Poe's Law In Action - Progress Pond

I woke up late, to what has so far been a good day. So I’m not going to jinx that by talking about it too much, and that I’m not going to ruin it by looking at too much news today.

I am going to share one of my favorite comedians on Twitter, whose feed is essentially Poe’s Law—“an adage of Internet culture stating that, without a clear indicator of the author’s intent, it is impossible to create a parody of extreme views so obviously exaggerated that it cannot be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of the views being parodied in action“—in action. Ladies and gentlemens, Brent Terhune, Pro 2nd Amendment and follower of Christ:

They want Mike Pence to where a mask??? I DONT THANK SO pic.twitter.com/p1N1ZaLtgV

— Brent Terhune (@BrentTerhune) April 29, 2020

His feed is full of stuff like this—and there are some gems in this one like how Mike Pence has likely worn a mask a few times, “probably the one with the zipper on the mouth”—but it’s the responses that have me laughing out loud. His impression of a Trump supporter is so perfect that people actually believe he’s the real thing. Here’s a quick sampling:

First: *wear / *think because damn your mistakes hurt my eyes.
Second: in Europe we say: we’ll see where you’ll be in 2 weeks : 🏥
People here thought the same until they ended up in hospital.
Third: You want your country’s protection right ? Well right now you are being…

— 𝕭 ❤️ (@U2pictures) April 30, 2020

Another evolutionary miscue wading in the shallow end of the gene pool

— NoneOfTheAbove (@SoulSoldSeprtly) April 30, 2020

Seriousfuckingly, you don’t know the name of the movie “Carrie,” with the name of the character “Carrie” in it? Stupid at its finest! Sounds like a COVID cough, you best get that checked out fuckface!!!!😳

— J Flanigan #ridethewave❄️🌴🍷🌊✌️ (@FlaniganJodi) April 30, 2020

And of course why wouldn’t people think Terhune is an actual Trumpist? Just this morning, on a Facebook conversation about China, a random old man who I have never once met—called me “a commie” and then went on some crazy rant about how I hate America like the rest of the Dumbocrat Socialists. Just last week, the Lysol Company had to issue warnings for folks not to start drinking or shooting up their products. And then of course, there was this display:

Protesters stand outside the Statehouse Atrium where reporters listen during the State of Ohio’s Coronavirus response update on Monday, April 13, 2020 at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. About 100 protesters assembled outside the building during Gov. Mike DeWine’s weekday update on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, upset that the state remains under a Stay-At-Home order and that non-essential businesses remain closed. (Joshua A. Bickel/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

Francis Fukuyama wrote during the Soviet collapse that we had seen “the end of history” (which he later postponed. Perhaps I’m a little over my skis, but I do believe the Trump years may be the end of satire.