The Onion put out some amazing video series about a decade ago. Porkin' Across America perfectly nails dark humor.

``` [00:00.000 --> 00:06.000] They want to keep us on the brink of nuclear war, because those are the stakes. [00:06.000 --> 00:11.500] Those are the stakes of keeping NATO around, those are the stakes of U.S. imperialism, [00:11.500 --> 00:14.500] and those are the stakes of the war in the Ukraine. [00:14.500 --> 00:20.500] We have a right to say that if you're going to use our money, do not use it to destroy lives. [00:20.500 --> 00:22.500] Use it to build something. [00:22.500 --> 00:25.500] As we approach the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, [00:25.500 --> 00:30.500] people in the United States are growing tired of what they describe as unconditional political and financial support [00:30.500 --> 00:32.500] for Ukraine coming from Washington. [00:32.500 --> 00:38.500] U.S. aid to Ukraine now exceeds $100 billion, with the White House sending an additional $4 billion last week. [00:38.500 --> 00:42.500] Today I'm at a demonstration in Times Square where people are calling for an end to the war [00:42.500 --> 00:46.500] and for money being spent on bombs and bullets to be redirected to the needs of the people. [00:46.500 --> 00:51.500] When the war in Ukraine began, Western countries, under pressure from the United States, [00:51.500 --> 00:55.500] immediately pledged support for Ukraine for, quote, as long as it takes. [00:55.500 --> 00:58.500] Anyone who questioned the role of NATO in instigating the war, [00:58.500 --> 01:02.500] or the wisdom of sending advanced weapons into a war with a nuclear power, [01:02.500 --> 01:04.500] was called a Putin-apologist. [01:04.500 --> 01:07.500] Politicians directed huge sums of money for Ukraine [01:07.500 --> 01:11.500] and levied massive sanctions against Russia without considering the consequences. [01:11.500 --> 01:17.500] As the war dragged on, governments began to insist that people sacrifice more and more for the Ukrainian war effort, [01:17.500 --> 01:22.500] especially as sanctions against Russian oil caused an unanticipated spike in world energy prices. [01:22.500 --> 01:26.500] Germany passed laws to ration heat, hot water, and light usage. [01:26.500 --> 01:30.500] British households faced an 80% rise in energy bills. [01:30.500 --> 01:33.500] When questioned on how the British government would address the energy crisis, [01:33.500 --> 01:38.500] then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that British people needed to bear those costs [01:38.500 --> 01:40.500] because Ukrainians were paying for this war in blood. [01:40.500 --> 01:45.500] French President Emmanuel Macron had a similar response, calling higher prices, quote, [01:45.500 --> 01:49.500] the price of liberty, as if that's what was motivating Western powers. [01:49.500 --> 01:51.500] Liberty and not geopolitics. [01:51.500 --> 01:56.500] During this time, the United States was facing the highest inflation in four decades. [01:56.500 --> 02:01.500] While workers found themselves having to choose between paying their light bill and buying groceries, [02:01.500 --> 02:05.500] the Biden administration was emptying out the national treasury for the war. [02:05.500 --> 02:09.500] Since the start of the war, the U.S. has committed over $100 billion to Ukraine, [02:09.500 --> 02:14.500] a huge portion of which is essentially a direct subsidy to weapons manufacturers [02:14.500 --> 02:16.500] who are getting paid to make weapons for Ukraine. [02:16.500 --> 02:20.500] These companies are making huge profits off the war, and they don't even try to hide it. [02:20.500 --> 02:23.500] On a call with investors, the CEO of Raytheon said, [02:23.500 --> 02:26.500] I fully expect we're going to see some benefit from it. [02:26.500 --> 02:28.500] To put $100 billion in perspective, [02:28.500 --> 02:32.500] consider the fact that $100 billion is more than the budget of both [02:32.500 --> 02:37.500] the U.S. Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency. [02:37.500 --> 02:40.500] And at a time when cities across America are flooding, [02:40.500 --> 02:42.500] crucial water supplies and rivers are drying up, [02:42.500 --> 02:45.500] and schools are closing their doors due to lack of funding, [02:45.500 --> 02:48.500] Americans have just about had it with their government telling them [02:48.500 --> 02:51.500] that this war is a greater priority than their own needs. [02:51.500 --> 03:02.500] While the United States military has $900 billion to spare on war, [03:02.500 --> 03:07.500] we have millions of people in the United States of America [03:07.500 --> 03:10.500] that do not have a place to lay their head. [03:10.500 --> 03:16.500] We have millions of people who can't have a decent job. [03:16.500 --> 03:21.500] What moral authority does the United States of America have [03:21.500 --> 03:24.500] to go and intervene anywhere in the world? [03:24.500 --> 03:27.500] We've got enough business to take care of here. [03:27.500 --> 03:30.500] The organizers of this march deliberately chose to hold the march [03:30.500 --> 03:32.500] on the weekend of Martin Luther King Day. [03:32.500 --> 03:36.500] In school, we're taught this sanitized version of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King [03:36.500 --> 03:40.500] as this peaceful, non-violent guy who just wanted everyone to get along, [03:40.500 --> 03:44.500] and that when he came on the scene, everyone realized they are their ways [03:44.500 --> 03:46.500] and embraced his message. [03:46.500 --> 03:50.500] In reality, Dr. King was a radical who was hated by much of the political [03:50.500 --> 03:53.500] establishment for his unwavering position on the Vietnam War. [03:53.500 --> 03:59.500] To King, war, poverty, and racism were triple evils that all went together. [03:59.500 --> 04:03.500] Racism is used to dehumanize the enemy and garner support for the war, [04:03.500 --> 04:07.500] and then every dollar spent on bombs and bullets becomes bread taken out of [04:07.500 --> 04:12.500] the mouths of children, homes that go unfinished, and schools that go underfunded. [04:12.500 --> 04:16.500] King famously said that the bombs in Vietnam explode at home. [04:16.500 --> 04:20.500] They destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America. [04:20.500 --> 04:23.500] With about half of the people living in this country today in or near poverty [04:23.500 --> 04:28.500] in an era of permanent war, the organizers of the march revived this aspect [04:28.500 --> 04:30.500] of Dr. King's forgotten legacy. [04:30.500 --> 04:33.500] If Dr. King was alive today, he would be disgusted by what he is seeing [04:33.500 --> 04:35.500] with the United States. [04:35.500 --> 04:40.500] He died a man that was hated because he was an anti-war and a labor activist [04:40.500 --> 04:44.500] that actually helped the sanitation workers unionize before his death. [04:44.500 --> 04:50.500] So Martin Luther King would not be at all enjoying this or even being a part of this. [04:50.500 --> 04:53.500] He would actually probably be out on the streets with us or building his own [04:53.500 --> 04:58.500] movement to be anti-war because war is disgusting and nothing good comes out of it. [04:58.500 --> 05:03.500] So it's a smack in the face to not only Martin Luther King but to all black people in America [05:03.500 --> 05:07.500] to be lying and thinking that this is what Martin Luther King would be agreeing with [05:07.500 --> 05:09.500] when it's not true. [05:09.500 --> 05:12.500] And all of y'all need to be ashamed of yourselves, honestly. [05:12.500 --> 05:16.500] When Dr. King spoke out against war and racism, he wasn't treated like a hero. [05:16.500 --> 05:18.500] He became public enemy number one. [05:18.500 --> 05:21.500] Dr. King was constantly surveilled and wiretapped wherever he went. [05:21.500 --> 05:26.500] In 1964, the FBI sent an anonymous letter to Dr. King saying that they would reveal [05:26.500 --> 05:30.500] compromising information about him if he didn't commit suicide. [05:30.500 --> 05:33.500] In a 1968 memo describing the FBI's intention to quote, [05:33.500 --> 05:38.500] prevent the rise of a black messiah who would unify black nationalist movements, [05:38.500 --> 05:42.500] King was identified alongside other prominent black revolutionaries like [05:42.500 --> 05:44.500] Kwame Ture as possible targets. [05:44.500 --> 05:48.500] Today, we look back and see that Dr. King was ahead of his time [05:48.500 --> 05:51.500] and that he was on the right side of history and that he was demonized because of it. [05:51.500 --> 05:55.500] If Dr. King's legacy teaches us anything, it's that our heroes don't always [05:55.500 --> 05:57.500] get seen as such in the moment. [05:57.500 --> 06:02.500] Many times they're demonized, they're slandered, they're attacked as agitators and traitors. [06:02.500 --> 06:05.500] Challenging the rich and powerful is never easy. [06:05.500 --> 06:09.500] But we don't honor Dr. King by doing what's easy and going along with the status quo. [06:09.500 --> 06:14.500] We honor him by saying what's on the side of peace and justice, even if it's unpopular. [06:14.500 --> 06:19.500] When I came home, I had to really understand why did I feel so bad? [06:19.500 --> 06:23.500] Why did I think that what I was being told, thank you for your service, [06:23.500 --> 06:26.500] but I didn't like hearing those words? [06:26.500 --> 06:31.500] Who did I serve? What did I do? Was it in service to? [06:31.500 --> 06:34.500] This is the service I'm most proud of. [06:34.500 --> 06:54.500] And this is always being proud of what you're doing out here. ```

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.perthchat.org/post/191379 > I'm tech illiterate compared to y'all