About the laughing last night

[senseandsensibility]

It confirmed something I've known for decades. Rightwingers have no sense of humor. To them, it's funny to hate and ridicule others, but other than that, they just don't "do" humor. No sense of irony, sarcasm. or most of all, no ability to laugh at oneself. Absolutely none.

I remember back in the 90's when standup was really big, I went to a local live comedy club with a guy on a first (and last) date. He was a rightwinger and he heckled the performer, stepped on his timing, and showed generally no awareness of humor at all. Of course the performer made mincemeat of him since he was a clever human being,and used to being heckled. However, the righwing dude didn't even know he was being a fool of. I was so embarrassed.

[Wounded Bear]

1. RW version of humor generally involves someone getting hurt in some way...

especially if the person getting hurt/attacked is someone they think is less than them.

[Conjuay]

10. Three Stooges comes to mind...

[Wounded Bear]

15. Thing is, I can't watch them like I used to...

[grumpyduck]

2. I didn't watch, but wondering if

the laughing was enhanced, like canned applause and laughter on sitcoms.

IOW, tell the viewers what's supposed to be funny and what they should laugh at. Because they can't figure it out for themselves.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

42. It is the canned laughter that makes it almost impossible to watch

sitcoms. I do NOT need to be told what's funny. If you think you must tell me, it's probably not all that funny in the first place.

[GenXer47]

3. great point

Humor is such a great indicator of someone's intellect, worldview, and soul.
I always tell my young adult children to date people who can laugh with you.

[erronis]

19. And beware a prospective spouse/partner that delights in laughing at you.

That's a tell-tale sign of abuse - might be non-physical but it is demeaning and controlling.

[housecat]

41. absolutely!

[Jerry2144]

4. RW "humor"

Punches down at the powerless to make the RW feel better. Real humor punches up at the powerful or at life in general

[RegulatedCapitalistD]

8. As LBJ said...

If you can convince the lowest White man he is better than the best Colored man...he won't notice you picking his pocket. Give him someone to look down on...and he will empty his pockets for you.

[senseandsensibility]

11. So sad when you think about it

but I am done trying to "understand" them. They choose to be this way.

[RegulatedCapitalistD]

13. Because they are Racist, Sexist Bigots

they will choose to follow anyone that will convince them they can stop the White Majority from going away.....They will sell their souls and first born children to prevent having to be the "people on the bottom" that they like to look down on and ridicule....

[agingdem]

53. Trump, being the amoral pig that he is, last nights

Last edited Thu May 11, 2023, 06:59 PM - Edit history (2)

"performance" was no surprise...if Chris Licht was so intent on giving Trump a platform to spew his toxic bilge, then he should have had a male moderator...Trump is a gutter scum misogynist asshole so it was obvious from the get-go Trump was going to dare Collins to take him on, to shut him up...I think if Tapper, Cooper, or Berman were in the moderator chair instead of Collins, Trump would have had a more difficult time rolling over any one of them...as for the audience, I found the Trump-humping voters as loathsome and vile as Trump himself..if his disgusting shtick had been met with silence and gasps of horror instead of clapping and laughing, the tenor would have been quite different... just my opinion

[hibbing]

5. They ALWAYS punch down, it's disgusting

But something in their fans' character loves that shit. I guess it makes them feel better about themselves.

Peace

[senseandsensibility]

7. Yes, so revealing

about who they truly are.

[enough]

6. Also, they instinctively crave joining the pack barking when women are insulted.

They need it.

[senseandsensibility]

17. Yes, the sexism

is a driving force rivaling the racism.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

9. Hunter Thompson once wrote of Nixon

And his attempts to re-brand himself for re-election, paraphrasing:
“The Richard Nixon I knew was utterly humorless. I couldn’t imagine him laughing at anything, except maybe a paraplegic who tries to vote democratic but can’t quite reach the voting lever…”

Fascist find cruelty to be funny. Cruelty, pain and injustice. As long as it’s not them. Real humor frequently goes right over their heads. Not all the time, though.

[senseandsensibility]

12. That's quite a quote

and evidence that this trait was in place well before tfg.

[Mr.Bill]

26. Another Thompson quote about Nixon:

"Nixon was so crooked he needed servants to help him screw his pants on in the morning."

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. Remember Trump mocking the disabled reporter?

He thought it was funny and he knew his fans would too. As Hillary said, "a basket of deplorable".

[hibbing]

29. I thought that would be the end, but nope n/t

[FakeNoose]

16. I agree, they have no sense of humor, and I believe it's a lack of self-awareness

For Chump it's way more than that. His malignant narcissism will not allow him to acknowledge another person's ridicule. It just makes him angrier and even more vengeful. Therefore he has no friends, and his own family can barely stand him.

[PJMcK]

18. Your second sentence

Right wingers have no sense and no humor.

[Diamond_Dog]

20. I had a right wing cousin

Who loved to make fun of people’s nationalities, that whole family thought it was funny. Like how some people whose native language is not English will pronounce certain words. Or make fun of their names. They all had sort of a mean spirited sense of humor. I never found it the least bit funny.

[Midnight Writer]

21. They've weaponized laughter.

[underpants]

22. Seinfeld and irony/sarcasm

I used to use those to determine who I was talking to if I didn’t know them. They will proudly announce that they’ve never watched Seinfeld (especially when it was on in the 90’s). Not sure if it’s a Jewish thing or not.

Then I’d throw in same sarcasm or irony. I’m not expect laughter but usually people will sort of nod or give some sign that they got it. Not republicans. Stone faced. Doesn’t register with them.

[CrispyQ]

23. My experience over the years has been the same.

People I've known who tend toward conservatism are generally not as funny or as appreciative of humor in others. And they never do self-deprecating humor, oh no.

Our cartoonists stomp theirs, but then they do provide a ton of material.

[Diamond_Dog]

24. I don't watch any right wing tv obviously

But my sister thinks Gutfield’s show is hilarious. Can anyone describe to me what it is. Thanks in advance.

[More_Cowbell]

25. "Trump has no sense of humor" column

This post reminded me of that.

https://thehobbledehoy.com/2019/03/08/british-writer-pens-the-best-description-of-trump-ive-read/

[Maeve]

32. That is an amazingly good take on tfg

Thank you for the reminder

[Rhiannon12866]

27. Has anyone ever seen TFG genuinely laugh??

RWers dispense cruelty, not humor.

[ShazzieB]

37. No.

He does a sort of laugh-like thing when he's making fun of people he doesn't like, but it's not a genuine laugh.

His idea of "humor" consists of making fun of people, putting people down, and kicking/stomping people when he thinks they're down. The meaner, the better. He tries to build himself up by tearing other people down, and his followers eat it up.

He makes me sick, and his fans make me even sicker. His behavior is obviously driven by his underlying pathology, and I'm baffled when I see people accepting it at face value, like there's not something profoundly wrong with it and with him.

[appleannie1]

28. To understand wit, sarcasm or dry humor requires intelligence. Others just don't get it.

[Quakerfriend]

30. My hunch, as I watched them laugh, was that they were paid & prepped as

to exactly how to react prior to the town hall.

It all seemed a bit too coordinated, imo.

[NotVeryImportant]

31. Rightwingers, aka Conservatives believe in punching down.

That's their form of humor.

[NoSheep]

33. I agree. They really don't know how to have a good time and appreciate peacefulness with others

[SouthernDem4ever]

34. You have to be willing to tell the truth to be humorous

Since right wingers live in a constant lie, nothing is really funny.

[pwb]

35. Everything trump does is a staged event. Paid applauders and disrupters.

.

[SalviaBlue]

52. I believe you are correct.

[Sympthsical]

36. Ideologues in general have terrible humor

Less a Right vs. Left thing than a Super Partisan vs. Regular Person thing.

There's a strain of comedy that panders to the political beliefs or ideology of the audience. Plenty of comedians cut their teeth on it. They're celebrated and promoted. They're shared around.

But they're not funny.

They rely entirely on clapter - when the audience laughs and applauds because they agree with it - not because it's funny.

It's ruining comedy a bit. When I know I'm watching a Clapter, I tune out quickly. It's like Hannah Gadsby. I had LGBT friends insisting that I, kind of a connoisseur of stand up and a gay individual myself, would find her hilarious and awesome and Nanette is so amazing.

Seriously, one of the most painful hours of my life. Just awkward and uncomfortable - and not in that "she's making you think" sort of way. No, it was more like watching a damaged person spiraling, and you just kind of hope they find a good therapist soon. She is many things, but I wouldn't call her a comedian. Performance artist or storyteller, sure. But that was not comedy.

And let's not forget it's our side that spends a lot of time crafting rules - oftentimes on the fly or after the fact - about what should and should not be allowed, with a Twitter mob always trying to run people out of town when they don't obey their made up edicts.

That ain't comedy either.

Right-wing. I dunno. I'm not sure what I'd categorize as right-wing comedy. I know there are comedians I love who are somewhat liberal but who would be called right-wing here because of their jokes.

Humor is subjective, of course. But oftentimes, the most highly political people are not very entertaining - even though they'll insist they're hilarious. It's usually clapter. "And then I said Trump is orange! AHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!!"

And it's like, just kill me now.

Cleverness and insightful are generally the universals. And anyone can be that regardless of politics.

[senseandsensibility]

51. Do you have any examples of conservatives you find funny?

I'm genuinely curious.

[Sympthsical]

54. None I'd mention here

If I did, it'd get twisted into my agreeing with everything they've said or done, which is very far from the case.

There's a kind of right-wing Onion type publication. Not hard to guess if you're familiar. I disagree with maybe 99% of their politics.

But they are truly hilarious sometimes. There was a bit this morning about Title 42 expiring. Snorted coffee into my nose once I saw it. Disagree with the politics motivating them, but it was a deeply funny bit if seen through that lens.

[Warpy]

38. That's the kind of date that would have me getting up to go to the ladies'

and quietly asking the server if it was possible to duck out through the back, a dark alley being preferable to a right winger.

That only came up once. I was a fast learner.

I've noted for years that conservative "humor" always involves other people getting hurt or humiliated, what my mother called "pie-in-the-face" humor. It's why conservative standup is so unfunny. They're OK in sitcoms as straight men, but that's it.

[ToxMarz]

39. They seem to confuse being the loudest as being funniest, and smartest

and all the other "-est's"

[Marthe48]

40. I have heard it described as victim humor

Perfect description

[Mira]

43. They also have no appreciation

for art or what is esthetically beautiful.

[housecat]

44. The difference between satire and insults

[diva77]

45. My guess is that part of the reason rightwingers lack a sense of humor is that

a lot of humor requires abstract thinking and I don't see rightwingers as being well-equipped in that department. They only rise to the level of concrete thinking (if any kind of thinking at all).

[ancianita]

46. Theirs was also what's called 'the laugh of recognition.' That was their man. They recognized.

Theirs was a laugh of relief, even cynical humor, the kind that reminds them who can 'own the libs' and create the white supremacist future they desire.

[Caliman73]

47. Well, not "no sense of humor" just a really messed up sense of what "humor" is.

Humor is subjective. It is essentially, "what makes us laugh". Certainly there are aspects of humor that seem to be much more common and accepted by larger groups of people. There are also some very niche ideas about humor that many would not necessarily find funny, but some would.

As you said, for liberals and anyone not far right, we tend to see the humorous as "the absurdities of life" or things within ourselves as humans that create a sense of empathy, sympathy, or self deprecation. We make fun of ourselves and people who are more powerful than we are.

Conservatives and those further right, have at their core, the desire to maintain the status quo and their hold on power. Their "comedy" is directed at "non conformance" and "non compliance". They target the "underdogs" and make fun of people who are "different", which usually comes off as cruel. They tend to lack nuance and definitely have a less developed sense of putting themselves in other people's shoes. They tend to think that "the world" sees things as they do, but are maybe "too scared" to be honest about it. That leaves them with a very narrow idea of what is funny.

The laughter about E. Jean Carroll was certainly emblematic of that mindset. Trump blamed Carroll for "allowing" him to do what he did to her before turning and denying that he did anything to her. He "slut shamed" her then went back to the lie of not knowing her, despite clear evidence that he did know her and found her at least as attractive as his former wife (the one he cheated on Ivanna with). Of course Sexual Assault is not about "attraction" but about power, which again, his deposition proved that is in his mindset. To Trump, "She let me do it" because he is Donald Trump, and "when you are a celebrity, they let you do it...." He mocks disabled people and his supporters laugh.

There was a comedian who gained some popularity in the early to mid 2000's. He has Cerebral Palsy. He used his own disability as a source of his comedy, which can be very funny because WE as people related to the vulnerability although we can't really understand what it is like to not have much control over what our bodies literally do (in movement). One of his funny jokes was about the multiple bladed razors that became popular, like the Gillette Mach 3 and 5 bladed razors that followed. He said something like, "Every time they add another blade, it lower my chance of survival by 33%..." to roars of laughter. Why? because we can see the perspective at that moment of the absurdity and danger of adding another blade for "more comfort and efficiency" through his eyes. When Trump made fun of the reporter, who I believe also has CP or maybe Parkinson's Disease, he was making fun of him FOR HAVING that condition, "because is isn't normal". That is the difference. The humanity, the relatedness, the connection. Conservative humor is about "the power" and punishing or wanting to punish those who do not hold that power.

It is humor, but gross and sick humor.

[LaMouffette]

48. Remember when President Obama poked fun at the Orange Anus at the White House

Correspondents Association Dinner in 2016? If "The Donald" had had one iota of a sense of humor, he might never have run for president and we would not be where we are today.

[link:

|

[tiredtoo]

49. A visiting nurse asked me if i was offended easily

Thinking she was going to tell me either a dirty joke or one about men i said no. She proceeded to tell me a racist joke. I did not laugh and told her that did offend me. She apologized but the damage had been done.
I told this story to a group of people at my house one day. They wanted to know what the joke was so I told them. There were 8 people there and only the two I suspected as being racist laughed.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

50. Remember their version of "The Daily Show?"

It was called "The Half Hour Comedy Hour." It was pathetic. I think it lasted about six weeks.