Blogcritics Comments on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Comment by REMF on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:19:40 EDT

"Fine, let's stipulate that the article is satire. Can we also agree that it's really, really bad satire?" Agreed.

Comment by Justin on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:44:44 EDT

Not sorry to say. but your post has shown that your an extremely careless, uneducated person. if you were one of the ones that got killed would you still think it's funny? lol and whatever colledge in florida u graduated from. never heard of it.

Comment by Doug DeLong on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 06:45:57 EDT

I have to go back to #36 and point out that the definition of satire posted there is like a point for point description of this article and the response to it. Fine, let's stipulate that the article is satire. Can we also agree that it's really, really bad satire?

Comment by Dave Nalle on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:23:57 EDT

I have to go back to #36 and point out that the definition of satire posted there is like a point for point description of this article and the response to it. dave

Comment by alessandro on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:41:07 EDT

Can't wait on your satire about the Mongorians. ;<)

Comment by Khadim Hussain on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 10:36:15 EDT

Not only Burma, the rest of the world has to let Afganistan and Iraq remain Afghanistan and Burma. Interesting satire.

Comment by Marcia L. Neil on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:38:25 EDT

Real satire would be a literary piece describing a fictional product line of Star Trek Funeral items -- instead, there is a real marketplace and website set up to market Star Trek branded urns and caskets.

Comment by handyguy on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Mon, 8 Oct 2007 00:27:21 EDT

The sophomoric, smartass tone is classic RJ. As has been pointed out, good satire is defined by how well it's written, not by how deliberately offensive it is. If this piece were better written, it might make a point worth making even with more blood. As it is, it's just low-rent snarkiness.

Comment by Adam on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Sun, 7 Oct 2007 22:46:29 EDT

RJ, Why don't you put a stop to this? If your blog was supposed to be "taking the piss" then come out and say so instead of letting other people do it for you. If you support these inhumane acts then come out and tell it like it is. Satire may be an entertaining way to get a point across but some people just don't get it. It sure as hell isn't the clearest way of going about it. Apart from the fact that a lot of people probably hate you right now you are probably offending and hurting a lot of confused people. Put a stop to these comments and let people get over it... Unless that is, you are trying not to stem the flow of traffic to your personal blog so that you can benefit from a little thing called Google AdSense. Is that it? Come out and tell the people your personal views straight up. In the words of RD Blackmore, "satire is the very lowest, and most mean and common. It is the equivalent in words of what bullying is in deeds". Let the people rest and speak your true mind! All bullies are just cowards.

Comment by alessandro on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Thu, 4 Oct 2007 17:24:11 EDT

No but pictures would have helped. :<)

Comment by joel beers on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Thu, 4 Oct 2007 14:59:23 EDT

and save the cracks about the typographical errors in the preceding post: the truth has no time to wait for proper punctuation!

Comment by joel beers on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Thu, 4 Oct 2007 14:57:43 EDT

wow. personally speaking, i know more about burma from this levely exchange --c'mon people, it's no hard to spot the real news in italics and the intentionally outrageous spoofing of it in the original post--than i did before. Which obviously is not a glowing testament to my knowledge of the country, but so be it. To the people who love condescendingly calling this young man out as a "kid" or a "student who should know better," etc: get a fucking grip! He's got more on the ball than the humorless prigs whose panties get all twisted when they alight upon something that doesn't jibe with their notions of decency and good taste. To quote the old Jew on the mountain: Old lady judges watch people in pairs Limited in sex, they dare To push fake morals, insult and stare While money doesn't talk, it swears Obscenity, who really cares Propaganda, all is phony. And nothing is phonier than misplaced indignation.

Comment by boletwah on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Thu, 4 Oct 2007 08:12:45 EDT

#43 Awww, am I making you think too hard, meemalee? RJ You obviously don't do any of that RJ, do you, except for your sorry little pathetic self?

Comment by Marcia L. Neil on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 22:15:07 EDT

A book titled 'The Elephant Boy of Burma' was one of my childhood favorites, but this macabre piece of writing has disturbed pre-conceptions about danger in the Asian nation. The television news stories show film sequences of the monks gathering, and then the cameo of a Lincolnesque young man baring his chest among them, as if wishing to have an airlift out. A Japanese reporter dies, as if the "damn yankees" are settling a score. This entry is not a satire -- it is a horror story that mistakes men for monkeys.

Comment by alessandro on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 16:16:49 EDT

First oil, now rice. America will be unstoppable.

Comment by Doug DeLong on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 09:48:11 EDT

It's not often that you encounter heroes of this magnitude; holy men (and others) willing to put their lives on the line to fight for freedom, only to be massacred for their beliefs. It's reminiscent of the brave students in Tiananmen Square who were similarly gunned down. These men and women deserve to be honored and memorialized, not mocked and ridiculed. Their courage and dignity in the face of death should stand as a model for all of us.

Comment by Ruvy in Jerusalem on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 09:08:16 EDT

RJ; [Edited] I still think the editor who let this thing through should not have done so without demanding major changes. It is highly offensive in tone, and if it is under "news" in Google as one commenter reported, too many people are reading it who shouldn't. The damage cannot be undone now, unfortunately. Just watch your back, for your own sake.

Comment by RJ on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 08:51:11 EDT

Awww, am I making you think too hard, meemalee? :-( [Edited]

Comment by Ava_Man on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 07:27:16 EDT

I'm sure RJ likes to think of himself as a shining wit . Bless you , you genius

Comment by meemalee on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 04:43:09 EDT

"One possible reason for the negative comments could be that many people who are reading this likely searched 'Burma articles'" Got it in one, Mike - this article comes up when you do a google search for "Burma News" (not just Burma articles) - many of the people searching for news are people who have family and friends caught up in the troubles and they're not going to appreciate some punk using their plight as fodder for hilarious overstatement. As for comparisons to Swift - well, Swift was satirising overpopulation - no-one was offended by him tackling the subject; they were outraged by his "solution". Oh, and Swift could actually write. In this case, I (and others, I suspect) aren't bothered by the solutions (ie I "get it" - LOL - he's not really saying that monks' blood makes teak flourish - insert appropriate smiley face) - I just don't think the subject itself is ripe for satire. I once saw a similar "satirical" article on 9/11 which, as well as being about the calibre of this article, had that picture of the poor guy who leapt to his death - the caption said "yippee!". Yeah - "satirical". Whatever people say, IMHO some subjects are "sacred" (whatever you wanna call it) - call me humourless, but I don't find jokes about rape funny either, however much the joker might want to claim "Yes - this is actually a mirror into the darkness of our souls and I'm making you confront your fears with my edgy comedy - aren't I witty and incisive?" RJ, if you wanna say "You guys are all bleeding heart liberal hypocrites for crying about Burma and not caring about Iraq/Darfur/Tibet" then say it. If you wanna say we shouldn't intervene because it looks like imperialism then say it. If you wanna say we should intervene because everyone deserves democracy then say it. Satire only works if the underlying message is intelligible. Heavy-handed sarcasm as employed here is not the same thing as satire, so it's hard to work out what the heck you're saying (apart from "Aren't I clever - I can use I-RON-Y").

Comment by Mike Sii on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 04:15:45 EDT

One possible reason for the negative comments could be that many people who are reading this likely searched 'Burma articles', not 'satirical articles for people who like to argue on messageboards'. If you are close to this situation, by, say, being a Burmese national and English is not your first language, the satire would be quite lost, wouldnt it?

Comment by Kurt Vonnegut on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 20:44:40 EDT

"The problem here is that most people don't understand Satire, it's purpose, how it is used and what it is aimed to accomplish - which is basically to piss off idiots and make them look even stupider, which this has certainly accomplished." The Tao of Nalle Most people do understand satire when they step in it and this crap just smells like shit.

Comment by Cindy D on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 19:59:20 EDT

The only people it didn't piss off seems to be the idiots. And that definitely isn't the point of satire.

Comment by Ray Ellis on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 19:40:36 EDT

From Wikipedia, eh? Because satire often combines anger and humour it can be profoundly disturbing - because it is essentially ironic or sarcastic, it is often misunderstood Okay. . .You can quote definitions, but you fail to fail to show any "irony" or "sarcasm" to illustrate your premise.

Comment by Independent on Satire: The Military Junta In Burma Isn't All That Bad

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 19:32:09 EDT

This is hilarious. Right from Wikipedia under "Misconception of Satire:" Because satire often combines anger and humour it can be profoundly disturbing - because it is essentially ironic or sarcastic, it is often misunderstood. Common uncomprehending responses to satire include revulsion (accusations of poor taste, or that it's "just not funny" for instance), to the idea that the satirist actually does support the ideas, policies, or people he is attacking.