There are a few big issues with trying to be funny on the internet. For one thing, it’s almost impossible to get your tone across in text. It’s way too easy for a sarcastic comment to be taken seriously and have the joke not only fall flat, but actually anger strangers.
For another, you really have to know your audience if you expect your jokes to land. I’m sure many would-be comedians had their careers cut short because their punchlines were delivered in the wrong room. And the internet has so very many wrong rooms.
And what even is comedy these days anyway? Is a troll job funny? Is it performance art? Is it just generally an annoying thing to do? It’s hard to tell on the internet, isn’t it?
Jesse Kelly is normally in the spotlight as a conservative talk radio host, but it’s his role as a tweeting father that got him the most attention recently.
Jesse’s adventure in Twitter controversy began as an attempt at humor, but his jokes didn’t exactly sit well with a lot of the folks who picked up his thread.
If it was just a troll job, it was pretty effective.
It all started with a tweet Jesse sent out saying he was attending his son’s robotics tournament.
It’s not a promising start for comedy, ragging on your kid for dragging you to an event for the kind of kids who want to build and program their own robots.
The thread continued with complaints that hinted at agonizing boredom with the whole affair.
I mean, attaching a gif of a war criminal drinking poison to avoid prison time is not the most ringing endorsement of an awards ceremony your kid might just get to take part in.
After mentioning that his son did indeed win a trophy, he noted that “The place is rocking like it’s the Super Bowl. I don’t belong here.”
And, seeing that his son would be moving on to the next tournament, he attached a gif of Alec Baldwin pouring himself a generous drink.
Apparently, a good chunk of Twitter didn’t see the humor in Jesse’s tweets.
Many folks took him to task for not showing some enthusiasm for his son’s big brain.
I guess they didn’t realize that a master troll was at work, using his son’s robotics tournament as a comedic opportunity.
Others, like former FBI Special Agent Asha Rangappa, suggested that maybe Jesse should show a little more pride.
But, the more folks came at Jesse, the more he seemed to contend that he was doing fine, even retweeting the insults directed at him.
If it was all a troll job, it was successful.
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Jesse tried to underscore that his tweet thread was all supposed to be humorous, just for the folks who weren’t getting the joke.
And he told the Houston Chronicle he was “not sorry even a little bit. I’ll probably do it again. I think it’s hilarious, as does everyone with a sense of humor.”
So if his jokey jokes were intended to get folks riled up on Twitter, well, mission accomplished.
And as one person on Twitter pointed out, it’s going to be an interesting life for Jesse’s son whether his dad was serious or not.