Leftism and humor

Karl Marx, the creator of Marxism

The writer James Thurber declared concerning leftism and humor:

“  |  The leftists have made a concerted attack on humor as an antisocial, antiracial, antilabor, antiproletarian stereotype,” Thurber wrote in 1960, “and they have left no stereotype unused in their attacks, from ‘no time for comedy’ to the grim warnings that humor is a sickness, a sign of inferiority complex, a shield and not a weapon.[1] |  ”

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Heywood Gould wrote in Heatstreet:

“  |  The left is trying to remake the world and feels immune to ridicule. It condemns humor as a bourgeois plot to make the oppressed laugh at and accept their exploitation.

Bernie Sanders admits he has a “bad sense of humor.” He won’t need it once his Revolution comes,

According to Marxist theorist Tom McLaughlin: “Under Socialism there will be no classes and consequently no class conflict. Humor will cease to reflect any objective reality and will wither away.”...

When Jerry Seinfeld revealed that fellow comedians had warned him away from colleges because they “were too PC,” he was savaged by the left media. Columnist Amanda Marcotte accused him of making excuses for being “a second rate hack.”[2]

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Grayson Quay wrote at The American Conservative website:

“  |  On May 8, the notoriously left-wing Vice ran an opinion piece by Harry Cheadle with the headline “‘SNL’ Cold Opens Are Unfunny, Elitist Pieces of Liberal Propaganda.” The piece went on to lambast these political segments for consisting almost entirely of “obvious applause lines” meant to reassure the “anti-Trump crowd” that all of their “knee-jerk impulses and prejudices are correct.” This is not satire. This is preaching to the choir, or, as Cheadle puts it, “spoon-feeding the audience their own spit-up.” Satire is under no obligation to mock all sides equally, and it certainly can and should take aim at particular targets. But it cannot be allowed merely to soothe its viewers into complacency. Most anti-Trump comedy exists only to remind liberals that everybody who matters already agrees with them and that anyone who doesn’t agree is crazy... This level of smugness, which bears just as much responsibility for Trump’s rise as Trump himself, is ripe for satire.[3] |  ”

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## Contents

* 1 Leftism, humor and mean-spiritedness
* 2 Secular leftism and humorlessness
* 3 See also
* 4 External links
* 5 Notes

## Leftism, humor and mean-spiritedness[edit]

Stephen Colbert performing a bit on The Daily Show

The conservative commentator and author David Limbaugh wrote:

“  |  Michelle Wolf is not the first so-called comic to maliciously insult conservatives and Republicans at a White House Correspondents' Association dinner, but she was intentionally mean-spirited, and even after the blowback, she's unrepentant.

Members of the liberal mainstream media have expressed disapproval over some of Wolf's comments, saying she went too far. But I'm not buying it. This is what passes as liberal humor these days. Just watch Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Maher and Stephen Colbert and tell me their humor is less malevolent.

But hold on, you say. There's a difference between late-night TV and a formal dinner pregnant with self-important dignitaries of the Washington press corps. Perhaps, but the point is there is a receptive constituency for this kind of bile. The organization had to have known what to expect from Wolf, and she admits she was just being herself that night. "If you've seen any of my comedy, you know that I don't -- I'm not (nice)," said Wolf. "I don't pull punches. I'm not afraid to talk about things."[4]

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## Secular leftism and humorlessness[edit]

See: Atheism and humorlessness

## See also[edit]

* Political satire
* Conservative humor and satire resources

* Comedy and satires about atheism and evolution

## External links[edit]

* Leftist comedians want you to think pedophilia is super funny, Washington Examiner

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ Notable & Quotable: The Humorless Left, From Stephen E. Kercher’s “Revel With a Cause: Liberal Satire in Postwar America.”, Wall Street Journal
2. ↑ Beyond a Joke: Why Millennials are Losing their Sense of Humor
3. ↑ How Donald Trump Killed Left-Wing Political Satire by Grayson Quay, The American Conservative website
4. ↑ Limbaugh: Sorry, Liberal Media, but You Own Michelle Wolf by David Limbaugh, The Spectrum (part of the USA Today network), 2018