• Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    There were, and are, funny conservative comedians. Norm McDonald is the first one who comes to mind, but there have been others.

    Examples would be P. J. O’Rourke, Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, Jeff Foxworthy, Louie Anderson, and my personal favorite, Mike Nelson of Rifftrax and MST3K.

    The thing is, none of those comedians were especially political with their humor, or if they were, they hit everyone’s politics, and none of them punched down. They aren’t really conservative comedians, they’re comedians who happen to be conservative.

    It’s not that conservative comedians aren’t funny, it’s that what a conservative audience now considers comedy is just someone being mean.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Norm McDonald is the first one who comes to mind

      Was he conservative? I know conservatives latched on to him. But they also latched on to Steven Colbert in his early years, because they couldn’t detect sarcasm.

      The thing is, none of those comedians were especially political with their humor,

      PJ and Jeff Foxworthy were heavily political. Tim Allen, too. What generally worked for them as comedians was the absurdity (or, perceived absurdity) of a shifting culture.

      The observational “I’m just a normal guy and look at all these freaks!” act isn’t conservative on it’s face. It just doesn’t age well, as views change.