We all know that some people are really good at delivering quick, witty, comebacks that put trolls back on their heels and win “the argument” on both substance and style. In the celebrity world, Chrissy Teigen has literally made a brand for herself for her ability to “clap back” successfully with scathing style and humor. AOC is also another master at the substantive political clap-back.
So here’s my challenge. Over the weekend, I engaged is several Twitter battles regarding the students protesting at the Harvard-Yale football game. In case you missed it, several hundred students swarmed the center of the football field at halftime and refused to leave for 30 minutes. Their protest had a specific goal which was to pressure their respective Universities to divest from fossil fuel corporations and hedge fund managers to cancel any debt from Puerto Rico.
Students are calling for both schools to divest their endowments from fossil fuel holdings. Yale students are demanding the school to pressure hedge fund managers to cancel any debt from Puerto Rico.
"We demand that our universities take responsibility for their role in perpetuating the climate crisis and global climate injustice -- we call on Harvard and Yale to fully disclose, divest, and reinvest their holdings in the fossil fuel industry, putting an end to business as usual and taking meaningful action towards building a more just and stable future," the groups added.
So queue the social media outrage from right-wing fanatics who start the tired trope of liberals being hypocrites for driving cars, eating, living while asking for change …
“If these students want to divest from Pretorlium (not kidding, real way dude spelled it) distillation … okay, give up your computers, smart devices, wearables, clothing, medical devices and instruments, food storage, containers, sporting equipment, pharmaceuticals, human and medical transport”
“Great! These students could also hand in their cell phone, computer, tablet and be a true example of climate conscious instead of just being obnoxious”
“I bet these students used Ubers to get to the stadium!
”When will these students give up their phones, laptops, cars? A bunch of idiot hypocrites.”
So my two “most liked” responses were the following:
“Which is precisely why they want to push to change the industries that only give us low-mileage, gas-powered cars. People still have to function within society as they push to change it for the better.”
“This is such a garbage, right-wing talking point! It’s not all or nothing! It’s about making progress not perfection. People still have to function within our current society as they work to change it for the better.”
Then there was the guy who went full “own the libs” on me …
“I’m going to go fill up my lawn mower and car with gasoline and drive them around just to piss you off.”
My response:
“Of course you would. Republicans would literally burn down their own house if they thought it would “own the libs” … which by denying the reality of climate change and destroying the planet where we ALL live is exactly what y'all are doing, burning down EVERYONE’S house.”
I feel like if we put our responses together, there has to be a better clap-back. I’m sure that we all come across these same right-wing talking points, both online and in person, that demands all-or-nothing purity in order to even ask for progress.
How do you respond? What are the best ways to clap-back on these garbage BS talking points that liberals need to go live naked in a hut and only eat berries otherwise we are hypocrites? They are infecting the discourse on climate change and we need some effective “zingers” up our collective sleeves so we can counter this GOP narrative and get the upper hand on the discourse. I must say, while I hated the comments from the trolls, the LIKES that I got on my comebacks were very encouraging.
Perhaps if we take a moment and put all our best responses together we can help each other win these online pie-fights. Please share your thoughts and responses in the comments! I totally welcome your clap-backs!
