Monty Python’s Eric Idle is known as a comedy legend, but a social media post he made on Friday was nothing to laugh about.
It happened after a person on X, formerly known as Twitter, asked followers to name something the USA invented “without Googling,” of course.
Idle only needed three words for his brutally honest response: “Mass school shootings.”
Considering that 175 people have died in 15 mass shootings connected to U.S. schools and colleges between the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and the Nashville, Tennessee, school shooting this past March, many people thought Idle had a point.
Some added on to Idle’s post, noting America’s notoriety for its serial killers, and the common use of “thoughts and prayers” as a valid response to the gun violence.
Not sure they did, what they did invent however was ‘thoughts and prayers’ as a valid response.
— Jack Fella (@jackmoxley) November 3, 2023
Others noted how school shootings have affected other areas of American life, such as the invention of bulletproof vests for kindergartners.
But some people didn’t like Idle’s comment at all. Not one bit.
In fact, one person suggested he go back to being “almost funny.”
Biting almost-satire like this makes @EricIdle the premier British almost-comedian of his generation.
From the almost-sketch “Nudge Nudge”, to the almost-comedy song “Bright Side of Life”, to the almost-parody “The Ruttles”, Idle has been making people almost laugh for decades. https://t.co/TeBpxCv2OL pic.twitter.com/y6xF2BlwIC
— Dunvallo Molmutius 🇬🇧 (@molmutius) November 3, 2023
