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Popular American Satirists/Comedians Serve Elite Interests
by jess Friday, Feb 1 2013, 12:03pm
international / prose / post

to distract or to awaken?

Before howls of protest begin allow me to qualify; if political comedy in America is not supported by strong accusation, social agitation and demands for justice then it serves the interests of the powers or ruling plutocracy.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert

Consider the uncompromising, hard-hitting political humour of Bill Hicks and George Carlin then take a look at the supremely servile to the status quo humour of racist, homophobe and white conservative, David Letterman, the contrast couldn’t be more stark. However, we look to the middle ground; Jon ‘meyer’ Stewart and Stephen ‘kma’ Colbert.

Popular comedy was once an artistic means of promoting social change and fomenting dissent by highlighting the absurd and/or criminal actions of the ruling elite. What comedians didn’t do was distract the public from serious social issues such as mass murder, ethnic divisionism, illegal wars of invasion and occupation or criminal Drone wars that kill civilians, including women and young children. Making light/fun -- distracting from the seriousness -- of these criminal matters is not only irresponsible it becomes criminally complicit.

Popular television comedians Colbert and Stewart serve to distract the public or worse to anaesthetise them to the crimes of the government and Wall Street. The social effect of their humour is the neutralisation of outrage, we are made to laugh when we should be crying or fuming with anger and righteous indignation.

The media propaganda machine of the USA and vassal States is now served by a new breed of traitorous artists that have forgotten their traditional social responsibility; I would cite the many heroic German cabaret comedians that attacked leading Nazis and the Nazi Party/ideology -- many made good their escape from oppression while others paid the ultimate price with their lives but they all remained true to their craft, unlike the cowardly scum that now serve the interests of neo-fascists and modern American/Zionist Nazis.

David Letterman