Unfortunately, the really important, possibly world-changing blunders just seem to keep coming, and a general despondency is plaguing almost every sheep in the flock. In times like these it’s important to get a little relief, and to understand that while your life might look bad, it’s just a little worse — in a hilariously slapstick way — for the other guy. As anyone who has ever taken in an hour of America’s Funniest Home Videos knows, nothing beats a replay of a kick to the groin or a really crushing fall, especially if it’s grandma doing the falling. But if you must have your dose of schadenfreude a little more frequently, the feeling can be easily accessed online at FAIL Blog.
FAIL blog is updated multiple times each day with lol funny snaps and videos of life going haywire. Today’s collection includes: Door Fail, a door to nowhere installed without a landing on the second floor of an apartment building; First Aid Fail, a first aid kit to which wasps have attached a sizeable nest; and Meat Snack Fail, an image of a condom display installed at the end of the “Meat Snacks” aisle of a grocery store. At the top of the page is Police Fail, a police video of a traffic cop whose failure to set his cruiser’s parking break results in a little comeuppance.
At this particular moment in history, our viral video landscape is cluttered with protests for change and arguments for a better life. No matter how hopeful these messages might be, they are still a harsh reminder of gloomy days ahead. This is why Anthem Fail, a video of a young woman who botches her rendition of the national anthem at a hocky game, attempts to run away and then returns to try again, only to fall on her ass, is a visual dose of Zoloft. Somehow the young woman found it inside herself to overcome her humiliation and try again. It’s poignant. It’s real. That she is stymied a second time is both touching and laugh out loud funny. She is so like us. How much would we love to run away from the ongoing financial, energy, food, environmental, terrorist and other crises we now find ourselves in? But somehow we manage to come back and keep trying, even though we have the sinking feeling we’ll end up on our collective asses.
Perhaps FAIL Blog confirms what we all already know: the American landscape is populated by the laughably stupid at just about every level of society. FAIL Blog helps us find something to love about this stupidity, which is probably a tad dangerous to embrace. Or maybe FAIL Blog is really just about our collective need for a really good copy editor.
Ultimately, in times when we are constantly told to watch our collective backs, it is interesting to ponder why the existence of FAIL Blog is so reassuring. Perhaps it acts to resize the colossal error down to a level that can be more easily comprehended. Plus you can vote on your favorite blunders, and share your own. FAIL Blog is group therapy for a society in desperate need of a way to see the humor in the sad.
