Peel an Onion and What Do You Get?

The Onion Willis Tower Photo: Satirical Paper Sparks Ire With Image Of Plane Flying Into Skyscraper

CHICAGO -- The satirical newspaper The Onion is attracting some public ire for an image that shows an airliner about to crash into Chicago's Willis Tower, the tallest building in the country. The image, in a video on The Onion's website showcasing its stories, shows an airplane emblazoned with the company name Sears flying toward the iconic black skyscraper, which for decades was named Sears Tower and headquarters to the retail chain. A narrator intones, "Sears extremists fly a plane into Willis Tower."

The sacred cow of 9-11 strikes back!

The image generated more than 3,200 responses on The Onion's Facebook page by Friday evening, many denouncing the use of an image reminiscent of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.

With typical aplomb, the Onion responds:

"9-11 must never be the fodder for jokes. Perhaps you didn't see the news that humor died after 9-11."

In other news:

Abdi Jeylani Malaq, Somali Comedian, Killed After Mocking Islamist Militants

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A popular Somali comedian and playwright who mocked Islamist militants for brainwashing children and killing civilians has been shot dead.

Good thing we're at war with the Muslims (Oh wait, not Muslims, it's a "war on terror") to make sure we'd never be like them. The difference between Islam nations and the United States is that the U.S. doesn't brainwash its children and kill civilians...wait...

In other news:

Congress Wants to See Obama's "License to Kill"

Okay strike that last remark and amend it to say, at least we don't brainwash our children...wait...

In past news:

Elementary School Students Taught Pro-Obama Songs

A video showing elementary school students learning songs praising Barack Obama for his "great accomplishments" and efforts to "make this country's economy No. 1 again" is generating anger from conservatives today.

Well, peel an onion and what do you get?

Comedy just isn't funny anymore since 9-11.

I like the Onion, though I don't think they are quite as funny as the once were. Nothing to do with this latest controversy, I just think in general their jokes have gone down a little bit. Though the still have their moments.

That being said, they are kind of like Family Guy, Simpsons, Southpark, etc in that there are not sacred cows for the Onion. Pretty much everything is fair game.

I'm with Frogs. I'm a long time Onion fan but something has gone a bit downhill in the humor...

On this? I think they went too far in jokes. To those untouched by it, it means little but that touched so many directly (cause and politics 100% out of it) that humor is a harsh thing. It'd be pretty rough making jokes about people trapped in attics during the post Katrina flooding too, just to be fair for it being more than one topic I'd say was awfully fresh for many.

The Onion is a satirical website.

If you're satirical, and not offending someone, you're basically not doing it right.

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux
A long, long, looooooooooooooong time ago when my wife and I were dating (pre 9/11) she drove to my base to pick me up and take me out to lunch.
When she got to the gate, the SP came out; my wife just waved as he "waved" at her, and she kept driving onto base. The guard followed where her car was going and called the duty desk. I happened to pick up the phone and after a few laughs, and an apology from me all was good.

9/11 created loss. A loss of innocence. A loss of freedoms. A loss of security. A loss of invulnerability. And a loss of humour.

I don't think we'll ever get the toothpaste back into the tube.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

humor is a harsh thing

Outside of most children's jokes and puns, humor is generally based upon someone's pain. From slipping on a banana peel to The Three Stooges, to Richard Pryor to The 40 Year Old Virgin, pain, loneliness and despair figure greatly in comedy.

I suppose it might be funny that so many are outraged at The Onion - an irreverent satirical organization if it weren't for the appearance that people seem to get more outraged at things like The Onion's recent tasteless joke instead of the fact that this "war on terror" has dramatically and shockingly altered a Constitutional republic and led to an alarming acceptance of police state tactics.

Comedy just isn't funny anymore.

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux

I suppose it might be funny that so many are outraged at The Onion - an irreverent satirical organization if it weren't for the appearance that people seem to get more outraged at things like The Onion's recent tasteless joke instead of the fact that this "war on terror" has dramatically and shockingly altered a Constitutional republic and led to an alarming acceptance of police state tactics.

Actually, I would offer another way of seeing it, personally. For all the reasons Beezzer noted so well in that post, I don't mind admitting that I cried the night of 9/11. It wasn't for the loss of life. As deaths in a tragedy go, the numbers were not high and only the militant nature of the event made it what it was there. I cried for the total loss of what I knew had been, compared to what I could feel to my bones that night, was coming. No one knew what, in detail on that evening of course. However, we were going to war for the first time since 1945 and the nation would never be the same again. That, caused me to cry for one of the only times I ever have in my life where it wasn't the loss of someone very dear to me.

I know you are right about the shallow nature of some who show outrage over their tasteless joke. I just offer a possible deeper meaning to it for some. It certainly is for me. 99% of things I can see crafted into a joke. Heck, even Joplin, I wouldn't get offended by....although I'd cringe, not laugh. That 1% though. I can't help but think the worst of World War II, the loss of so many in Katrina for how it actually happened, and 9/11 rank in that small list.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


As far as bad jokes go, I have never let anyone get away with telling me I need to lighten up it was just a joke when they say something stupid that I didn't find funny. My attitude has always been that it is the comedian or joke teller who has to accept responsibility for their joke and any lack of amusement their audience.

My purpose of creating this thread was not to castigate anyone who feels outrage over a tasteless joke about 9-11, but to illustrate how far this outrage can go and that all too often the outrage is inexplicably misdirected.

I remember waking up to the news of 9-11. As that day went on my own suspicions started sinking in. As you've stated, it was easy to see what this moment in history meant in terms of reaction and consequences. Years ago I read The Revolutionary Catechism by Sergey Nechayev. This disturbing manifesto is brief and simple and makes the salient point that the "revolutionary" i.e. terrorist does what they do not to directly cause the destruction of a state, but by indirectly attacking the innocents of that state to encourage those innocents to demand tighter security and as those demands are met the once content innocent population gradually becomes discontent with the tyranny they themselves demanded, and at some point that state reaches the tipping point, and then it is the innocent population who rise up and bring down that state.

This is what I thought about that day, September 11th. I did not laugh, and I'm not laughing now.

I can be a smart ass and half myself, but my humor is generally rooted in outrage. The problem with peeling onions is that once you get to that center, you have nothing left.

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux

Indeed, I didn't think we were on different sides. I rarely get into talking about 9/11. Especially after having some serious 1st hand perspective from an NYPD cop who was there. When theory and ideas meet a man who saw it personally, well, it is interesting how thinking evolves. The onion joke is a story I'd seen and already had a bit of a reaction to, so I figured I'd share here. You know me though, I could make the directions to bake cookies into a book the size of war and peace sometimes.

Okay strike that last remark and amend it to say, at least we don't brainwash our children...wait...

Yeah we do. We practically force children to pledge allegiance to the flag every school day starting at the age of 4-5.

reply to post by RealSpoke


Elementary School Students Taught Pro-Obama Songs

We also do that, as all ready pointed out in the O.P., but that's the problem with comedy, isn't it? Comedy just isn't funny anymore.

often times you get tears when you peel an onion.

" denouncing the use of an image reminiscent of " - so something that reminds you of something should be denounced?

or only for 'special' memories?

Originally posted by beezzer
9/11 created loss. A loss of innocence. A loss of freedoms. A loss of security. A loss of invulnerability. And a loss of humour.

I don't think we'll ever get the toothpaste back into the tube.

Quoting this, because it is so absolutely true.

Originally posted by Frogs
I like the Onion, though I don't think they are quite as funny as the once were. Nothing to do with this latest controversy, I just think in general their jokes have gone down a little bit. Though the still have their moments.

That being said, they are kind of like Family Guy, Simpsons, Southpark, etc in that there are not sacred cows for the Onion. Pretty much everything is fair game.

Yea pretty much everything is fair game.
Just not everything.


www.nytimes.com...

You can’t portray Muhammad on American television anymore

Oh damn those evil evil people the pledge is dangerous!!!!

Quick lets ban it or burn like the nazis did when people say things they don't like or want others to know.

Like what it says:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

Pretty damn clear for anyone to see what that means country over ideology, republic instead of mob rule where this is a nation of not rich or poor white or black or hispanic or anything else where everyone is equal under the eyes of God from where all out rights come from.

Not Government.

The image in the op is distasteful I have one of the most twisted since of humor a person can have but i found that disturbing.

Some lines just aren't meant to be crossed just because someone can doesn't mean they should.

reply to post by neo96

The image in the op is distasteful I have one of the most twisted since of humor a person can have but i found that disturbing.

Just to clarify, the image is not only not in the O.P., I just discovered the link sending people to the Huffington Post article that doesn't display the image either, appears to be broken. However, because it is disturbing, and because in spite of the fact that the link sending people to an article that also declines to show the image people posting in this thread are well aware of that image, I see no reason to fix the link.

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux


I used google and it's image search to see the picture should have chose better words as in "the picture the op was talking about".

The picture is all over the net.

Yes, because there's nothing funny about 9-11, nothing at all.



No snickering, its NOT funny...



Stop laughing, damn you!



*sigh*

OK, that last one did make me snicker a little bit, but I made sure to feel bad about myself afterwards.

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux


What do you get when you peel an onion? You get red and blue stripes, what do you see Jean? I'm guessing the red stripes just don't show up for you now do they?

Originally posted by Southern Guardian
reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux

 

What do you get when you peel an onion? You get red and blue stripes, what do you see Jean? I'm guessing the red stripes just don't show up for you now do they?

Sigh. Did your knee catch you in your nose after it jerked so high? What did you do, see the title and without bothering to read a thing, rub your hands together and type this nonsense? What is wrong with you?

Note to Beezer: Man you called it in my last thread. Sigh.