D.C. GOP Fights Bag Tax, Lose, Demonstrate No Understanding of Irony.

It's rather simplistic to suggest that, because the Republicans disagree with you on the best way to save the environment, that they therefore hate the environment. That's rather like saying that, because you love your mother and hate your enemies, it must follow that your enemies hate their mothers.

Joe, the irony here is that...

The irony is when you zoom out on the party that likes to think of itself as being fiscally conservative, they seem to only know how to waste money opposing good ideas and in the end using the ideas (like using a reusable bag) to combat a liberal idea (like using a reusable bag).

Verbal irony is a disparity of expression and intention: when a speaker says one thing but means another, or when a literal meaning is contrary to its intended effect. An example of this is sarcasm.

Dramatic irony is a disparity of expression and awareness: when words and actions possess a significance that the listener or audience understands, but the speaker or character does not.

Situational irony is the disparity of intention and result: when the result of an action is contrary to the desired or expected effect. Likewise, cosmic irony is disparity between human desires and the harsh realities of the outside world (or the whims of the gods). By some definitions, situational irony and cosmic irony are not irony at all.

Joey and Robby, I can count on you guys to take a fun thread waaaaaaaay too serious. You guys are just wound too tight... lighten up.

What was ever ambiguous? Educate me here RG. It seems only a minority of folks find the story to be ambiguous.

Everyone knows that Americans don't understand irony. Soon after moving to England from the US I discovered that my country was universally assumed to be an irony-free zone. I was at a dinner party when irony came up, and another guest launched into a diatribe against Alanis Morisette's song "Isn't it Ironic?" as an example of my compatriots' presumptive misunderstanding: "Rain on your wedding day is not ironic!" he railed. "Serving utensils are not ironic! What's ironic is that she doesn't understand what irony means!" "No," I replied. "What's ironic is that she's Canadian."

Quote:

Dramatic irony is a disparity of expression and awareness: when words and actions possess a significance that the listener or audience understands, but the speaker or character does not.

You know, like protesting a bag fee by producing and selling a bunch of bags that 500 times as expensive.

Situational irony is the disparity of intention and result: when the result of an action is contrary to the desired or expected effect.

Here you go (bolding is mine, which is the point I had in a nutshell):

Quote:

Everyone knows that Americans don't understand irony. Soon after moving to England from the US I discovered that my country was universally assumed to be an irony-free zone. I was at a dinner party when irony came up, and another guest launched into a diatribe against Alanis Morisette's song "Isn't it Ironic?" as an example of my compatriots' presumptive misunderstanding: "Rain on your wedding day is not ironic!" he railed. "Serving utensils are not ironic! What's ironic is that she doesn't understand what irony means!" "No," I replied. "What's ironic is that she's Canadian."

"We are offering these reusable tote bags in an effort to save our D.C. Republicans that annoying 5 cent tax."

I would be interested to hear what the GOP plan to save the environment is. I had thought that the difference between the two is that the GOP did not in fact have a plan to save the environment, or denied all together that anything needed saving or that there were any problems at all.

Sometimes your enemies do hate their mothers, no matter what your opinion of the situation is.

Joe, the reusable bag doesn't have to have GOP message on it for it to be a statement. Using any reusable bag is already a statement against using a retailer's disposable bags.

Do you not see the irony here?

Paying a tax for bags is annoying.
Buy our bags.
Still be annoyed by the tax.

Diest TKO wrote:

Do you not see the irony here?

Paying a tax for bags is annoying.
Buy our bags.
Still be annoyed by the tax.

How would they be paying the tax if they used the reusable bags? Only people who choose the disposable bags pay the tax.

I didn't say pay, I said annoyed.

No matter which bag you use, the tax still effects you. Also, if paying $0.05 for a bag in annoying, then paying $25.00 for the first bag is obnoxious. The irony is that it's still annoying or even more annoying.

You are right that this about them rejecting the tax, however rejecting taxes is built on a foundation of keeping one's money. Republicans aren't sticking to their principles here, they are doing puppet theater.

I can't imagine why. The $0.05 tax is mandated by the state: the $25.00 spent on the bag is completely voluntary. I can easily imagine why the former is annoying and the latter is not.

Well, no, rejecting taxes is not built on a foundation of keeping one's money, except to the extent that it is a protest against sending that money to the state. I don't think an opponent of the bag tax would say: "The five cents you pay for the bag tax should instead be saved or invested in government-grade debt instruments." Protesting a tax has little to do with how the money should be spent. It's more about how the money shouldn't be collected.