32 Comments

When half the country trusts their political leaders to tell them who to pray to, and their religious leaders who they should vote for, yeah, I’m ready for a good laugh!

Expand full comment

You can't beat Barack Obama's hand gestures when he mentioned Trump's obsession with crowd size. The gesture was subtle -- small, you might say -- but the point was clear and true.

Expand full comment

I laughed so much at that -- it was great. I love the big O!

Expand full comment

I laughed. It was only a little bit funny :)

Expand full comment

I thought his wife's Black Job clap back was on par.

Watch this interview with Jasmine Crockett on MSNBC.https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/simone-biles-trolls-trump-i-love-my-black-job-216312389748

Expand full comment
Aug 22·edited Aug 22

Linda, thank you! I ADORE Jasmine Crockett. Watch her here when Tim Snyder and others testified to Congress about Chinese and Russian propaganda, and Crockett outed Marjorie Taylor Greene for spreading Putin’s lies about Ukraine. She is brilliant, sassy, all around fabulous, and a truth teller. She was great at the DNC and I wish I could watch her in action more often. https://youtu.be/VoQZjUCT6bU?t=12126

Expand full comment

Thanks Laura. I love Jasmine Crockett too. I am glad she likes her Black job!

Expand full comment

“The medium is the message.” Marshall Mccluhan. Couldn’t understand what it meant until my prof in media studies class said, “Just laugh, you’ll get it!”

Rightly so!

Expand full comment

Ruth Ben.Ghiat: You are at the top of great scholars in history I read — I love and re-read your „Italian Fascism‘s Empire Cinema“ (11 February 2015, Indiana University Press) https://ruthbenghiat.com/2020/02/italian-fascisms-empire-cinema/

— and I love that you bring us HILARITY, which triggers the other side, and which their narcissists cannot understand.

That with the bribes and shithole — OMG!! RIGHT ON!

Expand full comment

You are obviously right! And when Barack Obama made that hand gesture to accompany his remark about people who are 'obsessed about crowd size" I nearly fell off my chair! Such satisfaction in seeing him put into words and a gesture what has been obvious for so long!

Expand full comment

My great-aunt in a small town in Germany had a dachshund with a congenitally lame paw. Once she made the mistake of calling him: "Komm her, Goebbels." A neighbor heard her and threatened to turn her in to the local Gestapo if she didn't pay him 500 Reichsmark. My father paid. They were lucky that time; a prelude of what was to come.

Once a population has internalized the fascist mindset, humor can be very dangerous indeed. Although I love the inventiveness of people like Sarah Cooper and the Chilean gallows humor in buoying up people's spirits, I do wonder what effect ridicule has on the true believers.

Expand full comment

None. But they are, at most, 15% of R voters (that's being generous).

Sarah Cooper is for the rest of us -- 85% -- who are willing to learn. We will win.

Expand full comment

What I meant was whether ridiculing hardened them.

Expand full comment

My mother's oldest sister went to school during Nazi times and when the rest of the children in class were saying, "Heil Hitler!" at the beginning of the day, she and her friend said, "Heil Mussolini!" So, they were called to the principals office and asked why they had said that. It was because my aunt's friend's father said it at home all the time, but because they knew her dad was really strict and my grandfather was not, my aunt said it was because her father said it at home. Now there is no discussion of why this was said by the friend's father, but my grandfather was taken off by the Gestapo. They wanted to investigate whether he was a Jew, so our family had to come up with documents far back to prove he was not. That is why we have our family tree and documents to show it back to 1642, because of these times. My grandmother thought she would never see her husband again, and my grandfather, who had been a director of a college lost his job, since he was not a party member, and he became a carpenter. I always wondered why the friend's dad said that.

Expand full comment

Good question. It was certainly no joke to be nonconforming at that time, and any slip could land you in trouble. "Heil Mussolini" might have sounded like Jewish irony to whoever was empowered to make those judgements.

Expand full comment

Five examples of mockery against MAGA Republicans and their supporters.

10 Pro Tips To Price Gouge More

https://thedemlabs.org/2024/08/15/pro-tips-to-price-gouge/

9 Ways To Insult Veterans

https://thedemlabs.org/2024/08/10/9-ways-to-insult-veterans/

Want to travel the world in luxury, but not sure where to go? Check out this interactive guide for ideas:

"Clarence Thomas’ Billionaire-Funded Luxury Trips: Putin’s Hometown and Beyond!"

https://thedemlabs.org/2024/07/12/mapping-clarence-thomas-billionaire-funded-luxury-trips-putins-hometown-and-beyond/

10 Signs Trump and Vance Are Both Weird and Scared

https://thedemlabs.org/2024/08/05/trump-vance-weird-creepy-scared-10-signs/

Are they really that weird? Look for these 10 signs.

https://thedemlabs.org/2024/07/30/ten-signs-trump-vance-are-weird/

Expand full comment

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to George Conway. Also, he mentioned "Downfall", the movie about Hitler's last days. It's long...2 1/2 hours but very powerful. George said that Hitler, losing touch with reality in those final days, made him think of Trump.

Expand full comment

I just love Sarah Cooper! When she mimes Trump’s words, you can see what a word salad he creates!

Expand full comment

If Republicans ask why we’re laughing, tell them to go look in the mirror!

Expand full comment

I’ve been sharing Lucid essays on Facebook; the powers that be on Facebook remove them as “violating community standards.”

Expand full comment

Good mental hygiene too!

Expand full comment

My very favorite example of ridiculing humor is what Barack Obama did last night with his hands, demonstrating crowd size. Dean Obeidallah postulated that the hands were about more than just crowd size - and watching Obama's eyes at the end when he did it, made it clear to me that Dean was right. Now that gets trump right where he lives! Loved it.

Expand full comment

Narcissists do not have a sense of humor, too busy contemplating how their lies affect the chess board at hand. Humor messes with them and their time.

Expand full comment

DJT is very capable of dishing it out but is a "baby" when criticisms are thrown back at him. Like any bully, when you push back they acquiesce. DJT is a deeply flawed human being.

Expand full comment

Those that feel that they are demigods, take criticism very poorly. Psychopathic/sociopathic leaders have killed many people, as a means to repair their egos after the criticism. They believe that they are perfect, so any criticism is totally unwarranted. When criticizing tRump, we see his mask of normalcy come off and we get a glimpse of the monster hiding beneath.

Expand full comment
founding

Years ago, I questioned Thomas Frank: (What's the Matter with Kansas, Listen Liberal) "How do we counter lies and denigration without becoming them?" His answer: "Ridicule them with the truth."

Expand full comment