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[sebastian_dangerfield]

From the Observations Desk:

I am of the opinion that almost every subject is quite funny in the right light. Even 9/11 jokes inevitably emerged, and Mel Brooks and Taika Waititi made the Holocaust into great comedy. Carlin famously made even rape funny by imagining Porky the Pig raping Elmer Fudd.

But it appears since 2016 or so, one type of thing has become unfunny to a lot of people: That which skewers one's "team," or "tribe."

Somewhat politically agnostic, I'm of the very common view that every politician, every party, every stance - and particularly positions and subjects that politically aware people deem most sacred and feel strongest about - are fair game for satire, mockery, absurdist revisiting. Because, well, the sacred can be profaned. And the profane and funny walk hand in hand.

If you've been exchanging jokes since 2016, however, you've seen a large number of people aligning their sense of humor to coincide with their political/social leanings.

Trump is objectively a joke whether you like him or not. One cannot ever treat this person with significant seriousness. I don't even think the man takes himself seriously. And yet, if one sends out a joke poking fun at him, roughly half the people to whom it is addressed will respond positively or laugh. The other half, whom we all know realize it is indeed funny, will nevertheless refrain from supporting it with a laugh. Because they support him. And vice versa. If one makes fun of Harris, the half that support her will not laugh, even if it is objectively funny. Same for Biden. His doddering about in his dotage was comical for a bit. And yet, half of people simply would not laugh at it.

I've heard this defended as such: "This election is just too important for anyone to make fun of my side... This is about saving democracy." You hear that from the left and the right. And it's not terribly persuasive. Making fun of one's own candidate is not the equivalent of voting for the opponent. One can and should laugh at one's own side when it is funny. There's no good reason not to do so.

I've also heard people say they won't laugh at jokes demeaning the left because that's countenancing right wing trolls "owning the libs." This is also not persuasive. "Owning the libs" jokes are rarely, if ever, funny. They're usually flat and not funny because they're just not a good quality of comedy.

But making fun of the right or left, when it's funny, should be laughed at by both sides. And I think one is a staggering bore, and perhaps mentally ill, to take a contrary position. It reminds me of people who can't separate the art from the artist. P Diddy is an apparent felonious sexual predator. But if his song is good, well, that's a different thing from the man. So if you like it, turn it up to 11. And I'm not eschewing Miramax films because of Harvey Weinstein's personal life.

To be unable to separate the art from the artist demonstrates a simplistic form of thinking consistent with low intellect. To be unable to laugh at one's own side as easily as one can laugh at the other shows something similar. And it's more than a bit depressing that so much of the country has accepted, or degraded into, this perspective.