'No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/The_Onion_Homepage_05252022.png/330px-The_Onion_Homepage_05252022.png)
"'No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens" is the title of a series of articles perennially published by the American news satire organization The Onion satirizing the frequency of mass shootings in the United States and the lack of action taken in the wake of such incidents.[1][2][3]
Each article is about 200 words long, detailing the location of the shooting and the number of victims, but otherwise remaining essentially the same. A fictitious resident—usually of a state in which the shooting did not take place—is quoted as saying that the shooting was "a terrible tragedy", but "there's nothing anyone can do to stop them." The article ends by saying that the United States is the "only economically advanced nation in the world where roughly two mass shootings have occurred every month for the past eight years," and that Americans view themselves and the situation as "helpless".[4][5]
Background
[edit]The article was first published on May 27, 2014, following the Isla Vista killings. Since then, The Onion has republished the same article dozens of times in the aftermath of major mass shooting incidents, nearly verbatim, with only minor changes to reflect the specifics of each shooting.[1][2][3] In 2017, Marnie Shure, the managing editor for The Onion, said: "By re-running the same commentary it strengthens the original commentary tenfold each time. ... In the wake of these really terrible things, we have this comment that really holds up."[6]
After The Onion republished the article on February 14, 2018, following the Parkland high school shooting, Jason Roeder, the writer of the original 2014 article, wrote that he "had no idea it would be applied to the high school a mile from [his] house".[7] On May 25, 2022, following the Robb Elementary School shooting, The Onion featured all 21 versions of the article they had written since 2014 on the home page of their website and on their Twitter feed.[8][9][10] The homepage feature was repeated following the July 4 Highland Park shooting, with the article count having increased to 25.[11][12] As of October 2023, it has since increased to 36. Since 2017, the article has been republished for each mass shooting in the United States which resulted in ten or more deaths.
Reception
[edit]The New York Times wrote in 2017 that "with each use, [the headline] seemed to turn from cheeky political commentary on gun control into a reverberation of despair".[1] Mashable wrote that "[n]othing captures that feeling of frustration and powerlessness" following major mass shootings as well as The Onion articles, adding that "[t]here's no shortage of brilliant Onion pieces, but none have resonated—or been as tragically prescient—like the 'No Way' post."[13]
The Washington Post wrote that The Onion "appears to capture the frustration and futility felt by so many people" following mass shootings, noting the increased Internet traffic the articles draw and how popular they are on social media.[2] The Huffington Post said the articles have become "a staple of the social media response to mass shootings", citing how widely shared they are on Facebook and Twitter.[3]
The Daily Beast mentioned the articles in a piece titled "How The Onion Became One of the Strongest Voices for Gun Control".[14] Similarly, Wired mentioned it in an article discussing the power of The Onion's satire in the face of gun violence, titled "Only The Onion Can Save Us Now".[15]
List
[edit]As of October 2023[update], The Onion has published the article 36 times, each in response to a mass shooting in the United States.
See also
[edit]- "Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made A Great Point"
- List of mass shootings in the United States
- SUSFU, a military acronym for "Situation unchanged: still fucked up"
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Ember, Sydney (October 3, 2017). "The Onion's Las Vegas Shooting Headline Is Painfully Familiar". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ a b c Rosenberg, Eli (October 3, 2017). "Why this Onion article goes viral after every mass shooting". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 15, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
- ^ a b c Varagur, Krithika (December 3, 2015). "How Many Times Will The Onion Have To Repost This Article?". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ Sanders, Sam (October 3, 2015). "#MemeOfTheWeek: That Article From The Onion About Mass Shootings". NPR. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ^ Gillespie, Katherine (September 4, 2017). "Area Woman Interviews Editor of "The Onion"". Vice. Archived from the original on February 2, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- ^ Koning Beals, Rachel (February 15, 2018). "Onion writer's routinely recycled mass-shooting headline hits close to home". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- Roeder, Jason [@jasonroeder] (February 15, 2018). "When I wrote this headline, I had no idea it would be applied to the high school a mile from my house" (Tweet). Retrieved May 29, 2022 – via Twitter. - ^ a b "'The Onion' front page". The Onion. May 25, 2022. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
- ^ Treisman, Rachel (May 25, 2022). "'The Onion' has republished a grim headline about mass shootings 21 times since 2014". NPR. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ a b Cantor, Matthew (May 27, 2022). "'No way to prevent this': why the Onion's gun violence headline is so devastating". The Guardian. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
- ^ a b Spangler, Todd (July 5, 2022). "After July 4th Mass Shooting, The Onion Depressingly Reprises "No Way to Prevent This" Homepage Takeover". Variety. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ a b "'The Onion' front page". The Onion. July 5, 2022. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ Abbruzzese, Jason (October 3, 2017). "'The Onion' keeps publishing the same mass shooting story, because we're all stuck". Mashable. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ Suebsaeng, Asawin (April 13, 2017). "How "The Onion" Became One of the Strongest Voices for Gun Control". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
- ^ Raftery, Brian (June 15, 2016). "Only The Onion Can Save Us Now". Wired. Archived from the original on June 15, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
Bibliography
[edit]- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. June 17, 2015. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. December 3, 2015. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. October 2, 2017. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. November 5, 2017. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. February 14, 2018. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. May 18, 2018. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. September 13, 2018. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. October 29, 2018. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. November 8, 2018. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. June 1, 2019. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. August 4, 2019. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. August 4, 2019. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. February 26, 2020. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. March 17, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. March 23, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. April 16, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. May 26, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. May 16, 2022. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. May 25, 2022. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
- ^ "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". The Onion. October 26, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.