Mmm, archived stupidity. A new blog has taken up the labor of compiling the Facebook statuses of people who don't realize The Onion is a satire site. 

I'm sure it's a labor of love. The sheer outrage, the hatred and frustration seething from these people as they read up on the "state of our country" is just delicious. There are sites already dedicated to people saying and posting dumb things on Facebook, but I appreciate the specificity of Literally Unbelievable. 

After all, The Onion has been around forever. It's free on every other corner in my town. People have been circulating the stories fully well knowing they are satire for years. But somehow, the name hasn't stuck with everyone. People still log on to AOL with their trusty modem, click a link in an email, see "America's Finest News Source", read the following article, and proceed to freak the hell out. 

Of course, most of the obliviously offended are likely of the demographic The Onion seeks to mock in the first place. White, conservative America is the brunt of many an Onion joke as they frantically fear the President and believe that Planned Parenthood is little more than an army of baby-killers. It's as though these Facebookers have become part of the satire as it fractals off into cyberspace. The more people believe it, the funnier it gets for the rest of us. It's kind of a beautiful thing. 

On the other hand, these reactions indicate that the political climate is tense enough that people will actually believe Planned Parenthood has opened an $8 billion abortion complex. People's outrage to this story is real. The media has spun Planned Parenthood to such a degree that folks are willing to buy that the organization would really open a mall for undoing pregnancies. This story has genuinely saddened the people who are willing to believe it is real. 

Literally Unbelievable made me realize there's a fine line between satire and the sort of rhetoric spat out by certain right-wing media pundits. Both stretch or fabricate the truth for popularity; the difference is that The Onion is upfront about its lies. People suckling on Glenn Beck's bile valve will believe even the most ludicrously false stories about how America is falling apart. And these people? They vote. 

It makes me wonder whether The Onion is doing harm with its ever-so-subtle brand of humor. They shouldn't have to self-censor for the sake of the gullible among us, but it still frightens me that people will actually eat this stuff up. How ridiculous does The Onion have to be before people will finally get that it's not real? This ridiculous? Will we see fearful reports on zombie Bin Laden popping up on Facebook soon? I'm just worried that these folks will take their feelings to the voting booth before checking their facts. I suppose that problem would be the same with or without The Onion. Still, I can't shake the idea of a middle-aged lady voting against Planned Parenthood, all fire and brimstone, because of that God-forsaken abortionplex. But a little unresearched outrage shouldn't ruin the fun for the rest of us. In fact, it's becoming part of the fun.