Ok, let’s get it straight to the peanut gallery that Ben Heaton’s article on interracial marriage is a satire. However, if we are going to do that, then we are also going to have to get it straight to Ben Heaton that it was a very poorly written satire. The whole point of a satire is to expose the stupidity of a subject (in this case, anti-gay marriage laws) using irony, sarcasm, wit, ect. We can rule out wit from Heaton’s article… it was dry as a bone. Sarcasm too is only barely visible if one sits down, reads the article several times, and actually looks for something that may resemble sarcasm. Irony is simply not applicable because anti-miscegenic law activists do exist. Gay and interracial marriages share several parallels so it is ridiculous to use one to parody the other. George Orwell’s 1984 was a successful satire because he compared a government to talking farm animals. However, you cannot compare two equally serious subjects, and expect it to be obvious that one is a parody of the other. Heaton’s website criticizes the public for not knowing that his article is a satire. Well, from a literary point of view, it’s not.



"Marriage debate" poor satire

The first mosquito explorer has officially discovered a new island habitable to all mosquitolings. This day marks a big occasion for all mosquito-kind, as this island means paradise. Read More

"Marriage debate" poor satire

After losing their personal chefs and having their commercial-grade kitchens closed for two months, Fraternity Quad residents’ kitchens were reopened near the end of October. Read More

"Marriage debate" poor satire

In my final weeks as the Publisher of the Campus Times, I am writing “The State of the Campus Times” — a report on the progress and challenges of our student-run newspaper — for the final time before handing the baton to the next Publisher. Read More