Get Your Hate Straight

I learned about the capture and subsequent killing of Moammar Gaddafi the same way I learn about most famous people's deaths these days - Twitter. I was checking my timeline, saw his name was trending and before I even clicked over assumed it was because he was dead. (Remember, no one ever trends on Twitter for happy reasons.) But, as I scanned further down through all the updates, people also kept mentioning comedian Colin Quinn. Turns out Colin was also Tweeting about Gaddafi, but not like most people were. No, he was paying tribute to the man, saying he lasted 40 years and any career that was as long as Tony Bennett's should be applauded. Also, that Gaddafi wasn't the terrorist - we are the terrorists.

Now, I don't follow Colin on Twitter. I didn't think he was that great on SNL and as much I enjoyed Colin's last HBO special, I'm not a huge fan. But this seemed especially unfunny. Not because I was offended by the comments, but because I found it kind of lazy. Clearly, this was Colin Quinn doing the classic "shock comedian" bit of saying something beyond absurd, then sitting back and watching people's reactions for their own amusement. I'm not a huge fan of this kind of comedy, but at least most comedians have been doing it long enough that they can be a little bit clever in how they do it and you can respect that. These Tweets felt more like dropping cherry bombs in a toilet. You knew what was going to happen - it was going to get loud and messy. But it was an easy laugh for the comedian.

Before too long the idiots who didn't realize this was a joke were out in force, calling Quinn all sorts of names and telling him they were going to unfollow his feed. First off, telling someone famous that you, a random person who is not followed back by that celebrity, plan to unfollow them is less than nothing. They probably won't noticed or care when you dropped them. However, this is exactly the type of self-righteous and idiotic, empty gesture I would expect from people who get offended by anything a comedian ever says. They are trying to shock and offend you - it is their job. You want to hurt their feelings? Don't tell them you were offended, tell them you didn't laugh because they aren't funny. That is the one that will sting.

Anyway, Quinn started to reTweet all the people calling him names and not realizing that by reacting they had just become the joke. That was when I notice the thing that really drove me nuts. Mixed in among all the misspelled and poorly-worded 140 character threats telling the man to love America or leave it, were two Tweets back to back which were so strange I actually went back and read them again. The first read (and yes, I cleaned up the spelling and tone on both of these), "I would expect nothing less from some hippy, Hollywood liberal." The second said, "Why don't you and Sarah Palin go on a hunting trip together!" (Cue heavy sigh.)

You know, back when they formed the 1980 US Men's Hockey team, coach Herb Brooks saw that he had a bunch of talented kids from all over the country who had just spent their college careers beating the crap out of each other and building up some major grudges. He knew the only way for the team to come together was for them to bond over some common element. He figured the easiest thing he could get them to agree on was how much they hated their coach. That is why he was an unbelievable prick to them and worked them into the ground, so these kids could all hang out together after practice and bitch about him. Obviously, it worked. I have a hard time thinking Colin Quinn is trying to be so noble and attempting to bring the political parties together with himself as the object of mutual hatred.

Still, how is it possible that Colin Quinn can be attacked by both sides of an issue? Look, pick a side, extremists. Either Quinn is a tea-party conservative who won't acknowledge that President Obama has done anything right, or he's a tree-hugger who thinks America is responsible for starting all the problems in the middle East due to our incredible thirst for their oil. He can not be both. You can not both claim that he stand for everything that is wrong with the other party. It doesn't work like that. Look, I know neither political party wants anything to do with the other right now, but I need these people to get together and work this issue out. Is it making my head hurt. Oh, and if you are ever on Twitter and find yourself getting really offended by something a comedian has said, well then the joke is on you.