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Serious situations that aren't tragic can have a quirky side inviting playfulness. So it doesn't take long for the curious case of an apparently self-incriminating Michigan representative to bring tweets that poke, parody and wink.
Larry Inman in 2016. (Photo: Facebook)
Nothing is funny about alleged bribe solicitation, attempted extortion and answering FBI questions falsely -- federal charges that Rep. Larry Inman will be arraigned on in Grand Rapids on May 29. Evidence includes texts from him to union lobbyists. One message concludes: "We never had this discussion."
Though the third-term Republican from Grand Traverse County surely is unamused, social media references to him as Larry Inmate were inevitable. Same for quips about how closely he paid attention while earning a Northern Michigan University degree in crininal justice.
At Twitter, chatter a day after the news broke includes sharp swipes as well as humorous posts. A short one says simply: "Innocent until proven guilty, but c'mon . . ."
These also are worth sharing, in our eyes:
His will be the ‘Sarcasm Defense’. It does not come across well in text messages.
— ProfCasby (@profcasby) May 16, 2019
Should be indicted on separate charges of crimes against the English language, too.
— R (@ryanhicks19) May 16, 2019
If you hear about the Inman news and your first response is something to the effect of "he shouldn't have put it in writing," you may be part of the problem.
— Craig Mauger (@CraigDMauger) May 15, 2019
My snarky guess: if you’re dumb enough to ask for a bribe in writing, you probably don’t know the actual punishment. And it prob didn’t occur to Inman that what he was doing was wrong, bc there is a pay to play culture at work — it’s just not so direct and brazen (ie DeVos $)
— Angela Vasquez-Giroux
I bet you $10,000 this conversation is being had with no fault too.
— IV (@IanVedder) May 15, 2019
