Making fun of politicians’ appearances is an American tradition. Here’s Jefferson, portrayed as an emaciated prairie dog, in the runup to the 1800 election. Shades of McConnell the turtle:
Very much so. Ingraham wasn’t “punching up” because she wasn’t simply making fun of the US president. She was making fun of people with stutters, which includes the US president, among many others. It’s not like this is complicated.
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I used the term “funny” to mean “unusual” or “contradictory.” Apologies if that wasn’t wasn’t clear from the context, particularly since there was conversation about comedy shows.
Yes, I agree with that. Lots of liberal/left mockery of Drumpf’s weight, hair, looks, along with Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell, and on. Isn’t that along the same lines - I mean, if I was a generally nice older socialist that had a turtle head that looked like McConnell, it wouldn’t feel great to have my same looks mocked by my compatriots.
Definitely. So what I’m hearing you saying is that mockery of looks are in-bounds, but mockery of stutters are out of bounds.
I can understand that. I disagree and would rather see them both out of favor, but I understand your opinion.
All I’m saying is that mockery of politicians, even very crude mockery, is not new, is part and parcel of American politics. Anyone who has succeeded in American politics, including Biden and McConnell, has developed a thick skin for such things. A more genteel politics might be nice; however, tone policing is most often used to gatekeep against the downtrodden.
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This is your angle. Won’t someone please think of the socialists with turtle heads. 
Trump’s hair and orange skin are fair game because he has clearly done them to himself out of vanity, but making fun of his weight is a real concern. And if you look, I think you will find most people here have discouraged it when it comes up. Or for instance you can see in the thread this branched off from, someone called Ingraham ugly, and was immediately criticized for it.
So if that was your worry, that we’re all in serious danger of becoming no different from a Nazi making fun of the disabled, I think maybe you can release your pearls a little.
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That’s great. Glad someone did. Calling that kind of thing out is exactly what I wish more of the people that I agree with politically would do. That those kind of insult would happen less.
Not less in comparison to the vile parts of the right-wing. Less because decent folks have values that say “going after looks and other characteristics isn’t good,” even if (maybe especially if?) it is the looks of my opponents.
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So, trump and his ilk, people with tons of political power who use that power to bash and attack less powerful people constantly, and, who incidentally, constantly mouth off insults about those less powerful then themselves, including all minorities, disabled, etc., those powerful people must be off-limits to having the occasional insult they themselves made thrown back in their face when they exhibit the same characteristic that they were insulting other people about? Is that how this is suppose to work? They can insult less powerful people all they want, but no one is allowed to point out they have the same issues that they smear others for having?
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