Free Him He Didn’t Do Anything Except Commit a Crime

     In the article “Christian Man Persecuted Simply For Driving 90 Miles Per Hour In School Zone” in The Onion, the self-victimization of white Christians in America is satirized by making a parody of what truly happens to marginalized groups to the least marginalized group in the country: white male Christians. The author attempts to build sympathy for this supposedly wrongly accused man by building his description as a respectable community member as a “local evangelical Christian man.” They make his accusations sound ridiculous with their self-assuring adverbs such as “Let’s be real—” to explain his ‘unjust’ charges, saying he is charged “all because” of his Christian identity, or even in the title calling his illegal actions “simply” done. But both these devices weren’t enough to completely defend Mr. Weller to the audience, since now he just seems silly.        

    The use of allusions and parodies further wreck Mr. Weller’s accusations and just prove how egocentric he and others like him are, and how he is making any excuse he can for his crime. With references to the Bible such as charging him “...all because [he’s] a man who walks in the light of the Lord” and his current jail sentence reminiscent of “Christians centuries ago had been thrown into the lion’s den,” Weller attempts to claim the jury is prejudiced against Christians, and these struggles have been systematically imposed since “centuries ago.” But this is all an excuse, because he isn’t even devout, being a Christian is just an excuse to him. This may be a large claim, but considering he calls the ichthys “the Jesus fish” and decides to “emulate Christ” by committing a crime shows the mockery of his own religion he takes part in. It can’t be what he was “persecuted” for and is so unreasonable that it’s more humorous than pity-inducing.

Free Him

Comments

  1. Jaspreet SinghMarch 3, 2024 at 1:10 PM

    I loved how you unveiled Mr. Weller's true intentions, and how he uses Christianity as an excuse, rather than being devout. I also loved how you picked up on the word usage in the title, such as "simply," as it builds the nuance of your response. Maybe you could expand on Mr. Weller being a symbol for white male Christians in America, and what should change about their demeanor (possibly a call to action).

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 4, 2024 at 7:07 AM

    I did the same article as you and I really liked your outlook on it cause its pretty similar to mine but I addressed it differently.

    ReplyDelete

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