Dear Friends,
It seems to me, we live in a time that is offended by comedy. The elite understand their actions and platforms make them ideal targets. Like all arrogant spoiled children, they’re a raw nerve. Such people take offense at the least provocation but dish it out like its a free turkey dinner. The people I am referring to are globalist progressives. They would hound a rodeo clown to destitution for wearing an Obama mask but rationalize outright calls for assassination of Trump. The hypocrisy of such people is astonishing. What makes then the acme of what Bonhoeffer defined as stupid is their lack of discernment how their policies achieve the exact opposite of their goals. To such humorless people, comedy is acid in the face, and they would rather throw it than catch it.
Humor is a release mechanism when societal pressure gets high. We pick on the source of the pressure and in doing so lower it somewhat. This is especially true when censorship is putting people in jail for wrongthink longer than murder or rape. Such government absurdity generates huge amounts of societal tension. Humor in such a situation lowers the temperature and so the pressure. As the globalist progressive faction clings to power, like a drowning man to driftwood, they are in no mood to be made sport of. That’s when the elites lose all tolerance for comedy. In this way comedy becomes a one way street. Comedians can pick on one side but the other is off limits. If you see this, it’s a sure sign the globalist progressives have lost patience with humor.
People who are a raw nerve have little patience for correction, especially by being a laughingstock. Those who are easily offended usually are also not wise. They see humor as always caustic and never correcting. Though human societies have used humor to keep people inside guardrails forever. I’m sure Archimedes was the target of many a jabs until he successfully defended Syracuse from the Romans with his inventions. Just as Socrates was the subject of the play The Clouds, by Aristophanes. Ridicule has not only pushed at the innovators but scalded the despots and favorers of arbitrary rule. I’m sure many a joke was fashioned about Alcibiades, Coriolanus, and Stalin. Though, should a Stalin joke meet his ears, heads would fall off. Stalin was the acme of a raw nerve.
When you know your in the wrong, you don’t like to have it pointed out, even in jest. While an adult will admit when they find themselves in the wrong. Mature people understand human beings are fallible… including themselves. They are human beings and thus are fallible. The arrogant believe themselves infallible, however. This means that when they find themselves in the wrong they double down until violence becomes necessary to save face. This happens to even the most intelligent. The smarter someone is, the greater the absurdity they can rationalize, but there comes a point where it can’t be rationalized anymore, it has to be forced. So force is used. Ridicule, however, undermines the authority not only of the raw nerves, but of their underlings.
This brings us to why the globalist progressives so detest humor. Not only are they children with raw nerves, they fear their power is at stake should they allow their absurdity to be laughed at… and they’re right. That’s why any joke about the Dear Leader in North Korea is met with immediate public execution. The more absurd the lies, the less tolerance there is of pointing them out. This is why comedy is becoming illegal. If this isn’t proven, it’s at least strongly suggested by the fact the police in Europe are being pulled from rape, murder, and terrorism investigations, and instead dedicated to controlling wrong speak. What’s worse than a rolling societal disaster, out of control crime, and a collapsing standard of living? Pointing it out.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
