Small Words

First, Some Background

The Onion is a satirical online newspaper, first launched in 1988, that doesn’t pull their punches when it comes to criticizing the most deserving. You may recognize them from your social media, where they have a seemingly endless supply of witticisms on current events, and just how funny people can be sometimes. The Onion may just save the United States of America.

The Onion has gotten excellent at parodying ICE over the last year. Check out their articles on ICE here.

On January 7, 2026, Renee Nicole Good was shot through her car window by a federal ICE agent. Secrecy Kristi Noem, speaking for the Trump administration, claimed the shooter was in danger, but the footage of the incident shows otherwise. The FBI has restricted the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from further investigation into the shooting.

Social media algorithms have madly circulated updates since the shooting, and with them, parody articles.

The Meme

The Onion’s articles are spookily similar to those we encounter on CNN, the New York Times, or BBC. Each headline mimics something we would see out in the wild west of reporting, but with a twist. They’re a parody. It’s unabashedly “fake news.” However, unlike real propagandists, The Onion would be happy for you not to believe them.

One article is headlined “ICE Vows To Restore Order Using Whatever Force Unnecessary.” We are intended to misread this as “whatever force necessary,” which sounds exactly like actual quotes from men currently holding office.

Parody as commentary is especially effective because it remains true (or not true) regardless of “the facts.” Statements like “ICE vows to restore order” or “ICE will use force” seem right, whether or not the headline is a direct and accurate quote. We feel they would say this, because they do. No corroboration needed; they say it to our faces, these days.

Another headline proclaims “ICE Agent Panics After Realizing There More Children Than He Has Flash-Bangs” and paints a dark picture of man against child – and the children are winning. We know it’s humor because it is absurd. It’s terrifying to realize, however, that the absurdity lies in the children winning against armed federal officers, and not that armed federal officers would want to shoot children.  

The realization that we don’t trust our government-appointed agents not to mow down school children is gutting, but humor softens the blow. The Onion’s sardonic approach to current events is popular because it’s a way to engage in horrifying realities with a little bit of distance. In this age of information, when we are inundated daily with thousands of people’s thoughts, bad takes, and dubious accounts of questionable events, distance is a necessity.

Why Humor Matters in the Wake of the Shooting

When we experience fear, it invokes a whole host of physiological and emotional responses. Google Scholar is full of primary research articles on the subject. They discuss the types of things that cause fear in people (and mice!), how the brain identifies dangers, and why we have inappropriate fear responses (like when children feel anxiety in the dark or are scared of Disney villains). I wouldn’t necessarily suggest anyone read up on the amygdala in their spare time, but if you’re inclined, you can read an overview of its role in the brain here and the limbic system here.

All this is to say that when we feel afraid, we give a lot of power to the things we fear. They don’t just get free rent in our heads; they also hijack our limbic system. I’m just going to say, men running around on behalf of the government, with covered faces and unmarked cars, are inherently scary; they have weapons, and the authority to use them. The senselessness of a “protector” scaring the bejeezus out of people they serve aside, this fear gives them a lot of unjustified power. It’s undue because even men in a uniform are just men who wet their bed as a toddler.

And that, folks, is the meme.

The Onion is reminding us that these men, despite their uniforms and government-issued weapons, are likely to have wet their beds more than most. They do not deserve our respect, and they don’t deserve our fear.

I believe Renee Nicole Good would have agreed.