If you make something unserious, don’t be surprised when no one takes it seriously. This might sound stupid but it is exactly what is happening in the United States right now, down to the streets of Iowa City.
There has been a lot of criticism lately about how Democrats are handling President Donald Trump’s administration. People online repeatedly respond to the news cycle with “We aren’t mad enough.” But anger can’t survive if it’s met with mockery and jokes. And right now, mockery and jokes are winning.
On Oct. 18, 2025, hundreds of protesters flooded downtown Iowa City for the nationwide ‘No Kings’ protest against the Trump administration. One group wore red robes from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” as photographed by The Daily Iowan. On Feb. 5, middle and high schoolers took to the University of Iowa Pentacrest with signs and chants. One particular sign stood out to me, which read “History has its eyes on you,” referencing a song from “Hamilton,” a musical known for its pro-
immigration story.
While reading the signage at the Pentacrest that day, I felt both empowered and, unfortunately, a little embarrassed.
Some posters were as simple as “ICE OUT,” while others deepened the messaging with quotes from Anne Frank or George Orwell’s “1984.”
But at the same time, I saw pointless phrases like “I prefer my ICE crushed” or “ICE get out of our city, boii.” Online, I saw extremely tone-deaf signs like “ICE has tiny weenies” and “Don’t take our Latina baddies.”
Separately, and also recently, signs referencing HBO’s “Heated Rivalry” circulated across national and local demonstrations. Lines with double entendres like “ICE is not invited to the cottage” or “ICE belongs on hockey rinks” circulated. Another sign from Denver, Colorado read “the only ICE I like is the ice my 2 gay boyfriends skate on,” referring to the main characters.
The “Handmaid’s Tale” imagery worked because it was purposeful, symbolic, and relevant. You don’t need to have watched the show to understand what a woman in a red robe is trying to communicate.
But “ICE is not invited to the cottage” is an inside joke that is only clever to the people who get it.
The problem is that it means nothing to the people who actually need to hear it.
Justin Cosner, a UI English professor with an interest in media and political theory, said the best protests in American history have been specific and to the point.
“They say we want this law changed. We want this policy to end. In that way, some of the get ICE out protests are helpful; when there is a clear purpose, like legislation. But it risks getting diluted by this other vague messaging. There is something in the way protests are taking place that seems to strive for the same virality as landing a joke on Twitter,” Cosner said.
Cosner continued by explaining that when there are too many issues under scrutiny, like climate, immigration, tariffs, protests become, at best, a census of the opposition, and, at worst, a costume party that can be mocked.
Prashna Dahal, a UI third-year, believes protesting at the UI has its own implications.
“The problem is, which many come with going to a predominantly white institution, there doesn’t seem to be enough people who have that passion to turn anger into action.
That is where the bystander effect comes in, and because of that, sometimes it feels like we are just screaming into a void.”
It’s hard to push change if we make a spectacle and not a statement in response. The Trump administration understands that making a spectacle is the message.
“ICE itself is a spectacle,” Cosner said. “Trump doesn’t want this to be silent and unseen. He wants people to see a show of force. He wants immigrants to feel like they are not welcome, because they can turn on the news and see these masked people arresting people.”
It isn’t just on the streets.
Governments have long used highly shareable, sometimes ridiculous content to shape public perception, and Trump’s White House has taken that further than most. Coined memetic warfare, this is a strategy expected from Trump.
White House communications director Kaelan Dorr posted on the social platform X, “The memes will continue,” in response to criticism of doctored images. There are too many examples of mockery in just The White House Instagram page itself, from deportations flight “ASMR” to AI reels of a glitzy Gaza resort.
“But I don’t think the response to that is making a spectacle of ourselves,” Cosner said.
Republicans and Democrats aren’t starting from the same place. One party is in power. The other isn’t. When the people running the government create a spectacle, it reinforces their control. But when the Democrats, in this case, try to do the same thing, it isn’t persuasive.
This isn’t just about protest signs and ICE. It’s about how political discourse now spreads, especially through social media.
Nowhere is this more clear than in how the Jeffrey Epstein files were handled. When the files were released, they should have been the last straw.
The files contain the names of powerful men, from the former U.K prince to Elon Musk, and records of child abuse and trafficking. But within hours, the reaction online became straight gossip.
Some users joked that the only reason people were angry was because they “weren’t invited to the party.” Others fixated on Musk allegedly emailing for an invitation to a future gathering. The actual victims, and any accountability for them, barely registered.
The humor deflects discomfort and skews people’s perception of events, making everything feel light-hearted and scrollable.
This is the consequence when the purpose of engaging with the news is not to understand what is happening or to demand something change, but to signal which side you’re on.
We’re losing the capacity to be genuinely outraged.
We’re losing the ability to persuade anyone of anything because persuasion requires patience, evidence, and a willingness to address someone else’s actual concerns. But none of these will fit into a reel.
“We have become so desensitized from seeing people being taken from their families or being murdered in broad daylight… Those with privilege should speak up more, begin support groups for those affected by ICE, and cater to organizations and events that raise awareness so that no one is able to look away,” Dahal said.