Satire and comedy should be controversial and even offensive if need be, in my opinion. The best humor is funny because it exposes serious flaws in our society – and humanity in general – with a good solid punch line. Humor is supposed to make us laugh, but also make us think about things like privilege and class and power structures; bringing to light the unspoken.

Comedy can serve as the ‘ice-breaker’ for a conversation about the things we hold dear and take for granted, as good comedians try to do. They enlighten us to things we don’t usually question about the society we’re all deeply embedded in. Creatures like Trump and his demonic cult are completely unable to laugh at themselves, and they appear to be devoid of anything resembling a sense of humor. That is a clear sign of mental illness and deficiency.

But rather than cause property damage or violence rioting in the streets, We The People should stand up together as one and mock them. Mercilessly. These fascists have no sense of humor to begin with so let’s just make fun of them instead. Nothing makes their little penises shrivel up like public humiliation. The best way to get their insecurities flaring is with a chorus of well-earned laughter.

One of the few effective weapons citizens have left available to us is mockery. If a million people were to camp out on the White House lawn and simply laugh at everyone who enters or leaves – that could be a game-changer.

I grew up with Monty Python, Cheech & Chong, SNL, Second City TV, and stand-up comedy from people like George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin and later, Bill Hicks. Gen X got the Netflix specials, I guess. Millennials have memes, and now the Zoomers (as they are called?) are reinventing short-form humor with the likes of TikTok.

Each generation has examined the world around them and declared it wasn’t good enough, or very funny. They have forced cultural changes in media, education, collective action and perhaps most importantly – through socially relevant, politically astute humor – to move the goalposts on what is politically possible in what is now a very “PC” world.

Mockery – as long as it doesn’t incite violence – is free speech and it should remain so. Ridiculing the cherished beliefs of the masses and making fun of public figures has always played an important role in social discourse, going back to the Ancient Greeks. Satire is a very effective way of conveying the need for positive change and exposing ridiculous beliefs which end up negatively influencing many people’s lives.

Humor, sarcasm and ridicule are also effective ways to deal with dictators. Tyrants despise humor, and their sense of humor – if it rises above the level of a 9-year old – mostly involves making fun of other, less fortunate people. So I say let’s turn the ridicule back at them, where it belongs.

Despots hate being mocked and ridiculed. Fascists are small minded people and therefore the mockery should be merciless, and relentless. We simply can’t treat them seriously. They want that. It gives them a sense of importance. But a wall of derisive laughter? That can be soul-destroying!

In any case, nothing positive can be accomplished without a sense of humor, a little self-examination, and a good dose of humility.

Our humanity is our only real weapon. We need to start using it.