The post that started it all, which has since been deleted, said, “All I Want for Christmas is White Genocide.” You can imagine where things went from there.
Much of the responses aren’t fit for print, but here are some of the kinder messages the professor received and retweeted.
Ciccariello-Maher, who has a pinned tweet saying, “Sorry, I’m not ‘alt-left,’ just an actual communist,” kept it going for a while, subtly acknowledging his troll job.
One Twitter user was in on the joke, appreciating the professor’s particular brand of commentary, and Ciccariello-Maher appreciated the endorsement.
Finally, Ciccariello-Maher clarified his meaning, implying that he was teasing white supremacists who supposedly worry about a white genocide actually occurring.
Still, not everyone has picked up on the gag, which raises the question of whether the controversy spurred by a joke like this is worth it for the limited audience who appreciates it. Of course, looking at Ciccariello-Maher’s Twitter page, he’d probably say that’s the whole point.
[Screengrab via Al Jazeera]