A silly essay on conservatives and liberals

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I find this entire thread hilarious.

First of all, this should have been posted in another place. It is clearly a joke (and not a bad one at that). I like how all conservatives are evidently part of the redneck-republican-brigade, and I've known a lot of people like that -- a very good parody of that stereotype.

For most others here -- get a grip. This was a joke. ALL jokes are told at someone else's expense. What I really find funny is that I can't count the number of anti-conservative jokes I've seen on these boards. And now -- the very same neo-con bashing liberals are upset that joke is told at their expense? WTF? As has been said before on AoLS, you need thick skin to be here. Obviously, there are some here who can dish it out but can't take it. Righteous anger when their philosophy is the butt of a joke but amusement or indifference when it's 'the other side' is the target.

Fine. Those individuals should stay off AoLS.

 

Oh Contadictions!, American beer is (for the most part) "light" beer, ergo, America must be full of liberals.

 

T2,

I would agree with you if it were actually funny. It isn't - it's just insulting. Let me share with you one of my all-time favorite jokes (feel free to pass it on if you haven't heard it):

Totally one-sided, but cleverly written and true enough to be amusing to both sides.

Compare that to this:

Emphasis mine. Not busting your balls here, but please show me where I should have laughed at that, because I really missed the punchline.

Again - the problem isn't that it's one sided - though I do have a problem with people billing it as "poking fun at both sides." The problem is it's an infantile stereotype completely baseless in reality which, whether you'd like to admit it or not, many conservatives agree with wholeheartedly. And again, isn't even funny. If it were I would be chuckling along with you.

 

It does (usually, at least - see my comments below) when it’s meant to be funny, which this clearly was. The Anne Coulter examples you gave certainly didn’t come across as intending to be humourous, and even if they were, the “jokes” were inappropriate given the racial/religious overtones and complete insensitivity towards people who had lost their loved ones. Not to mention that anything Coulter says is crap anyway.

As T2 said, people make jokes about political affiliations and right-wing/left wing beliefs all the time, and I’ve never heard anyone successfully argue that those jokes are “inappropriate” (unless, of course, they include things like racial slurs, cracks about disabilities, etc.). Yes, I suppose one could argue that the comments about “girlie men” and the like could be interpreted as gender and/or sexual preference bashing, but I personally don’t see it that way (and those who know me know how offensive I find those sort of attacks).

 

Note: It's mostly the conservatives who find it funny, or that it's harmless. Gee, I wonder why?

Perhaps you should take your own advice....

 

@ Splunge,

How something is meant to be funny depends entirely on the audience it was intended for. The letter LKD posted was meant to be funny to fellow conservatives only. It takes a set of common conservative-held stereotypes about themselves (we're the strong, masculine providers who do all the work and protect our families) and of liberals (they're weak-kneed, effeminate, France-loving leeches who want something for nothing) and weaves it into a divisive diatribe rejoicing in its confirmation of those silly stereotypes. Clearly (to me, at least) this was meant for conservatives, by conservatives.

Which is fine, if that's what makes you laugh. But let's not call it something it's not, and it's not a well-intentioned poke at both sides. It's a wedge.

Another example:

Let's say you were black. What if I told you a joke about a smart white man who meets a dumb, watermellon-eating, lazy, food-stamp-hoarding, black guy. You tell me "hey, I'm offended by that and it's not funny." I say, "Oh come on, it was meant to be funny! Can't you take a joke? I mean, I poked fun at BOTH of 'em in the joke!"

Would you punch me in the face, or kick me in the nuts? And if both, which first?

[ September 07, 2007, 17:31: Message edited by: Death Rabbit ]

 

DR: There are a lot of jokes that I don't find funny at all. Although yours is quite good. I found the original post amusing -- just as I used to find the "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche" stuff quite amusing. It was immediately apparent to me the author was trying for the 'southern-redneck-macho man' as the conservative norm. For those who don't see it, such a ploy is also a stab at conservatives (and would be considered quite offensive to some conservatives I know). Granted, it is not as harsh as the liberal stereo-type used.

Humor is not universal. Different people simply do not find the same things funny. There is no universally funny joke as on Monty Python (who my wife cannot stand, but I find falling-down funny).

Face it, most jokes are about insulting someone. When we fall it's a tragedy, when when it happens to someone else, it's funny. That's just the way comedy is. Think of Bean, Monty Python, Benny Hill, Carol Burnett, Rodney Dangerfield, or Jackie Gleason -- in most comedy routines we laugh out loud because of someone's pain or misfortune (no matter how exaggerated it is).

Why should a joke be any different?

On second though this is actually a very good post for this board -- it has really brought up some interesting discussions.

Chandos: I never knew you cared so much about my well-being and inner peace.

 

Definitely. And you're right, humor is a pretty subjective concept. To wit: here are some choice quotes from my girlfriend, last year, when watching "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" for the first time:

"Why is he holding coconuts? That's just stupid."

"They just sound so...British."

"The duck would TOTALLY weigh less than that woman. That's just stupid."

"I agree with Dennis - the whole 'lady of the lake' story is pretty lame."

"Why are those trumpet things in their butts?"

"I could be watching Will & Grace right now, you know. I'm taking a nap."

She didn't laugh once. I cried for days.

 

Of course, T2.

 

@ DR:

I never claimed that the article poked fun at both sides.

The funny thing is, I could just as easily see this being written by a liberal for a liberal.

And as far as your black joke example goes, it focuses on race. Which I’ve already said is a no-no. So your analogy doesn’t really work. (But as an aside, I’d do both the things you described so fast it would seem they were actually done at the same time. )

Well, if this thread reinforces anything, it’s that different people find different things funny. Due to the extreme over-the-top nature of it, I saw the humour (and as I said, I’m basically a liberal); other liberals don’t. Of course, those that don’t are obviously overly-sensitive wimpy spineless crybabies.

 

...who believe the designated hitter was a good thing.

 

Right, but you're missing my point. Replace "white & black" with "American & Canadian," then if you don't like the race angle. If the joke contained only positive stereotypes about Americans that very few Americans would be really ashamed of (as this letter does), and baseless negative stereotypes about Canadians (and not just the funny, harmless stereotypes, like that you all play hockey and say "aboot"), most of your fellow Canadians would have a major problem with it, too - even if you wouldn't. Most conservatives I know (disclosure: I live in Texas) certainly consider themselves the hard-working, meat-eating, red-blooded, family-protectin' manly men described in the letter. I've never met a Liberal in my life who takes pride in getting "something for nothing."

[ September 07, 2007, 19:10: Message edited by: Death Rabbit ]

 

My point is that a joke can be funny or not, depending on the target. There are a number of groups that are considered taboo, and others that aren’t (and in fact the list of those that are off-limit can change over time). AFAIK, liberals/conservatives aren’t on the “do not touch” list at the moment, and so can be considered fair game. So then it simply comes down to whether one considers a particular joke to be funny or not, particularly if it’s one-sided, and that is just a matter of personal taste.

And all baseless negative stereotypes about Canadians are harmless. Aside, perhaps, from the one that suggests that we’re very similar to Americans.

 

Really? I'm not sure where you are seeing that...

 

Yep, I figured I should have explained that.

Basically, it could have been written by a liberal who wanted to write something so ridiculous that nobody could actually take it seriously, and in so doing, discredit the very stereotypes it contains.

In fact, who's to say it wasn't written by a liberal? After all, it was signed "Author Unknown". Yes, Charles Adler is conservative (I can't stand him, BTW), but that doesn't mean he (or another conservative) wrote it.

And I should clarify the last sentence in my previous post, in that the "harm" is that it's insulting to Americans.