Ironing Out Irony

What is irony? Contrary to conventional wisdom and overall community sentiment ... Alanis Morissette's infamous song, rain on your wedding day isn't ironic - it's just plain bad luck. Irony these days has been confusing and misleading to a lot of people, it is high time that we will give the true version and set the record straight once and for all.

The definition of irony: is a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems the opposite of what you expected. This thread was made to give everybody a crash course of sort of what irony is all about. And at the end of the discussion, everybody is expected to identify irony like you "know-it-when-you-see-it" type thing.

When it comes to finding examples of irony, (including - phrases or situations) life proves stranger (and funnier) than fiction. To say we live in an ironic age and certainly in an ironic culture - is a truism. Anybody can interpret it differently and it can sometimes be a good or bad thing. These ironic examples will raise anyone's eyebrows and bring a laugh or two.

So where do we start? You might as well start at home within the family circle. As we all know, family relationships can be convoluted drama as conflict can happen when family members have different views or beliefs that clash. By the way, these are real-life situations ... it can happen to anybody to children ... as well as parents. Here are some examples:

1.  It is ironic that we have children who want to be wealthy and want a good life. The problem is the guy doesn't want to work. And if he has money he spends it only for himself.

2. It is ironic that children demand a lot from their parents.  He wants his parents to cooperate with whatever plans he has but when it is time for the parents to demand the same cooperation he demanded from them ... he can't deliver.

3.  It is ironic that some children are inattentive and ignore their parent's needs. Just like my neighbor who found the love and care they needed from a nun ... and they were the first to voice out their concern:  "What will the people think of us?" they asked.

4. It is ironic that some children who were used to having a"free this ... and a free that" (c/o their parents of course) ... can be heartless especially when the freebies are dwindling and coming far between. And they have the gall to point that out.

5. It is ironic that a parent at the prime of their life can just leave his original family like that and start building a second family. In the end ... a dramatic twist happens and he got sick ... the second family was unable to take care of him and his last option was to go back to the family he disowned.

6. It is also ironic that some parents think life is better in America. America represents new hope and a new opportunity. Arriving in America however made them realize the opportunity they were expecting was not there.

If you have an example of life ironies we encourage you to share and make your own. Jot a line or two and make this thread discussion lively and interesting. Thank you.