Juxtaposition

[stoutfellow]

The local paper runs an occasional feature titled "News of the Weird". Sometimes what runs there is funny (usually blackly so), but sometimes I have to shake my head at the writer's judgement. The following two items appeared today, grouped under the heading "Mob action".

On Thika highway in Nairobi, Kenya, frenzied and hungry villagers brawled for access to meat from a baby hippopotamus (it weighed 1,700 pounds) that had been killed by a passing vehicle. Amidst the kicking and punching, two people were stabbed.

In the London suburb of Edmonton, about 6,000 Ikea customers rioted, vying for on-sale sofas (advertised as 80 percent off) and other bargains. One customer said: "People were diving onto sofas and tugging at different sides of the same sofa while shouting 'mine, mine.'" At least 20 injured people were taken by ambulance for treatment.

Yes, these two events are similar, and equally amusing. Sheesh.

Comments

[kd5mdk.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it's the juxtaposition. News of the Tragic, perhaps, but to picture people in London rioting over furniture sales...

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

Perhaps. If one is feeling charitable towards the writer.

I'm not. There's been too much downright mean stuff in that feature.