Signing an internet petition is the absolute bare minimum one can do to qualify as an activist. Still, there are a lot of cases out there worth supporting these days. One of them is this: There’s a movement to get the richest man in the world to eat one of the most recognizable pieces of art on the planet.
Thousands of people have signed a Change.org petition to get Amazon founder and future obscenely wealthy astronaut Jeff Bezos to purchase and consume The Mona Lisa, the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece. A person going by Kane Powell started the petition on Change.org, which is often used to gain momentum for some really important and world-altering causes. And then there are these kinds of things, which are funny and extremely unlikely to happen, for a variety of reasons.
“Nobody has eaten the mona lisa and we feel jeff bezos needs to take a stand and make this happen,” the text of the petition states. And though movement in the petition’s first few days was slow, as of Monday things are ramping up. It’s seen enthusiastic support from those that have signed as well.
“This is the most important petition in modern times,” one commenter wrote. “Jeff Bezos needs to eat the Mona Lisa to save the world. Another was even more succinct, saying “gobble da lisa.”
There are a number of reasons Bezos will not eat the Mona Lisa, starting with the fact that it’s a priceless artwork. But given that he’s basically the richest person in human history, in theory he could make anything happen. That he’s chosen to do personal spaceflight and two-day shipping at the expense of a lot of non-union labor seems about as reasonable as buying and eating a painting, when you really think about it.
One could imagine a 500-year-old painting that’s been hanging in the Louvre since the 18th century would taste just awful, but perhaps this is some kind of punishment for Bezos doing nothing to help those struggling through the coronavirus pandemic. The petition originally asked for 5,000 signers, a number that’s been reached. What happens next? Well, that’s up to you now, isn’t it?