Is it Just Me...

[Yaoi_Huntress_Earth]

Or does a lot of neo-con entertainment come off as just plain nasty? I've recently came across The Leftersons comic strip and could only read two strips before becoming disgusted and Malad Philmore just isn't funny no matter how hard tries and comes off as snide. And now there's the Traitors of America card deck. Just because these people don't kiss George Bush's ass and most of them without being violent or overly cruel, mentioned their disgust. Let's not forget that neo-con ice cream company with the hateful names for their flavors. It just makes me want to throw up at how childish and cruel people can be.
Then again, playing the devil's advocate I'm sure there's some neo-cons that could say the same about The Boondocks (which I like and have had the pleasure of listening to the creator talk at my college) and Doonsberry (which I never was much of a fan of) or think Ben and Jerry's is a bunch of "liberal hippie crap." Then again, I don't get that feeling of hatefulness or snide attitude that I get from neo-con stuff. What do you guys think?
Love,
Yaoi Huntress Earth

[XNASA]

1. I think this belongs in GD.

I know you're new here, but this thread belongs in GD.

Welcome to DU, BTW.

Oh, and I think you're right.

[rock]

2. Conservatives don't have a sense of humor

I'm not trying to be funny, just stating a fact. Conservatives 'just don't get' a lot of stuff and their attempt at humor always leaves askin, "Huh?". And Welcome stranger. Now that you know where we are, visit often.

[stopthegop]

3. you don't get the feeling of hatefulness from leftie

stuff because you agree with it...face it..Boondocks is frequently very harsh/hateful to the right...just doesn't offend those on the left...

[Yaoi_Huntress_Earth]

4. Hmm...

Good point. As I said before, it's in the eye of the beholder when someone else looks at it.
Love,
Yaoi Huntress Earth

[damnraddem]

5. To some degree, one's appreciation of humor is ...

related to one's politics and that of the humor.

Still, some conservatives have had truly-humorous works. The trash you cited is just that: it is not at all humorous. Compare it to a comic strip of old, such as 'Pogo' or 'Lil Abner' -- which expressed sometimes-conservative views and dumped on 'radicals' but which were truly funny. I still remember the SWINE acronym: 'Students Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything.' It was unfair to student protesters, but it was also funny. By contrast, Mallard Fillmore just doesn't fly.

And by the way, I have always loved Doonesbury, and still do.

[starroute]

6. One useful formula I've seen . . .

. . . is that a lot of humor depends on relative power levels.

When the poor and excluded make fun of the rich and powerful, that's funny. When the rich and powerful make the same kind of fun of the poor and excluded, that's just mean.

The ambiguous cases are the ones that fall in the middle -- are left-wing Hollywood stars or spoiled neo-hippie college students fair game? Perhaps they are, but only if they're trying to have things both ways and enjoy a privileged position at the same time that they're presenting themselves as oppressed and abused.

No one who is either genuinely suffering or sincerely on the side of those who suffer can be mocked without cruelty.