Muammar Gadaffi Dead: Twitter Users Joke About Dictator's Reported Capture and Death
Deposed Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was not exactly known to be a nice guy, and reports of his death have been met with celebration in Tripoli, fascination in the media and jokes on Twitter.
Upon rumors that Gaddafi had been captured by Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) army, tweeters compared the fallen strongman to animals, cartoon villains and ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
@KarlreMarks tweeted, "Rumors that #Gaddafi has been arrested and he's wounded in all six legs."
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@michaelroston tied in Gaddafi's capture with the story about a private zoo of exotic animals being freed by their suicidal owner in Ohio yesterday, tweeting, "Qaddafi, monkey with herpes and wolf captured as Zaynesville, Ohio falls to NTC."
@Fake_Dispatch tweeted that Gaddafi was captured using one of the oldest tricks in the book: "BREAKING: Gaddafi has been captured. His last Tweet was, 'Pizza delivery guy? I don't remember ordering pizza.' "
The latest dictator in the Arab Spring uprisings to be caught in dramatic fashion has been on the mind of Twitter users, such as @dooolism, who tweeted: "If rumors are true and Gaddafi is captured, I wonder if he has grown a…Saddam-style 'I am on the run' beard?"
@TomGara tweeted that Gaddafi may or may not have been trying to look his best for his capture: "Reports Gaddafi was captured wearing Laboutin heels, a hot-pink Roman toga and cowboy hat should be taken with a grain of salt."
Reports of Gaddafi's violent death also inspired humor. @TheTweetofGod tweeted: "Qaddafi, Satan. Satan, Qaddafi. I believe you two know each other's work."
Other people believed the Libyan despot's demise would be a good time to plug a comedy show. @robertflorence tweeted: "Gaddafi will miss our sketch show Burnistoun tonight at 11:20 on BBC2. Don't YOU make the same mistake!"
@dandrezner thought he would help people out by letting them know exactly what happened: "I think I can clarify what's going on," he tweeted. "Gaddafi has been captured, Qaddafi has been killed, & Khadafy still at large."
Of course, no matter how big the story is, there are always some people who will take a shot at France: "Following a tragic mix-up in communications, France surrenders to Gaddafi," tweeted @JazzShaw.
However, since Harold Camping has told everyone that the world will end tomorrow, maybe Gaddafi's capture and death should not be such a big deal. @dmataconsis tweeted, "With the world ending tomorrow anyway, Gaddafi really isn't going to miss much."
Or perhaps U.S. observers should welcome the opportunity for a temporary relief from the GOP presidential race. "Upside to Gaddafi story: This is the longest I've had the TV on in weeks without hearing '9-9-9,' " tweeted @JazzShaw.
There might also be another upside to Gaddafi's death, not only for the public, but for the ousted dictator himself, according to @domknight, who tweeted, "When Gaddafi gets to the top of Twitter's trending topics list, it'll be the first democratic contest he's legitimately won."
