Henry Kissinger: the funniest memes about his tragic death

The long-awaited death of Henry Kissinger has been an internet meme for years, and now it’s finally happened. Dying peacefully at the age of 100 isn’t really much of a comeuppance, but there is still an atmosphere of jubilation in the air.

So why do people hate Kissinger – a former secretary of state and a national security adviser to a number of US presidents – so much? To his critics, the man is a war criminal responsible for millions of deaths. He played a pivotal role in the US bombing of Cambodia, which led to an estimated 150,000 civilian deaths and helped to usher in the murderous Khmer Rouge. As Anthony Bourdain once famously remarked, “Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking.”

Among many other crimes, Kissinger has also been accused of facilitating genocides in East Timor and Bangladesh, and scores of coups, death squads and assassinations in Latin America. He supported the 1973 overthrow of democratically elected Chilean President Salvador Allende, who was replaced by dictator Augusto Pinochet, and the Argentine regime which murdered tens of thousands of people. According to war crimes prosecutor, Reed Brody, “few people [...] have had a hand in as much death and destruction, as much human suffering, in so many places around the world as Henry Kissinger.” So it’s understandable that people are not responding to his death with tact, solemnity and reverence (unless you’re also a war criminal). Here are some of the highlights.

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