Leftism vs humour
Saturday, April 30, 2011
You can’t have a laugh with a Lefty - Telegraph.
Simon Heffer doesn't strike me as the cheeriest soul himself. I have only seen him once in person; at Lords, which is a jolly enough place, and he had a longer face than the sporting circumstances justified. Still he nails the left in the linked article, which is unusually supportive of his avowed foe David Cameron.
Lefties, with one or two notable exceptions, are a sour, boot-faced lot. They are inevitably so because they are motivated by grievance and envy, neither of which is a sentiment guaranteed to put joy in one's heart. They seek offence where none is intended; they strive to suppress individuality of expression; they like to control others. Humour, whose main purpose throughout existence has been to deflate such priggish, pompous and sour attitudes, is therefore the enemy of militant Lefties, who wish to standardise attitudes and behaviour, and whose political project is to enforce and inflict as much control as possible over others.Quite. Though Cameron would present a more difficult target for the miserabilists if his jokes were any good. I am convinced enough now of his good humour. It's his political courage I doubt.
He's got a point though: http://www.socialistunity.com/?p=8069#comments
Posted by: M | Monday, May 02, 2011 at 02:29 PM
The left have killed comedy in this country. The only thing we are allowed to joke about is how small minded, sad and xenophobic Daily Mail readers are.
Which is neither true nor funny
Posted by: Ian R Thorpe | Sunday, May 01, 2011 at 04:42 PM
Heffer's column illustrates that tribalism dulls one's perspicacity and humour. (Manifested in his subject and, well, himself.) Yes, the Labourites squealing over Cameron's spot of boorishness are as dull as dinner with the Miliband family but that's also true of the Conservatives after one of Brown's many faux pas. That tribalism doesn't have a stranglehold on people's minds 24/7, it's more like a fit of vapours every week at wednesday lunchtime.
Anyway, how many lefties does Heffer know? (In his mind, no doubt, it's everyone he's met since Enoch Powell but we're not using the "anyone who's to the left of Simon Heffer" definition here.)
Posted by: BenSix | Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 04:34 PM