The irony of Conway describing the Trump supporters conduct as “deplorable” is magnificent.
5 Likes
The actual Jews, as opposed to whom? The figurative Jews? The metaphorical Jews? The mythical Jews?
6 Likes
Secret robot Jew overlords!
I for one…errr…
6 Likes
I wish any number of face palms were enough.
5 Likes
I suspect the “actual Jews” are the religious/ethnic group, as opposed to using the term “Jews” merely the verbal shorthand for every kind of organized money grubbing and corruption. Though I’m pretty sure most folks in his camp are not big on the distinction, and “the actual” is just wasted words. It’s probably meant as an intensifier of the truthyness of what’s being said. Implying, “Our opponents make fancy arguments trying to prove that the Jews aren’t actually the cause of this, but this time it really is Jews for sure!”
In the past I (Christian that I am) was under the impression that Judaism was just picked by conspiracy theorists a convenient scapegoat, almost randomly grabbed at by accusers for vague historic reasons.
But after reading this interview with Timothy Snyder awhile back, the whole business of anti-antisemitism takes on a clearer shape as a well fleshed out world view. Jewishness to them isn’t just a placeholder for greed. It represents every failure of compassion and civilized existence to remedy the complainant’s needs and desires.
Holy shit. I wish I could un-pull that thread of ideas…
1 Like
Let me guess; he doesn’t like paying taxes.
2 Likes
I could give a rat’s ass about Peter Thiel, as he has proven himself to be sub-human and unworthy of my regard.
3 Likes
Time’s arrow: blessing and curse.
Who knows what Sound of Thunder scenario might be unfolding now instead if you could put that genie back in the bottle?
This is probably one of those examples of “if you have to explain the joke…” but I think @beschizza (who created the video, which has little to do with the actual livestream) was just playing with the fact that “SJWs” looks a little like “Jews” — and both, of course, are trying to suppress poor Thiel’s free speech.
1 Like
Joke must mean something different than it used to. Jokes used to be funny. Now it’s like a magic word used to make horribly offensive statements innocuous.
2 Likes
It is pointless and futile explaining jokes!
5 Likes
nevertheless…
the presentation of something horribly offensive (“actual Jews”) as an innocuous statement (part of a blockbuster movie crawl) exposes the incongruity between Thiel’s self-image (a persecuted, heroic victim) and the image that others have of him (a ruthless billionaire crank supporting an antisemite.)
Thiel’s sci-fi nerdliness, power, and lack of empathy already evoke the cartoonish qualities of a Star Wars villain.
The joke works, then, because it subverts Thiel’s idea of himself by embodying it – what if Thiel were the rebel farmboy speaking truth to power?-- while presenting him as a dorky Walter Mitty who doesn’t even realize that the antisemitism he pays for is harmful to others, or that he has already cast himself as the manipulative lord working in the shadows.
The joke fails, in other respects, because its target audience generally prefers more literal forms of humor that do not (for example) use dangerously imprecise or shifting contexts to expose hidden meaning in horribly offensive statements.
6 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
