Where Are All Of Our Alien Baddies At?
graphic courtesy of freepik.com
We know you all RSVP’d to the Storm Area 51 Facebook event, but, in reality, you’re fake as fuck. According to Vox.com, after 2 million people responded to the event and the government threatened to use force against anyone who tried to enter the facility, only a couple thousand fearless alien lovers actually made the trip to Nevada on September 20th. But, instead of saving any Aliens, they threw a massive party in the middle of the desert. Having FOMO? We certainly are.
The amount of attention the Area 51 Raid received the three months leading up to it was wild. All news outlets were talking about the Facebook event that inspired 2 million people to RSVP. This insane phenomenon shows how social media is affecting the way we communicate on a domestic and international scale. In fact, it proved how much influence the people in this event, and in the U.S, actually have. Matty Roberts, the man who created the Facebook event, did not intend to actually storm Area 51. According to Vox.com, Roberts runs a Facebook group where he and others post memes and the creation of this event was just part of one of his jokes.
However, the U.S. military wasn’t laughing. Agents investigated Roberts and announced warnings out to anyone planning on attending the raid.
Anyone think this was a slight overreaction? Does the government even know what a meme is? We may have called you all fake for not actually going to Area 51, but it was implied that a huge majority was not going to attend the event. Honestly, it’s the government’s fault no one showed face.
But, the government’s reaction to the public’s support of the Area 51 raid was interesting. The military appeared to be afraid of a domestic attack due to just the amount of people signed up to attend. Social media is affecting not only how we interact in a public space, but also how our state leaders respond to our actions. The Storm Area 51 raid unveiled the amount of power the people can have over government and military action.
On the day of the raid, the military and surrounding local Nevada towns were ready for the worst, but nothing happened. Unless the government wanted to shut down a party outside of Area 51, there was nothing to look for. If you google what happened, there are not many stories out there. Why? Maybe because it was as chill and fun as it seemed. Or maybe it’s because the government doesn’t want us to know what happened for real.
Even though September 20th, the day we’ve all been waiting for, has come and past, the “Storm Area 51” meme won’t be dead for a long time. The Facebook event has been a conversation starter regarding the power of social media, the insecurity of the U.S. government, but most importantly, the possible existence of extraterrestrial life forms on earth. Cause definitely could still be trapped in Area 51...