The Week on TwitterTopical

The Week on Twitter: Cecil the Lion & the Marriage Referendum

By Jade Hayden

This week, Twitter was outraged by the murder of Cecil the lion, confused by objections to the marriage referendum, and satisfied with the internet’s treatment of Vine ‘star’ Carter Reynolds.

Outrage over murder of #CecilTheLion #JusticeForCecil

This week, it was revealed that Minnesotan dentist and trophy hunter, Walter Palmer, had illegally hunted and killed Cecil the lion. Cecil, who was a collared and very much loved attraction at Zimbabwe’s National Park, was apparently lured out of the park by Palmer, and shot with a bow and arrow. The lion was then pursued by Palmer and his hunting group for over 40 hours, before he was eventually caught, beheaded, and skinned.

Once it was confirmed that Cecil had in fact been murdered, the good people of Twitter took to their timelines to express their anger, sorrow, and desire to see Palmer meet the same fate as poor Cecil.

 

https://twitter.com/Cassie_Taylor_/status/626434207531859968

Following the incident, Palmer released a letter of apology to his clients, where he stated “I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt.” He also claimed that he thought the hunt was legal, and apologised for closing his practice. Either way, Palmer – you’re killing animals for sport, and that ain’t cool.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the #marref tag…

Yesterday, the Court of Appeal came together to refute the last legal challenges to the marriage referendum. Gerry Walshe and Maurice Lyons opposed the referendum’s landslide success, claiming that those who voted no (and those who didn’t bother to vote at all), were misrepresented by the state in the months leading up to May 22nd. Walshe and Lyons also decided to suggest that the government had illegally spent public money in order to procure a yes vote. Of course, they had no evidence of this, but who needs evidence when you’ve got homophobia? Am I right?

Policy director of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), Tiernan Brady, did us all a favour and live tweeted the whole debacle.

(Seriously?)

Naturally, the three-judge court rejected these ridiculous oppositions, and same-sex marriage is still set to become law some time later this year. Yay!

Internet ‘sensation’ Carter Reynolds faces well deserved backlash in #RespectForCarter hashtag

Over the weekend, #RespectForCarter trended for awhile, and if you (like me) were wondering who this mysterious figure you were supposed to be respecting was, look no further. “Is he a human rights activist?” I hear you ask. “Did he save somebody from a burning building?” “Has he ended world hunger?!” No, none of those things. Actually, he sexually assaulted his girlfriend and filmed the whole thing. Serious respect, man. Wow.

It all started when the aforementioned video was leaked, and Reynolds – being the massive Vine star that he is – was kicked out of VidCon for the safety of whoever else was attending.

https://twitter.com/Clisare/status/624711809795133440

He also took to Twitter to respond to those who were so aptly disgusted by his actions in the video (and to thank his loyal fans for their love. How nice).

(As someone who has been in a relationship for awhile, I can confirm that filming yourself forcing someone to preform oral sex is not something couples do “all the time.” But maybe that’s just me.)

The trending topic, which was probably started by Reynold’s fans (or a load of menists, who knows?), was thankfully hijacked by a lot of people who think that this is actually a thing one does not deserve respect for.

Y’know what’s underrated though, Carter? Respecting women.

#GrowingUpCatholic brings back some dodgy memories

On Monday, we had a bit of a laugh as #GrowingUpCatholic trended in Ireland. It wasn’t long before everyone’s newsfeeds had turned to talk of confession boxes, fish on Fridays, and being on your best behaviour when the local priest came to visit your school.

And my personal favourite:

Featured image via Ronna Tom

Jade Hayden 144 posts 0 comments

Jade Hayden has an MA in journalism, a degree in English, and a house rabbit who sleeps in her bed sometimes. You'll often find her wearing glasses, fixing her fringe, and complaining about the amount of time she spends on public transport. Jade is also the editor of HeadStuff's topical section, and she'd love if you sent your submissions over to [email protected].

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