Today in why we can't have nice things:

Instead of whisking you away to alien
planets full of people with Canadian accents,
it's a livestream video with Irish people.

Remember that portal thing between New York and Dublin? I mean, it's not like, a portal portal. You can't step through it or anything. Instead, it's an art piece. Sort of a Stargate-looking disc with a giant screen behind it, and well, you get the idea. There're a few of these around the world and you know, it's nice. There's one each in Vilnius, Lithuania, Lublin, Poland, Dublin, Ireland, and New York City. The idea was that it's always on, and people in City A can look at people in City B and, I guess wave, or something. 

But then it's that or something that has now become an issue because the New York/Dublin portals were temporarily shut down last week because people just can't behave I guess. 

In many ways, they should have been prepared for what would happen
when you set up a live public livestream on the streets of New York.

This peace sign is a wrist flip away from
sparking an international incident.

At first it was all peace signs and friendly vibes, but then came the middle fingers, flashers, and holy shit, swastikas? No, seriously, randos in Dublin were waving around pictures of the Twin Towers collapsing and Nazi symbols, which I mean, coming from a country that opted to stay neutral during World War II is a little, you know, extra tasteless? But I'm not picking on Dublin here, I'm sure New Yorkers started it. But whatever, doesn't matter, the point is can we seriously not, like, as a species, have nice things? 

I know this thing is a glorified zoom call we're all supposed to pretend is bringing the world together, but is it so hard to look at a piece of public art meant to bring people together and not flip them off? Or pull out your 9/11 photo collection? The thing about art uniting people is that it really can like, if you want it too. Although step one would be not acting like a bunch of middle school jackasses.*

Above: In one of history's more catastrophic misunderstandings, Rebecca Henderson
made the hand heart gesture as a symbol of goodwill, completely unaware that it is 
identical to a British gesture expressing support for the re-conquest of Ireland.

*I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to kids in middle school, New Yorkers, and the people of the Republic of Ireland.