Humourless Leftists
Like a game of Where’s Wally for simpletons, it’s never hard to spot those on the hard left of politics.
Janet’s right: some people just have no sense of humour. Janet’s wrong: it’s not just those on the “hard left” who lack it. Says Janet:
But if you don’t much care for the philosophy, you can at least share the joke.
Damn stright. But why does Janet suggest that it’s only the “Left” who are humourless? Let’s do her a favour and collect some examples of humourless conservatives. Have at it.
That’s easy, Bolt’s treatment of Spot the biggerdog springs to mind. Although a lot of the posts on conservative blogs would be funny if the posters were not so serious.
well, bolt/blair failure to understand Catherine Deveny’s humour comes to mind. in fact such was the extent that they couldn’t get it, the only conclusion they could arrive at was she had some kind of mental illness – now said to be false by deveny herself.
what is it with teh Right not having a sense of humour?
Podrick – perhaps a lot of the posts on conservative blogs ARE funny, but you’re the one without a sense of humour.
I don’t recall Janet having much of a sense of humour when she was exposed by Media Watch fraudulently adding her own words to a quote from a French professor so that his meaning was turned on its head.
Gerard Henderson is possibly the most humourless commentator in Australia.
Miranda Devine and Paul Sheehan are frequently hysterically funny but never when they are trying to be funny…..
Given the bundle of laughs that Janet is I’m sure she finds The Daily Show and The Colbert Report absolutely hilarious. I know I do.
So Scubsteve, are you saying that when conservatives makes statements such as:
John Howard was a great and honourable statesman.
We need Costello controlling the levers of the economy, at least he knew what he was doing.
That they are really just taking the piss and that the 11 years of the Howard Govt were just a big joke played on the people of Australia.
Fark, I never realised that the Liberals were such funny buggers.
Nope. Not saying that at all. They believe those statements, as is their right.
Humour, much like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. I’ve seen many other comments on Bolt’s blog where I see the intended humour, yet commenters here do not. I suspect the opposite is true.
Turning your comment around. Kevin Rudd is a great and honourable statesman.
You probably think that’s a correct and true statement, I find it hilariously funny.
There’s a story on the Huff Post about Republicans not getting the fact that the Colbert Report is a joke
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/27/colbert-study-conservativ_n_191899.html
In a study on how the left and right viewed The Colbert Report…
…”conservatives were more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements”.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/27/colbert-study-conservativ_n_191899.html
Personally, I think that it is more wishful thinking on the part of conservative. Let’s face it there are just about zero right wing political satirist out there. He’s the best they can hope for.
The stupid thing about this is that it has nothing to do with whether or not “the Left” or “the Right” has a sense of humour, it’s about whether you find it funny when someone takes the piss out of someone you like. Not many people do. End of story.
I agree with Lloyd @ 4. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gerard smile.
I was going to take this article down myself, but Mark James did a pretty great job in the Comments…
Uh? Janet, you seem to be saying that O’Rourke is funny because he pokes fun at the Left, but when Saville pokes fun at people attending an O’Rourke concert, that means the Left haven’t got a sense of humour? Isn’t it possible to find both O’Rourke and Saville funny, or neither of them funny? If you find Saville funny but not O’Rourke, does that mean the Right haven’t got a sense of humour?
.
And Janet, you accuse your nemesis of being po-faced and humourless for not being in stitches over the latest O’Rourke hilarity, but I recall a very po-faced, humourless opinion piece written by yourself in January 2007 entitled CONSERVATISM IS NO LAUGHING MATTER – http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21002757-32522,00.html. You may remember, you had a bit of a hissy fit because of what you perceived to be a left-wing bias amongst cartoonists, and because none of the cartoons featuring John Howard were very funny anyway.
.
Back then, you said “THERE ARE NO CONSERVATIVE FUNNY MEN, OR WOMEN, IN AUSTRALIA”, and that “THERE IS A NATURAL LEFTIST HABITAT FOR THE CARTOONING KIND”, and you asked, apparently straight-faced, “WHY APPARENTLY ONLY ONE SIDE OF POLITICS DOES LAMPOONABLE THINGS?” Um, I think you’ve answered this question of yours in your opinion piece today.
#10 Spot on. Most comedians are left leaning so by default you would expect the left to be funnier. Yet many have been struggling to find political humour now the left is dominating politics. Things are getting better. “Rudd PM” on Rove is one example. John Clarke and Bryan Dawe on the 7.30 Report aren’t shy at having a crack at Rudd and Swan, much to the wincing pain of Kerry O’Brien, which I find more hilarious than the skit. Comedians were cautious about Obama jokes. The Daily Show is paving the way there.
Comedians were cautious about Obama jokes. The Daily Show is paving the way there.
don’t know about more cautious – never saw evidence of it myself, and I watch most of the US evening comedy shows. as for the Daily Show paving the way, Bill Maher was the first i saw to be brutal with obama, and constantly reiterates “loyal to the principle rather than the person” as a way of sticking it to the bush luvvies.
generally I think the left are better at faulting our own and making fun of our own, whereas you hardly ever see the right doing either. witness the ‘born to rule’ mentality of the republicans who are just losing it in the US at the moment, and in australia the liberals desperately trying to stay relevent by making themselves the story and pwning themselves into the bargain. Albrechtsen’s po-face at the person at o’rourkes lecture is another example. the hysterics from bolt, ackerman and co yet another.
“…much to the wincing pain of Kerry O’Brien…”
As if.
IMHO the lefties tend to have a great sense of humour. We have to, in order to survive the pious twaddle handed out to us.
OTOHand, the po-faced rictus of the born to rule mob was superbly demonstrated by John Winston Howard. Need I say more?
#16 – I really can’t tell if you’re trying to be funny or you’re serious.
For your sake, I hope that’s just sarcasm. If you’re serious, then those comments really highlight the lack of humour from the left and I pity you.
…and I pity you.
No you don’t.
#16 – having reread my post at #17 I should apologise. There was no need to be so critical and I’ve displayed the exact same lack of humour I accused you of.
However, I do hope your post was sarcastic and you don’t really believe that. Perhaps I just didn’t get the joke.