Friday, August 7, 2020

The Lebanese explosion in Beirut is the perfect event and meme to encapsulate the entirety of 2020.

Like most of you, I'm deeply shocked by the explosion in Beirut that has killed over a hundred people and wounded thousands of others. And like you, I might be wondering why it was allowed to happen. Apparently, there was hundreds of tons of explosive ammonium nitrate stacked next to fireworks in a warehouse for years, and people knew about it. But nothing could be done because all the power to make decisions on this dangerous stuff rested with stupid and ignorant people. Does that sound like 2020? It sure does to me.

Where I might differ from you is that my brain likened it to the perfect event that encapsulates all of 2020. I mean...the meme potential for this thing is incredible (but I'm not going to create any). For example, one could draw an arrow to the smoke stacks raging at the Beirut port and write, "Anti-maskers screaming 'I do what I want!' and 'You NOT the boss o' me!'" And then "BOOM!" the explosion leveling the rest of the city.

Or another meme could be an arrow pointing (again) at the smoking stacks of the port followed by writing that says "Ignorance" and then another arrow pointing to the rest of Beirut with writing that says, "Well-informed people who can't do anything against the ignorant." And then "BOOM!" the explosion takes out all those informed helpless people.

Or yet a third meme that features (again) the word "ignorant people" pointing to the smoking stacks at the warehouse with a second arrow pointing to the surrounding buildings of Beirut with a label that says, "People who tolerate the stupid and ignorant because there's no way it will affect me." And then (of course) the catastrophic "BOOM" that does indeed affect all of those tolerant people.

It's a cruel twist of fate, I think, that this thing comes along and can describe the utter shit show going on in the United States right now with anti-maskers vs the scientific community. That it could literally be a political meme with (again) a red arrow pointing at the smoking stacks with just the words "Trump and his ideas" and then another arrow pointing at the city of Beirut with the words, "Citizens of the United States" followed by the catastrophic "Boom" that wipes everything out.

/Shakes my head. Have a nice weekend.

5 comments:

  1. I think of it as China and their denial the virus could escape and go all over the world. Then the boom. Because they stopped domestic flights but not international ones.
    Very, very tragic event. Terrifying to watch.

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    Replies
    1. A spread was inevitable. What wasn't inevitable was people not wearing masks, social distancing, or staying home to lessen it.

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  2. That's probably true. Ignorance is our real enemy.

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  3. You should totally make those memes.

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