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mik3cap ([personal profile] mik3cap) wrote2007-02-01 10:12 am
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Here's the Onion article I would be writing

'You Old People Better Get Down With It, Or We're Going To Soylent Green Your Asses,' Writes Blogger

In a bold move at 10:12a.m. today, notable Generation X blogger Hammy McSmythe posted an entry in his Blogspot electronic diary indicating that people over the age of 50 need to "ingest a clue" or "face the consequences." This of course in response to the shutdown of the city of New Haven and the mobilization of National Guard forces in response to the discovery of a rubber ducky in the shape of Mr. T left on the curb of Wooster Street.

"We're sick and tired of these whiny Baby Boomer bitches jumping any time they see something 'suspicious'. Every time a new episode of 24 airs on FOX, it feeds their need to be scared. ZOMGWTF!! What's wrong with these paranoid pussies?"

U.S. Representative Dick Hunt (D-MA) was quoted earlier this morning at a press conference: "The person or persons responsible for this heinous terrorist hoax will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I will also be pursuing new legislation that will impose a mandatory 11 year jail sentence for anyone responsible for making me dirty my underwear."

Mary Wootenstein of West Haven was scared shitless. "WHAT THE HELL?? Who wouldn't be afraid of a thing like that? I mean, just look at it, it's obviously some kind of bomb!" A nearby man who overheard Mary's comment shouted: "BOMB?? OH MY GOD WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!"


This photo of the suspicious object was taken yesterday afternoon

McSmythe posted the very same photo in his own journal two weeks ago, when he first discovered the rubber duck and remarked days later that nobody had touched the thing, and found the whole situation humorous. His amusement quickly turned to revulsion when he discovered that the six hours he had spent in traffic evacuating the city were due to hysteria caused by the object.

McSmythe continued: "I swear, I cannot wait for these Baby Boomers to start dying off. How can they not understand the cultural zeitgeist that has produced the Mr. T Rubber Ducky? Are they really that insular and out of touch? Well, my Social Security taxes are paying for their sorry elderly asses! When they're all infirm and bedridden in the next 20 years, they're going to be looking for me to nurse them into their graves - well, they can forget it!!"

[identity profile] vlvtjones.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 04:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Snark all you want, but I was still waiting for my pager to go off.

Sorry to be a humorless individual, but yesterday kind of clouded my hipster punk'd attitude, y'know?

[identity profile] mikecap.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 04:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Don't be eee-scared! The Mooninites only wish peace for you.

It's okay... I know that the constant attacks on U.S. soil that we've had in the six years since 9/11 make everyone's petrifying fear perfectly justifiable. Especially since they've all been happening in Boston.

[identity profile] vlvtjones.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe I'm a little sensitive, because I do get alerted when something is suspicious, and yes, it's happened in the time I've been on the HAZMAT team. I believe our police officers did what they had to do. I also believe that this could all have been avoided by the ad agency getting some permits for what now is their global free advertising campaign. I am very disheartened to know that the artist who was hired by the ad agency will probably get hard jail time while the ATHF movie will make tons of money for Turner Inc. I think that our local media outlets are the ones who blew this way out of proportion, and that our mayor and governor's press conference was overdoing it.

ATHF is a small cartoon watched by a very small part of the population, most of whom would just as soon flip the bird at a police officer rather than help them out, if they could (or, only when they get enough sack after a few PBRs).

On a personal level: I'm asking you to be a little sensitive too, for me, please.

[identity profile] mikecap.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 11:14 pm (UTC)(link)
I would like to be sensitive to you, but honestly, the issue at hand is larger than you and me. Unjustified fear that is being fomented by evil politicians, that is costing lives and billions of dollars, must be ended. More lives will be lost all over this world due to climate change than anything terrorists could possibly do, but you don't see people cowering in fear when the sky grows dark.

[identity profile] vlvtjones.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 05:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Would you still be laughing at stupid unhip Boston if the lite brites had a picture of Cheney or GWB on them and the media still went nuts over it?

[identity profile] mikecap.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
No, but I guarantee the reaction would have been non-existent if the lite brites said "coca-cola". There's the power of corporations for you.

[identity profile] sirroxton.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Did you write this? That's pretty good. :)

Velvet, I'm sorry, but there's no excuse for the civil reaction to what were obviously a bunch of flat light displays. There's probably one solitary knucklehead in the chain of command who made a really bad and expensive call.

[identity profile] sirroxton.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
That said, given the (ridiculous) civil response, I'm neither surprised nor annoyed that a lot of people were frightened. Whoever initiated this response is single-handedly responsible for soiling a tremendous quantity of linen.

[identity profile] vlvtjones.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
No, I agree that the boston media outlets should take a lot of the blame for spinning this out of control. Most of us in the city had no idea what was going on, we just went about our business.

The police and bomb squads did what they're supposed to do, check out suspicious packages by sectioning off the area for the public's safety, and neutralize the suspicious package by blasting it the eff up with a water cannon. I would find it unwise that even if the first 37 of 38 lite brites were OK that they would just go "eh, I'm sure it's safe" to the last one.

I do find it incredibly crass on the part of Turner/Time Warner that while it was deciding on its apology from the Cartoon Network, it's affiliate CNN was feeding into the twister of panic to the general public. It's funny to notice that none of the local news outlets are mentioning the name of the character, TV show, or network; since it's controlled by a competing media conglomeration.

But the press conference with the two guys after their arraignment this morning was just priceless. Good on 'em.

[identity profile] neuromancerzss.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Honestly the police and bomb squad did not do what they're supposed to do. Go to the location, yes, cordon off the area, yes, but at some point they need to do a sanity check and realize that something the size of 4 D batteries isn't going to blow up much of anything, especially not a steel bridge, that bomb-makers don't make their bombs obvious and decoratory, and that the 2nd, 3rd, and 38th device with the same picture and same design are probably just as harmless as the 1st.

Bombs are serious business, but these are supposed to be experts, and police need to look not only at the worst case scenario, but also look at the most reasonable one before spending $750,000 dollars and paralyzing the city. People are expected to be paranoid idiots, the police are supposed to be the ones who interject some reason and control into the process.

[identity profile] mikecap.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 11:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Hear hear.

[identity profile] jessnut.livejournal.com 2007-02-02 05:52 am (UTC)(link)
Okay so I'll be a terrorist and make 100 devices the size of a lunch box. 1 in 10 of them in full of C4, but they are entirely identical otherwise. I paint all of them with Spiderman 3 logos on them. I'll put a couple of the duds which will be full of candy and movie tickets in really obvious places for people to find and make news about. I'll leave the armed ones in near schools and children's hospitals. Since the first ones that were found were full of presents, those little kiddies will climb all over themselves to be the first to open the ones full of C4. Wee!

[identity profile] neuromancerzss.livejournal.com 2007-02-02 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
This is an overly complex plot with little reward except to try to fool kids into opening booby trapped lunch boxes when you could simply leave out all the duds and only place bombs near the kids. The concept that we should treat each and every one of 100 seemingly identical items as if this one was dangerously different is a collosal waste of resources, especially when entirely more likely explanations for the composition of these items exist.

Garbage cans have been known to house bombs before, should we investigate each garbage can as if it may blow up?

[identity profile] mikecap.livejournal.com 2007-02-02 06:56 am (UTC)(link)
Jess hates kids! :D

[identity profile] mikecap.livejournal.com 2007-02-01 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you.