On Sunday, many Americans woke up to the shocking and terrifying news that a mass shooting had occurred at an Orlando, Florida nightclub in the early hours of June 12. 50 people were fatally shot and more than 50 individuals were injured in the incident, which is the most deadly mass shooting to occur in U.S. history. With so many shootings having happened in recent years, it's easy to get frustrated and angry that little change seems to be occurring — something that The Onion gets completely, as shown by its famous mass shooting article that's now more relevant than ever.
Often in the face of tragedy, the satirical news website says it best with humor, heart, and frustration, and this article is no exception. Titled "No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens," The Onion has regularly posted and reposted the article — and only with minor changes like locations and dates — every time a mass shooting had occurred in the United States in the past year. The article seems to have originated in 2014 after a shooting in Isla Vista, Calif., but has been updated and posted again three times in 2015 after mass shootings in South Carolina. Oregon, and San Bernadino, Calif. It's a symbolic move that shows that if nothing is done to prevent these shootings, then history — and this kind of horrible news — is doomed to repeat itself over again.
In the article, the satirical publication changes the dateline, the facts of the shooting, and the names of the fake person quoted, but many spot-on truthful words are present in each iteration, presenting a powerful criticism of American attitudes toward these events and gun control:
"...citizens living in the only country where this kind of mass killing routinely occurs reportedly concluded [on day of the week] that there was no way to prevent the massacre from taking place....
'This was a terrible tragedy, but sometimes these things just happen and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop them,' said [state] resident...echos sentiments expressed by tens of millions of individuals who reside in a nation where over half of the world’s deadliest mass shootings have occurred in the past 50 years and whose citizens are 20 times more likely to die of gun violence than those of other developed nations....
At press time, residents of the only economically advanced nation in the world where roughly two mass shootings have occurred every month for the past six and a half years were referring to themselves and their situation as 'helpless.'"
The Onion has not responded to the Orlando night club shooting as of yet, either in the form of a new article or an updated version of the "No Way To Prevent This" article. Whether or not they do, though, the too true satirical piece in all of its forms resonates stronger than ever considering Sunday's tragic events. Update: The Onion responded with a new article, titled "Nation Wishes It Could Just Once Be Reminded Of Preciousness Of Life Without Mass Shooting."
