05-24-2017, 02:00 AM
(05-23-2017, 03:15 PM)Cormanus_imp Wrote: If that's what he was doing, fair enough, I guess. I thought it was something a bit more serious.
I don't want to be picky, but I reckon the use of ironic was correct. Consider this definition of irony: "A state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often wryly amusing as a result". Forget the amusing part, but Nicky Hayden's death on a bicycle rather than the track could well be described as an "event ... contrary to what one expects ..."
I think the key is 'deliberately'. For example, there was a Popeye cartoon where he was fighting a termite infestation. He was concerned they they would destroy his house. However, in the ensuing battle with the termites, Popeye ended up completely destroying the house himself. Thus, a case of irony.
Another example: a man is madly in love with a woman and is afraid of losing her. He smothers her with attention and slavishly devotes himself to fulfilling her every wish and need, to make sure she always loves him back. But the woman loses respect for the man and becomes disgusted with his insecurity, finally leaving him. That is ironic. Through his behavior and actions, the man himself brought about the very outcome he sought to avoid.
I don't think what happened to Nicky was contrary to his deliberate intentions. In other words, he wasn't riding a bicycle in order to avoid being killed while riding a bicycle.