"Twitter Storms" & Haikus Attack Glenn Beck

If a tree falls during a  “twitter storm” and no one is around, does it make a sound?

That is what I asked myself when I stumbled upon this morning’s Washington Post “On Faith” section that caught my attention: Protests on Twitter against Glenn Beck.  That’s right, cyberspace protesting using Twitter: a Twitter storm.  Apparently, this is the first such known protest on Twitter.

You may remember Glenn Beck pleading his listeners to flee their churches if their priest or pastor preached “social justice” because those are code words for “socialism.”  You can read my blog post about this at my Times Union Newspaper blog here and here.

These protests consist of “twitter storming” or “tweet storming” Beck.  Apparently, a “tweetstorm” occurs when users on Twitter inundate a user’s account with thousands of messages, mentions, and replies that use the user’s @ username.  The very interesting and funny website Haik U Glenn Beck has thousands of haikus that speak to our “inner zen” of poetry. The idea is to use these haikus to send to Beck’s twitter account — one a minute till they run out.

Some of the haikus that stuck out on the website are:

If Jesus came back
and heard what Glenn Beck has said
he’d just keep barfing

Do you have to check
your church website for justice
to know that it’s there?

I’m no Christian, but
Jesus spoke truth to power.
Everyone knows that.

Beck loves his Bible.
He’s read every word except
Matthew Twenty-five.

The website’s subtitle proclaims:

We’re taking it up a notch. Starting at 9am on April 7, we’re sending one haiku a minute directly to Glenn Beck for 24 straight hours. You can help – click the Twitterstorm icon next to any haiku and tweet it to Glenn Beck directly. Help make sure Beck hears our message!

Jim Wallis led the public charge against Glenn Beck’s anti-social justice views.  Much of Wallis’ ministry and work deals with social justice, peace, and reconciliation.  These Twitter protests and Wallis’ organizations appear to have no connection.

Whether or not you agree with Beck, you have to admit that this is all very funny.  Using Asian poetry to vent against Glenn Beck on twitter? Very creative!  In a world where people kill each other for lesser conflicts, the medium for the message is just as important as the the message itself.

This brings new meaning to protest because it uses social networking to get a message out… even if it is only 140 characters.

What is your haiku for Beck?  Either for or against Beck’s message?