It seems that right-wingers have a really bad habit of taking music, film clips, or television clips and using it for ends that the creators would have never endorsed. For instance, during the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump got busted in the chops for using music from Neil Young, R.E.M., Aerosmith, and Adele without their permission. And you may remember that when rogue Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis was released from jail, she took the stage to the strains of “Eye of the Tiger”–much to Survivor’s outrage.
Well, add the National Rifle Association to that list. On Wednesday, the NRA’s social media team thanked Dana Loesch for going to a CNN town hall in Sunrise, Florida on the NRA’s behalf–using a clip from the NBC hit series “Parks and Recreation.”
.@DLoesch thank you for being the voice of over 5 Million #NRA members. pic.twitter.com/WDz7vujXfM
— NRA (@NRA) February 22, 2018
The clip shows the main character, Leslie Knope, mouthing the words “thank you.” Considering that most of the nation saw Loesch make a fool out of herself by refusing to answer a simple question, it’s hard to understand what the NRA saw that was worthy of applause.
When Amy Poehler, who played Knope, saw this GIF floating around, she was not happy at all. She made her displeasure known to the show’s co-creator, Michael Schur, who was equally outraged.
Hi, please take this down. I would prefer you not use a GIF from a show I worked on to promote your pro-slaughter agenda.
Also, Amy isn't on twitter, but she texted me a message: "Can you tweet the NRA for me and tell them I said fuck off?" https://t.co/YXSdzCdvdd
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) February 22, 2018
Apparently that GIF set Schur off. He spent most of Thursday trolling right-wingers about their unwillingness to actually do something about the gun problem.
Hey @SpeakerRyan — look! Someone wants to gather facts! You will no doubt support this official fact-gathering, based on your many earlier statements. #facts #gathering #factgathering https://t.co/dcWJTcqEj8
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) February 22, 2018
Got that 30 minutes of "I hear you" faux-empathy out of the way, then it's right back to business. https://t.co/fGvEu4zXtZ
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) February 22, 2018
I guess "everyone should have a gun" is the hill that the NRA wants all schoolchildren to die on.
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) February 22, 2018
He’s also donating to the March for Our Lives being organized by the survivors of the Douglas High shooting; it will take place on March 24 in Washington.
I just donated to March For Our Lives in the name of Leslie Knope, and if you liked Parks and Rec, and get annoyed when dark money-funded pro-slaughter groups like the NRA appropriate its characters on twitter, I hope you will too. https://t.co/5JAy6jRWfT
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) February 22, 2018
Nick Offerman, who played Knope’s boss, Ron Swanson, was equally disgusted by the NRA’s gambit.
.@NRA @DLoesch our good-hearted show and especially our Leslie Knope represent the opposite of your pro-slaughter agenda – take it down and also please eat shit. ?? https://t.co/Ar2YF4yoic
— Nick Offerman (@Nick_Offerman) February 22, 2018
As was Adam Scott, who played Knope’s husband, Ben Wyatt.
Hey @nra please stay the fuck away from Leslie Knope. https://t.co/Lr2HCeN7qp
— Adam Scott (@mradamscott) February 22, 2018
So for the second time in 72 hours, the NRA has made itself look completely foolish. And the Twitterverse is loving it.
the parks and rec cast calling out the nra for using a leslie knope gif is the best thing i’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/iaIg6QHK8j
— lou (@plutoist) February 22, 2018
"Parks and Rec" cast to the NRA: Don't congratulate yourself with a Leslie Knope GIF ? pic.twitter.com/k9JwhRbEc0
— AJ+ (@ajplus) February 22, 2018
Knope. https://t.co/cqyeaEtAvh
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) February 23, 2018
The NRA using a Parks and Rec gif is a win-win for all sides.
Actors get to yell at the NRA, thus bolstering their standing with their in-group.
NRA gets yelled at by an out-group, thus bolstering their standing with *their* in-group.
Really, it’s just marvelous all around.
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) February 22, 2018
My favorite tweets so far this morning are the Parks and Rec actors getting mad at the NRA for using an Amy Poehler GIF from the show in their tweet of support to Dana Loesch. Lol
— Miller Time (@hoosiercub34) February 22, 2018
No response from the NRA as of yet.
This is yet another reminder that the right still doesn’t really get how social media really works. It also shows that the NRA is of a piece with Trump. They seem to think media rights are just things in their way.
(featured image courtesy Peabody Awards, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)
