2013-12-03
Explanation
The Joke
The comic is structured as a knock-knock joke. Someone begins: "The NSA." The other person responds "What?" in confusion. The first person explains, "Oh sorry, that's the punchline to a knock-knock joke." The second person asks, "Why didn't you do the knock-knock part?" The answer: "Because terrorism changed everything."
The Humor
The joke works on multiple levels. First, the NSA (National Security Agency) is known for conducting mass surveillance, meaning they would already know who is at the door before any knocking occurs -- rendering the "knock knock" part unnecessary. The punchline "because terrorism changed everything" satirizes the post-9/11 justification used by governments to expand surveillance powers. The phrase was commonly used by politicians and pundits to justify eroding civil liberties and privacy, and the comic mocks this by applying the same grandiose justification to something as trivial as skipping the setup of a knock-knock joke. The meta-humor of delivering a punchline before its setup mirrors how the NSA already has your information before you offer it.
References
The comic references the NSA (National Security Agency) and the widespread domestic surveillance programs revealed by Edward Snowden in June 2013, just months before this comic was published. The phrase "terrorism changed everything" was a common refrain in American political discourse following the September 11, 2001 attacks, used to justify expanded government powers including warrantless surveillance.