We were recently discussing Irony on the Top 10 Common English Language Errors, so I thought I would do a post of ironic images to clarify the points made there. So, in no particular order, here are 10 images of Irony.
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My favorite is the third one. People are so dumb; using crosses and statues and such, when the bible clearly says to not use idols.
yaaaa
Good stuff – definitely ironic
yup yup
The first one is my favorite. So perfect.
rotationbias: mine too
haha love the last one!
One of my favorite lists so far.
Juggz: yeah – talk about the worst timing ever to launch a campaign!
Ben: excellent – I am glad you liked it
The first one kills me… And the Cardinals shirt makes it all the more hilarious. Go Cubs!
Jason: it is not wonder it has become a meme
Okay, help me out, I don’t understand #4, with the women in burkas holding up a sign about the anti- I mean the pope.
Fe: they are saying he has lost his moral balance, whilst they support terrorist bombings of innocent people. Oh – and I did get the sly dig
Well actually you have no proof that they support terrorist bombings that's just a schema from your part
But it still gave me a laugh coz your assumption was ironic in that you were judging them whilst they were judging the pope
Seeing the image, it is safe to assume that it was a religious protest so i dont know how the terrorism issue came up. And no…innocent civilians do not support terrorist bombings because they are the ones who suffer the most…a perfect example of the bigoted mindset of a majority of westerners….anyone wearing a burka or a beard supports terrorists…on a different note…should they be supporting the bombings of innocent people by so called "allied" army???
I thought it was more the fact the "Alas" the pope has lost his mind…when they are the people who are the most threatened by him….
Lol i love how the first guy is wearing a cardinals shirt! Cubbies all the way. This is one of the better lists good job
The first and the last ones are the best
xD I had a good laugh with them.
Haha, I have seen a few compilations of pictures like these and I always enjoy them. Good list. xD
I always thought Irony was meant to be a deliberate choice on the part of a writer, speaker, or artist.
Others may interpret things they read or see to be ironic, but that is their own deliberate choice, not that of the author or creator of the situation.
What these pictures show is not irony, as the situations are not intentionally created.
Sure they can be interpreted by us as being ironic, but that is our choice.
What these pictures truly show, is just what a bunch of Dumb F@cks there are in the world.
And isn’t that ironic
I'm not sure where you get the idea that irony has to be intentional. Irony is simply a situation where the conveyed meaning is different (usually opposite) to the intended. For example, the "Freedom of expression go to hell" one is ironic because while he intends to protest the freedom of expression that (he thinks) allows others to critisise Islam, it's this same freedom of expression that allows him to express this sentiment. Or, what he is actually showing (his freedom of expression) is the opposite to what he intended to show (his dislike for freedom of expression).
Actually, Chinatat if you visit the top 10 common english errors list, youll find why this really is irony
jfrater – You know that I really enjoy your lists. However, I must respectfully disagree with your reasoning for including picture number four. Surely you are not suggesting that all Muslims “support terrorist bombings of innocent people”? Perhaps a more suitable example would be something along the lines of an anti-abortion protester holding a sign saying how God thinks all life is sacred so abortionists should be killed.
More like abortionists who are anti-death penalty….dumbasses all!
first time to visit this site, and i loved what you posted here your no. 1 list surely hits the mark, i wonder what the guy said to the women when he took their picture “smile?”, one thing’s for sure they had a student driver in pic 5
Respectfully disagree on the third one. The slabs there representing the ten commandments are symbols, not idols. There is a rather big difference.
MHL: I know what you mean (i’m a Christian btw), but it is funny that they atleast appear to be bowing to the ten commandments.
Mathilda: I think another way of looking at is that they’re condemning the religious leader of another religion while from what it appears, they say nothing of the violent sects of Muslims. (Not perfect, I know, the Pope is the leader of all Catholics, and terrorists are just a sect)
Terrorists aren't a "sect".
Have you ever protested, complained, or argued with anyone about anything?
Before you spoke, did you bring up every atrocity committed in the thousands of years of your religion? What about your country? Do you apologize, every time you speak for every single thing that has ever been done by anyone anywhere who shares a nation or religion with yourself?
I don't think you're being malevolent here or anything like that, but I think it shows a distinct problem you have with your view on the world. You seem to consider yourself (and probably many others of your nation and religion) to be individuals. When it comes to Muslims however, we seem to just be a "group".
Did you apologise for Pat Robertson? O Reilly? Manson? The Unabomber? Obama? Bush? Daily? Every time you speak?
No, because they are individuals acting as individuals. Why didn't you understand that just now, you didn't give any of those people that courtesy? You didn't think "That was Osama", you thought "That was 'THEM'".
Well I'm sorry, but those people above are one of "You". I don't expect you to apologize for them though that would be silly.
I genuinely hope that you see this as an opportunity to see that there is something wrong with your initial response. As I said I don't think you're being intentionally racist, but you did look at those people and complete ignore that they were individuals because they belonged to a group.
Something I doubt you appreciate when done to you.
So is the Pope and all Christians going to apologize to all muslims for the deeds of violent sects of Christians. First leave everything that you are doing right now and open an oxford dictionary (if you have one) or check online for the definition of a terrorist. A terrorist is not limited to Islam or belongs to any sect…if so…that who was Timothy McVeigh, an American patriot???
great list …
enjoyed …
hehe …
Thanks for the comments guys
Mathilda: I definitely wasn’t implying that – I am sorry it came across that way. The example you give is equally good, thanks
This reminds me of a time I travelled through Illinois. When I entered the state there was this large sign stating “The people of Illinois welcome you” and right behind the sign was a giant cemetary.
hahahaha that last one is awesome
The second one looks like a “Far Side” by Gary Larsen.This is great stuff!
Ahhahaha great list! My favorite is number 2!!!!!!!! And this is completely irrelivant, but number 7 reminds me of this homeless person I saw on the side of the road holding a sign that said “family killed by ninjas, need money for kung fu lessons”………ahahhaha so funny! Thanks!
Second to last one was hilarious; and example of irony to the max. If only the list had been longer!
Thanks, Chris and jfrater. I see the point now. As a side note, with all of the religious pictures, is it a matter of irony, or hypocrisy?
Perhaps I’ll do a list of the Top Ten Hypocritical Statements by Religious Leaders! Of course, our host jfrater has set the bar so high with his lists that I fear falling short of the standard.
Mathilda: I think you could probably say it is both in the case of the image here – I guess what this shows is that while sarcasmus is an form of Irony, hipocratism is too. I bet Quintilian had something to say on this! 10 points to someone that can find a quote
http://www.myconfinedspace.com/2007/09/24/ironey-defined/
This one seems relevant to the subject of irony, at least!
“Those who wish to appear wise among fools, among the wise seem foolish.” Quintilian De Institutione Oratoria
9000: perfect example
Mathilda: ah! Don’t you love Quintilian?!
On the topic of religion and terrorism, the issue of hiding one’s features surely ranks among provocative actions. Black balaclavas worn by IRA and PLO members and white hoods of the KKK are meant to keep people from being identified and so avoid arrest in relation to their violent activities. Similarly, some muslim terrorists have worn hijab to evade arrest. Anyone who wears a head-to-toe covering is a reminder of that.
You’d be likely to say the same thing about someone wearing a swastika armband, a confederate flag, a soviet hammer and sickle.
David: that is a very good point. Thanks.
It’s not though is it.
About number four… what’s so immoral/mentally unbalanced? I mean, in some countries people can walk around naked, some places lasses can walk around topless. They might look at our covering up of t*ts rules in the same way as a lot of us see their wearing the bhurka (is that the right word?)
Hobolad: It is not about them wearing full covering – it is about the fact that we hear virtually nothing from Islamic people in protest to their own people about the immoral terrorist attacks and threats – but in the picture they are complaining about the Pope being immoral. Whether they are covered up or not is not relevant.
Ah ok! I thought it was a continuation of number 2, y’know?
But I’m pretty sure there’ve been protests against terrorism and whatnot, our news just doesn’t report it ’cause the current trend is, sadly, to bash Islam in general.
Entertaining list though, so it’s done it’s job
Just stumbled across this, and that first one is hilarious! I would like to point out, though, that #4 seems like quite an offensive statement to be making – it’s only ironic if you assume that all muslims are terrorists. In this case, I’m guessing, they were protesting against Pope Benedicts use of Manuel II Paleologus’ text that said “you will find things only evil and inhuman” in Islam. I’m pretty sure if an Islamic imam said that about Christianity, you’d all be up in arms. So what’s ironic about them exercising their right to protest against a slur on their religion?
excantare: read over the comments – my intentions in including that image are clearly explained there
I thought #4 was about the word ‘balance’ which is written in a very unbalanced way
It’s probably not the main ‘joke’ but it is funny!
jfrater: Yeah, I did read over the comments and that’s what prompted me to post
I suppose I just instinctively disagree with your theory that “they support terrorist bombings of innocent people”. I don’t think you can assume that these people in particular, or muslims/middle eastern residents in general, support terrorism. Here in Australia, we don’t have daily marches against terrorism, yet we are against it strongly. And I was in Jordan, Turkey and Cairo for six months last year, with a short stop in Palestine, for an archaeological dig, and most people we met outside the dig were very anti-terorism. Especially in Palestine and Cairo, where the people we hired to help us dig were just sick of the fighting, and wanted to get on with their lives in peace and economic prosperity. Some muslims do bomb, true, but some christians do too (Oklahoma City bombers, etc.) so I don’t think you can extrapolate the theory across all middle eastern residents. That’s all I meant 
All of these are a scream, but the second one down is the best. The others could at least be explained away,….a little. But the guy photographing the masked women. WHAT’S THE POINT OF EVEN TAKING THE PICTURE?!?
dave4248: tell me about it! I agree completely. Why is there so much irony in islam?
These are not ironic. at all. check this out:
Irony is a literary or rhetorical device, in which there is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says and what is generally understood (either at the time, or in the later context of history). Irony may also arise from a discordance between acts and results, especially if it is striking, and seen by an outside audience. Irony is understood as an aesthetic evaluation by an audience, which relies on a sharp discordance between the real and the ideal, and which is variously applied to texts, speech, events, acts, and even fashion. All the different senses of irony revolve around the perceived notion of an incongruity, or a gap between an understanding of reality, or expectation of a reality, and what actually happens.
I like the obesity/McDonald’s one.
Nice collection of photos thanx for sharing it
jasmine
sweet! :p
I agree with excantare. We also have no way of knowing if those particular people protesting the pope’s offensive, bigoted comments are in favor of terrorism or whether they conducted an anti-terrorism march the next day. Indeed, we have no way of knowing if there’s an anti-terrorism picket just off camera. Assuming they support terrorism because of their religion is just ignorant.
The error that western cultures make is to classify islam is only a religion. Islam has always been as much a political party as a religion since Mohommad. Giving muslims a pass because of religon is as dangerous as saying most Nazi’s didn’t support the holocaust, so we can’t blame them for being Nazi’s. Polls have shown that over thirty percent of muslums in the United States support suicide bombing and are willing to admit it. So in response to Nopes comment I would say that assuming someone supports terrorism because of there ethnicity may be ignorant, but if they’re muslim it is a reasonable assumption that they support any effort to destroy the infidels.
hey, jf. how do u know they support terrorist bombings of innocent people? pic 4#
mierah: please read over the previous comments – they explain my reasons for including that image.
oh, yeah, jf, we do protest against our own people (u know, the terrorists) it’s just that cnn doesn’t make it their headline news. I live in malaysia, and it’s an islamic country, but most of us are against it. That’s all
er, against terrorism, not malaysia being an islamic country, btw XD
mierah: thanks for the comment – I am very interested to hear that. Can you recommend some source online that I might be able to see evidence of these protests? It would certainly be nice to see both sides of the story from time to time!
sure, here’s one website http://www.nst.com.my/
enjoy
the really interesting ones are in malay, and since i doubt that you can read it, i didn’t bother. search for “terrorism” in a box on the lower left corner of the screen.
I don’t find the 4th pic funny at all….
The funny thing is, on the last picture, the models on the two ads may well be the same!