A Minneapolis man posts a video calling out his neighbor’s lawn mowing techniques. It backfires spectacularly when viewers take the neighbor’s side. But is this a case of misunderstood satire?
In the funny clip, TikTok creator Ramon Garcia (@ramon_garcia1981) appeared upset that his neighbor only cut their grass to the property line. One of the hashtags in the clip is #neighborfeud, which suggests he might have beef with his next-door neighbor.
The 13-second video may also be humorous rage bait for jokes, given how the Minneapolis-area TikToker has liked various funny comments and the comedy on his channel.
As Garcia walks from the curb to inspect his grass line, he says, “Look at this [expletive]. Just cut his own grass. If you’re that type of neighbor, eff you!” The overlay on the video reads: “Don’t be this neighbor.”
Viewers Take Minneapolis Man’s Neighbor’s Side
It seems clear that Garcia is joking, but many people in the comments who aren’t familiar with his content went in on him.
One person wrote, “You think that’s bad? My neighbor only painted HIS house!”
“He respected your property line?” joked another commenter.
“You think that’s bad? My neighbor built a new deck and didn’t build us one. The nerve!” said another one.
Some even resorted to calling Ramon a “Kevin,” or a male “Karen.” A person quipped, “He is the best kind of neighbor. He is not trespassing on your land, Kevin.”
One person wrote, “I don’t think this panned out the way you hoped.”
Is This a Real Neighborhood Conflict or Satire?
Given Garcia’s content, this went better than he expected. In fact, the key here is that people often do not recognize satire when they see it.
“That’s the tricky thing about satire. When done well satire can look indistinguishable from what it’s satirizing,” wrote Nathan Rabin, in a 2023 blog post.
People’s inability to see satire online is partly due to the need to be seen punishing or joking at someone’s expense in ways people would never attempt in real life.
Rage-bait posts like this one, while possibly unintentional, capitalize on this effect. Outrage, even minor or fake variety, is “rewarding and stimulating,” as Ashley Melillo wrote in “Outrage as Entertainment: Why We’re Addicted to Anger.”
All Hip Hop reached out to Garcia for comment.
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