Meanwhile in Shitterton
Locals have engraved the name of the town on an immovable piece of rock, in order to curb the habit of vandals making off with the ‘hilarious’ “Welcome to Shitterton” sign.
Read more here.
The first world war is due to go “hilarious” in 2040.
Here we have David Mitchell’s take on the phrase “rape and pillage”, and why exactly we refer to it with such joviality. Viking attacks weren’t exactly all fun and games, as the Annals will attest to. (N.B. the Annals were written by the monks, who were themselves the victims of the majority of Viking attacks, as the 9C and 10C. Not because they were monks, but because early medieval monasteries were sources of concentrated wealth, as their were no towns or cities in Ireland that the time. Therefore, the accounts of the annals must be looked at acknowledging this bias, and my perhaps be read as something of a medieval Victim Impact Statement.) But we can’t say the words “rape and pillage” without sniggering. Why so, is rape and pillage such a laugh?
The reason David argues, is that everyone who fought in them, or who remembers anyone who fought in them is dead. Long gone and forgotten, as as the consciousness of actual human suffering as been extinguished, our empathy dissipates and the humour that we take from it increases. History’s humour value, I suppose. Now, where’s my axe?
Pot. Kettle. Black.
Hallmark are now specializing in cards for alcoholics, like this one that Niamh sent me.
(Thanks Niamh.)
