No, There Isn’t a Flying Spaghetti Monster Statue in Kingston

It is another case of be careful where you get your news. Over the last 24 hours, the Hudson Valley has been abuzz over the thought that the Kingston Common Council removed three statues and replaced them with a Spaghetti Monster Sculpture. Just saying it makes you say, What? No way. And you would be right, no way.

The information making the rounds on social media is from Hudson Valley Mountain River News. They are the source of the article which is causing all the buzz on social media platforms all over the Hudson Valley. Most folks get into the article, which is being shared on Facebook, and don't realize they're reading satire.

So why did they do it? Why write up a fake article and then share it on social media? I can't be sure but I can guess it is because that's what they do Hudson Valley Mountain River News is a Satire/Parody newsgroup.

If you fell for it for a minute, that's okay but it is a lesson in check the source before you comment on Facebook. If you go to the Hudson Valley Mountain River News Facebook page, it says it right on the front page under "About." If they are a true satire group they will be upfront about it. By the way, the definition of satire is "the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues."

I can be a very gullible person which is probably why satire isn't really my kind of humor. Honestly when I read this article the first time I had to ask "are they kidding" and not because they were considering taking down statues but because they were putting up pasta. The Spaghetti Monster should have been the first clue and given it away. But I didn't know like most other people until I did some searching. The flying spaghetti monster first appeared as a satirical letter in 2005, according to Wikipedia. It may be a real religion, but the monster itself is very satirical.