Old farts like me remember the days of sanity. Sanity began eroding when “political correctness” entered our culture and finally collapsed after Occupy Wall Street. Since then, there’s been a paradigm shift in comedy.
Pre-“political correctness”, and for most of human history, probably, most humor was “punching down”. The in-group would make jokes about the out-group. The in-group is the majority of that group, town, state, country, etc. The out-group are the others.
We’ll frame this in the America I grew up in as a straight white man. This was the culture of Ohio in the 80s, 90s and aughts.
- Straights made jokes about gays.
- Whites made jokes about minorities and other whites.
- Men made jokes about women.
- Guys called their friends “retards” when they did something dumb.
But, wait! Where I grew up wasn’t “multicultural”, but we had a decent amount of non-straight non-white non-males in our proximity. Of my three social circles in high school, we had a member or two of these groups. Also, men of my mother’s bloodline tend to kick the bucket early, so I grew up around a lot of grandmothers, aunts and nieces.
From that perspective…
- Gays made jokes about straights.
- Minorities made jokes about whites and other minorities.
- Women made jokes about men.
There’s one major difference between these groups teasing each other. The in-group could do it openly for the most part and the out-group had to accept it with grace. If the out-group made a joke about the in-group and the in-group heard, some would laugh and some would be upset. The difference is a simple dynamic of power: the majority rule, the minority drool. History has always been this way.
With the rise of “political correctness”, punching down was considered bad form. The days of Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr ripping on their in-group and other out-groups were over. Comedians and friends still make those jokes, but the amount of in-group backlash has increased dramatically. In 2025, if I dropped an n-bomb or gay-bomb amongst polite company of my in-group, many would be abhorred.
The propagandists are smart people. They realized humanity will always crave an outlet for humor and a sense of superiority through teasing or making fun of other groups. Where we once “punched down”, now we “punch up” to sate that hunger. The vast, vast majority of the time, the only acceptable groups to make jokes about are whites, men, conservatives or the wealthy (provided they vote Republican). The propagandists’ organization of society is based on “privilege”, or how easily opportunities are afforded to a group.
In a majority white country like America, these groups are “privileged”, thus an acceptable target for “punching up”.
Consider these two real-life scenarios…
1) A decade ago, Hillary Clinton, during a rally in Reno, NV, told a story about having a lie-detecting dog that would bark upon hearing Republican lies. She then said, “arf arf arf”. She made a joke. There was zero to little blow back.
Later, at a Trump rally, some member of the crowd made the same “arf arf arf” sound and Trump responded, “Was that Hillary?” Again, he made a joke. However, the mainstream media tore into Trump, claiming, “Trump hates women”, “Trump loves insulting women”, “Trump has no respect for women”, etc. Trump, being a straight white conservative male, isn’t allowed to “punch down”, per the propagandists.
2) During the Covid-era, Jimmy Kimmel Live! showed the titular comedian make a joke about how hospitals should prioritize the well-being of Covid vaccine recipients over the unvaccinated. If memory serves, he said, “enjoy your horse paste dewormer (Ivermectin), wheezy”. His joke was that the unvaccinated should fend for themselves and shouldn’t receive professional medical care in an emergency.
Which joke seems more harmful? Using a woman’s soundbite against her or lending no aid to the unvaccinated? If you’re normal, you’re right in thinking the latter.
Kimmel’s joke was deemed hilarious and acceptable by the mainstream media. During the Covid years, those unvaccinated against Covid were lumped into the “basket of deplorables” with others considered “privileged”. In reality, it was more targeted attacks against those considered “up”.
The natural order of society is to “punch down” but the propagandists have inverted this dynamic. The mainstream media has added numerous groups to the “privileged” label, when it only meant “wealthy” in the past. If you’re considered “privileged”, you are the enemy of the propagandists.
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