Onion Analysis

One thing I appreciate about the skill of the Onion is their ability to take any event - especially tragic ones - and find the funny. They did an admirable job after 9/11 (see here). Below is the recent joke they had about Charlton Heston's death that made me think about this:

Charlton Heston's Gun Taken From His Cold, Dead Hands



P.S. for those who don't get the joke, this from the Times obit:

In Mr. Heston, the N.R.A. found its embodiment of pioneer values — pride, independence and valor. In a speech at the N.R.A.’s annual convention in 2000, he brought the audience to its feet with a ringing attack on gun-control advocates. Paraphrasing an N.R.A. bumper sticker ("I’ll give you my gun when you take it from my cold, dead hands"), he waved a replica of a colonial musket above his head and shouted defiantly, "From my cold, dead hands!"