Conservatives think Stephen Colbert is funny, but they don't really get the joke

[Huckleman2000]

Here's something that I seem to know intuitively; one of my 'rules' is that Conservatives don't understand irony. But I cannot quite understand why they still think he's funny.
Conservatives Don't Know Colbert is Joking

we found that individual-level political ideology significantly predicted perceptions of Colbert's political ideology. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the groups in thinking Colbert was funny, but 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.

 

[jomar]

Colbert is awesome.

 

[Guest]

Colbert is awesome.

He is.

And I agree. They don't get that the joke is on them.

 

[Stella_Omega]

That's kind of like how conservatives think that Limbugh is "an entertainer" while liberals think he's a hatemonger.

Only not really.

 

[shereads]

Here's something that I seem to know intuitively; one of my 'rules' is that Conservatives don't understand irony. But I cannot quite understand why they still think he's funny.
Conservatives Don't Know Colbert is Joking

http://hij.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/14/2/212

"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. Conservatism also significantly predicted perceptions that Colbert disliked liberalism."

This is so sad. Ever since my Fox-raised right-wing-lock-step nephew told me he loves Colbert, finds him "hysterical," I've had such hopes. It seemed an odd choice of comedic entertainment for a boy who still parrots his parents' politics, but I took it as a sign that he was growing up cool despite their best efforts.

Having read this study, I have to accept the possibility that the kid doesn't get the political satire at all, but just likes Colbert's funny stories about bears. Could it be?

 

[Guest]

Kind of like how my children enjoyed the hyenas when they were goose-stepping in The Lion King, while my husband and I were horrified?

The children enjoyed the antics - they did not have enough information to make an educated guess.

 

[Huckleman2000]

See, that's what mystifies me - take away the satire, and what is the frame of reference to conclude that he's funny?

 

[shereads]

See, that's what mystifies me - take away the satire, and what is the frame of reference to conclude that he's funny?

Bears. Pet baby eagle. Slapstick. Theme music. Laughter from studio audience.

I don't understand it either, but then I don't understand why my sister suddenly thinks of the war she supported for eight years as "Obama's stupid war."

 

[shereads]

Kind of like how my children enjoyed the hyenas when they were goose-stepping in The Lion King, while my husband and I were horrified?

The children enjoyed the antics - they did not have enough information to make an educated guess.

I don't remember the goose-stepping hyenas. I just remember thinking the hooved animals needed to stop singing "Circle of Life" and get a clue. Or maybe the Lion King was a vegan?

 

[Stella_Omega]

Bears. Pet baby eagle. Slapstick. Theme music. Laughter from studio audience.

I don't understand it either, but then I don't understand why my sister suddenly thinks of the war she supported for eight years as "Obama's stupid war."

Oh, that's all too easy to understand. With all due respect.

 

[Guest]

I don't remember the goose-stepping hyenas. I just remember thinking the hooved animals needed to stop singing "Circle of Life" and get a clue. Or maybe the Lion King was a vegan?

LOL!

Yep. Us, too.

But this song was quite brilliant. Jeremy Irons - excellent choice for the bad guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ6cw_MuTDE

 

[amicus]

Rather than let this thread blossom as another liberal fascist playground, I find it amusing that the, 'usual suspects' can quote the right wing propagandists such as Limbaugh and Beck, and do so with predictable regularity and always in a pejorative sense, while conservatives fully understand the satire of the left but do not find it amusing that basic human values are consistently treated with disdain; and thus do not listen or watch.

I could explain what basic human values are, but I would rather sell you a book, a 'primer', to take you step by step from the primacy of human life, upwards.

Amicus...(no satire included)

 

[Guest]

Ami, you know we differ on what you consider to be "human values".

Many of your "human values" deny basic human rights.

Not to you, of course.

 

[shereads]

Oh, that's all too easy to understand. With all due respect.

Let me rephrase: I understand why she says that, and why she needs to believe it. I just don't know how. I cannot begin to understand the thinking process that gets her from supporting Bush's war to hating "Obama's stupid war."

I've really come to believe that there are differences in the brain physiology that make it nearly impossible for right and left wing to meet in the middle. One stunning example of right-think that has stayed with me: during an NPR discussion of gay marriage, one of the guests was asked whether his anti-gay activism wasn't contrary to the American ideal of individual freedom. He said, "I'm not trying to take away anyone's freedom. They are taking away my freedom to raise my children in a Christian society."

He seemed sincere. But I can't find a path in my brain that can follow his logic.

 

[Leto Degeneres]

He is.

And I agree. They don't get that the joke is on them.

That's kind of like how conservatives think that Limbugh is "an entertainer" while liberals think he's a hatemonger.

Only not really.

sigh....

 

[amicus]

I wonder, Shereads, since we have both been here nearly forever, you before me, of course, if there is a way to meet in the middle?

You hold that abortion is a woman's rightful choice about reproduction. You hold that view in absolute terms. Am I correct?

I hold that abortion is the taking of human life. I hold that view in absolute terms.

We have both presented and defended our separate views, many times, and neither has changed.

I suspect there is no middle ground, no meeting of the minds here, as the issue is so very basic and intimate.

We both claim to respect basic human rights and liberties and yet we continue to disagree on those very basic issues.

If this were but a 'political' issue, one could chalk it up to mere differences of opinion, which are perfectly acceptable in polite company. But it is not, 'just' a political issue, it is both a moral and an ethical one, one that should require a firm foundation in thought and reasoning.

I have learned, in forty years of debate on this subject, that most pro abortion protagonists are prepared to meet the opposition on Religious terms; that is to say that God created life and thus it is sacred.

What few have prepared to defend is the rational, logical, reasoned argument I have offered over the years as an atheist.

I said, just recently, that most of your persuasion are, 'one issue' liberals; to be more accurate, I should say the combined issues of abortion, contraception and gay rights, as they all seem to be justified, in your mind, by the same logic.

I want to close this by stating that the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v Wade, was a bad ruling and that the Court failed to uphold the Constitution of the United States in the unalienable right to life, which should have guided the Courts' decision.

It will one day come down to a challenge to that ruling in the courts and it will be then and only then, that the true nature of the issue will be resolved.

Amicus

 

[DeeZire]

I've really come to believe that there are differences in the brain physiology that make it nearly impossible for right and left wing to meet in the middle....

One theory blames it on the altruism gene. Recent studies indicate that altruism appears to be linked to a gene, or combination of genes. Following this path of logic, one could conclude that some people may be genetically incapable of rational thought processes, or at least what altruistic individuals would consider to be rational thought processes.

There are plenty of examples of these "altruistically-challenged rationally-impaired" individuals right here on this forum. (Okay, I'm going out on a limb here, since I have most of them on ignore.)

 

[Leto Degeneres]

One theory blames it on the altruism gene. Recent studies indicate that altruism appears to be linked to a gene, or combination of genes. Following this path of logic, one could conclude that some people may be genetically incapable of rational thought processes, or at least what altruistic individuals would consider to be rational thought processes.

There are plenty of examples of these "altruistically-challenged rationally-impaired" individuals right here on this forum. (Okay, I'm going out on a limb here, since I have most of them on ignore.)

Hey, I'm conservative, yet I regularly distribute free carnitas and menudo to the gated community just up the road.

 

[amicus]

The amusing thing is, that this pharmaceutical generation, if not stoked on illegal drugs, are otherwise stoned on prescription meds for anxiety and depression. Thus, to justify that addiction, they postulate a chemical or a genetic deficiency in their opposition because they have already fried their brains.

The rational, reason driven conservative mind is the norm, folks, we be da ones who do all the work in designing and creating the world you live in.

We keep you around for the cute psychedelic colors you fingerpaint in the bathroom.

Amicus(Ain't she sweet, see her walkin' down the street, doodah, doodah)

 

[Guest]

What, are you wrms now? It's your alt?

Everyone who disagrees with you is on medication for depression??

No, I suppose it isn't your alt. She/he/it doesn't use that many ellipses.

 

[shereads]

This one made me laugh out loud before I'd even had coffee:

(Stephen helps Fox & Friends take on "education camps" and their "information commisars" who put our children in "learny rooms")

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-co...kashun---textbooks--americorps---strip-search

Which one of these textbook passages reveals a liberal bias?

A. Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492.

B. Osmosis is the diffusion of molecules.

C. "The Star Spangled Banner" was played at the gay wedding of Francis and Scott Key.