As most of us know, 41st President George H.W. Bush passed away this week.
I don’t know much about him aside from major policy issues he enacted as president, and I think it’s safe to assume a majority of people my age can say the same. Thus, I was genuinely shocked at the way people joked about his death on Twitter.
First of all, as per the replies, a lot of people found out the former president had passed via a “funny” tweet.
Many more tweets like this have been in circulation, some of which were more striking than others.
I’m all for freedom of speech, especially when it comes to comedy, but I found this kind of appalling. I’m not going to judge these people for making these kinds of jokes, since I’m sure something I have found funny must have offended someone else at some point or another, but I think the amount of people who are joining in on the joke about George H.W. Bush’s death is concerning; if the authors of these tweets were confronted about them in person, would they defend themselves? If members of the Bush family expressed pain from these tweets, would the authors feel remorse? It’s kind of hard to tell. Personally, I think that death is an objectively sad occurrence that should never be celebrated. Even if we might hate what a person has done and what they might represent, the death of that person is extremely sad for anyone close to that person and it’s not right to torture people who are mourning.
However, I can understand that the former president’s legacy elicits a strong emotional response in a lot of people. He has upset many people in the course of his lifetime. With this in mind, I understand why people choose to meet his death with criticism about his legacy. I also read an interesting article about how the former president’s image was greatly ameliorated by and even idealized in comparison to our current president. People see how unfavorable Trump is and see former presidents differently; they see them as everything Trump is not. This collective revisioning of presidential memory must be especially frustrating for people who actually suffered the consequences of George H.W. Bush’s policies/groups of people who were targeted by his administration.
I think the key difference between the previous tweets and this tweet is that while the authors all “disrespect” the former President, this author does it for a reason. Being president means living a very public life, and I think that when someone signs up to be president, they must accept the criticism they receive. To me, the kind of criticism in this tweets falls under a category of acceptable and reasonable grievances to have with a politician. I think that simply making fun of a president’s death for no reason and so soon after the fact is just plain mean. Yet, the authors of those tweets might have their own reasons for behaving that way– but because they have not made that detail clear, the tweets seem unnecessarily aggressive.
Sidenote: what is a piece of political news without some type of negligent response from the Trump administration?
Worst in Politics 
I found it sad as well that everyone was making fun of the death of a president. I don’t know exactly what he did just like the most of our generation however, everyone deserves respect.
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I had no idea people on the internet were making fun of George H.W. Bush’s death! When I saw his death trending on Twitter I thought people were remembering him 😦 that’s so sad. I never knew exactly what he did in the past to upset so many people but I guess it must have been huge if there’s an insane amount of people celebrating his death. I agree with what you said about the difference between the tweets. You did a great job explaining them and a great job with your blog overall 🙂
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What a great way to tie in some key themes of the class 🙂 I think those tweets and memes definitely take things at least one step too far. I also think it’s interesting that many people who oppose the death penalty are the first one’s to celebrate someone who they disagreed with’s death.
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I do agree that its not good to make fun of Bush for the sake of his loves ones. But at the end of the day its just a joke and not things that can change lives of Bush’s family. Unlike the policies and decisions he made as a president which targeted directly and indirectly many countries around the world and U.S citizens as well. His choices affected many people all over the world and that is why there is so much rage and jokes all over the internet. I do agree with you that the jokes on the internet can torture his family which is never good to do.
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I understand that people have a right to freedom of speech and that law should not bar them from saying whatever they want (except in special cases obviously) but people really need to learn some courtesy at the very least. Even if you disagree with his way of running the government, people need to know that these people are human with families and friends who are mourning the deaths of their loved ones and put themselves in their shoes next time they think about joking about a celebrity death.
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I don’t really agree on the Bush’s policy when he was the president but I do believe he still deserves the respect. The freedom of speech couldn’t be the excuse of people who are publishing hate speech on internet
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This was a really interesting post, Nush. I saw a lot of tweets like those first ones and it made me very uncomfortable. As we’ve talked about in class, people have become so desensitized to their actions because of the internet. I don’t think anyone would approach any of Bush Sr.’s children and shout something like that in their faces. But, I do also agree that death doesn’t automatically rid someone of the harm they caused while living. It’s important not to gloss over history, but in a way that is presented with facts and decorum.
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You raise important social issues in this post. I see those tweets as disrespectful, although, I am familiar with the history of GHWB and I do not have anything positive to say about him, I would still not post stuff that makes fun of his death. I think it is an ethical issue, the internet’s accessibility has led individuals just make public the most wild opinions. Perhaps school curriculums should teach a class on media ethics or something.
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I’m really happy that you addressed this topic because, honestly, it is a parallel to this class. We have already talked about how the internet provides us a place in which we do and say things we wouldn’t normally do in person. To me, I find rude jokes disrespectful and distasteful in all cases, especially death. Regardless of what the person did, to joke about someone’s death so comically and with our regard makes me question not only humanity, but the society we live in currently. I think political reads are a better alternative to the “funny” comments we see, however, I think there is a time and a place for everything. Death is not a joke and, everyone, no matter their past, deserves to die without any added issues. The Bush family has to deal what is left of the hurtful comments and honestly, they are not able to mourn without hearing such negative things, political done or not. People should say what it is that they do, politically speaking, way before someone dies. One, those opinions could contribute to the bigger situation, and two, death is not the time to take a stand. Okay, rant over haha. Great choice as your last post! Def a discussion starter and shows how your blog is so important to have.
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The issue that you chose to address in this post is really important. I think that people tend to get too caught up in their emotions, and look past the emotions of the person they are judging. I understand the our 41st president was not the best, but making a mockery of his death takes things to a whole other level. Yes, everyone has a right to express themselves, but I think there is a time and place to do it. Social media is a platform that is accessible to anyone. And, honestly, I don’t think that the authors of the first couple tweets would defend their “joke” if they were confronted. And that says a lot about the integrity of their tweets and standpoint. I have never been clued in t politics, and your blog has kept me updated and well-informed in so many ways. I love reading your blog because of how well-written and thought out everything is. Thank you for all the great posts!
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I loved this post because of how recently we talked about things like this in class. I agree that it’s extremely disrespectful with some of these tweets. I bet a lot of people our age didn’t know enough about his policies to criticize him, but instead, they tweet for a laugh. It’s really sad to see how insensitive people can be when someone passes away. Of course, everyone has a right to express their opinion but I think people, especially on Twitter, need to be reminded that what they say can affect people more than they know. I loved this for your last post, I’m going to miss reading these every week they make me feel politically informed! Great job
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