See? See? See how these 'supporters' of abortion treat the situation as total mockery? Is this how you want abortion to be treated?"

No, those "creative" people (the girl in her bathrobe and the hippie with his pants falling off) are here to help you in your worst hour. They want to comfort you and tell you that you have options. They want to share the truth with you and offer you a free ultrasound. NO, that is not their intention. That group of anti-lifers are enjoying the limelight by making a mockery of your horrible day.

Which, of course, means they totally missed the point, intentionally or not.

Has anyone ever accused a church organization of having a sense of humor?

Holman wrote:Lame. Mocking people because they disagree with you is not argument.

I don't understand. What argument are the original sign holders forwarding?

Posit: "Babies are murdered here"
Counter: "No they're not"

"Pregnant mothers need support, not abortion"
"Ok" or "Maybe" or "depends on the situation"

Is that the sort of debate you were expecting to see between sign holders, Holman?

I don't want to make too much of this. Signs are generally weak anyway.

But a sign that says "This is my position" at least means taking a stand. Of course the physical presence of the sign-holder is actually the meaningful part, but the sign at least indicates the reason for it.

Meanwhile, a counter-sign that says "These guys are just stupid -->" strikes me as less of a stand than one that says "Well, this is MY position." If nothing else, mockery probably builds sympathy for the person being mocked.

I think if the political valence were reversed, most of us here would be significantly less impressed with the satirical wit of the mockers. What bugs me about it is that I like to believe we can still have some respect for our political opponents. It bothers me especially when it falls short on my side.

I hear you. I feel that way every time I see a picture of a woman protesting for gay marriage with a meme about how ugly or fat etc she is and that no man wants her. I find it makes it much more difficult to support a cause when is pursues mindless and hurtful attacks on people that have zilch to do with the issue being discussed.

In the case of pro-life protestors outside a clinic, they are often there not just to state a position (and certainly not to engage in a meaningful debate), but to shame people who would like to access the clinic (not necessarily for an abortion either) into not using the clinic. They get right up in people's faces and try to intimidate them into not going into the building.

I cannot speak to the specifics of that particular clinic or those particular protestors (you see repeated images of the pro-life folks in different clothes as well, so they apparently are regulars there). Maybe all they do is stand there with their signs. Maybe they never actually directly bother anyone who would just like to talk to a professional about affordable birth control options. Maybe.

At any rate, I'm inclined to view someone's efforts to distract these protestors away from targetting individuals trying to get into the clinic as similar to people dressing up as angels to block the visibility of Westboro Baptist protest signs at funerals.

A lot of people who would be accessing this facility are probably already having kind of a lousy day, you know?

That's true, Silverjon. The pro-life protester's tactics definitely also need to meet a baseline of decency and respect, and in lots of cases they certainly don't. This Supreme Court seems to enjoy making it easier for them to harass women rather than just state their position.

I was just struck by how lame the "I'm with Stupid" tactic seemed to me--that's my whole comment here. Of course the actual aggression shown by many pro-lifers at clinics is more vile any bad joke signs.

I always lean to the side of mockery, especially if the targets are buffoons. I find it interesting that the clinic blockers are apparently incapable of responding in kind. If I drove by one of these I would definitely give a horny honk.

Feel free to check my work.

Isgrimnur wrote:

Feel free to check my work.

First laugh of the day goes to.

Isgrimnur wrote:Feel free to check my work.

The web designer is using a bad URL. The "edit" seems like an obvious mistake. Not sure if I'm ruining your joke. Click here for the site.

Fair enough. Should I shift criticism to a group of government employees that can't get a simple website to work properly?

Isgrimnur wrote:Should I shift criticism to a group of government employees that can't get a simple website to work properly?

If you like picking low hanging fruit.

Moliere wrote:

Isgrimnur wrote:Feel free to check my work.

The web designer is using a bad URL. The "edit" seems like an obvious mistake. Not sure if I'm ruining your joke. Click here for the site.

I read the page. You aren't ruining the joke at all.

That one's at least two years old.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/n ... _the_side/