Make America Laugh again
Serbians used humor to overthrow their dictator. We can, too.
Let’s call him Mr. Murphy. I don’t really remember his name. Whether that’s my forgetfulness or his ability to be forgotten, I’m not sure.
Anyway, Mr. Murphy was my high school teacher. He taught history — and not well because I don’t remember a spec of it. Mr. Murphy flirted with the pretty girls. (I wasn’t one.)
One day Mr. Murphy decided our class was going to play a game. Each row of desks would make up a team with one member a “buzzer,” generating whatever noise they wanted as a signal they could answer the question. The questions were on a chapter we were supposed to have read yet none of us had.
It was obvious at the start. Mr. Wester started to get upset that no one could answer his questions, and instead of bailing on his game, he doubled down to single out the smartest, prettiest girl to answer. She was one of my good friends and I could see she was visibly upset being put in this position.
I buzzed in with the most annoying sound I could think of. “EEEEEEEE. 42,” I said.
The class burst into laughter. While definitely the answer to the universe, it was not the answer to the question. Buzz after buzz, question after question was answered “42.” Mr. Wester tried to get the game going again, but it was too late. We’d taken over the class.
Right now, a bunch of people are on a crime spree, taking over our government. Daily assaults on our democracy. Their strategy is to confuse, strike fear, strong-arm, and exhaust the rest of us.
But as parents of toddlers know: you cannot rule anyone if they don’t follow your rules.
So let’s have some fun.
Trump, Musk, Vance all have the same Achilles heel. Same for same white supremacists, incels, NRA leaders. They are desperately insecure. They were all humiliated at some point. Poor little boys.
And TBH, if they weren’t unleashing mass cruelty, I’d put on my social worker hat, empathize, and get them some help. But as I’ve learned working in an animal shelter for over a decade, sadly some dogs just cannot come back from whatever trauma they suffered. Luckily it’s very few. We should try to prevent it as much as we can, of course (read: free child care, parenting help, family leave, mental health focus, abuse prevention programs), but I digress.
Our strategy should be to poke fun at them. Constantly.
(Don’t you dare feel bad for them. They have the resources to get out of this.)
The faux-strongmen need to be reminded of We The People. Not through violence. Not through activities that put ourselves at risk of losing our job or money or health. But through simple, laughable things that people want to do.
Laughter reduces power. Humor diminishes authority. Just think of when you were serious, and someone broke out laughing— how did you feel?
Like rock-paper-scissors, humor always covers strongmen.
What do we do?
Get your toddler game face on.
Srđa Popović is an incredible human rights advocate, and someone who has employed myriad non-violent techniques to restore power to the people.
In Syria, he and a team of a-handful-turned-several-hundred-thousand did things like paint their president-turned-dictator Milošević’s face on a barrel in the town square, then give kids balls to throw at it. Police had the option of leaving it there— getting away with defacing Milošević — or arresting the barrel and ruining the kids’ fun. Photos and videos of police arresting the barrel went viral; a total laughingstock.
They unleashed thousands of red ping pong balls representing people killed (bring on the Benny Hill music). They staged a protest of Lego people where protests were illegal.
“Humor and satire…attract[ed] the widest possible audience, making our opponents—look stupid and ridiculous. Most importantly, it broke the fear and inspired the tired, disappointed and apathetic Serbian society.”
Everything put the Milošević-protecting police between a rock and a hard place. Either look silly or look weak. Give you any ideas?
Important to know: there is no leader. Decentralized is better. There is you and your friends.
Take a gander at Popovic’s website. If it spurs an idea, let’s talk. :)
In the meantime, get out your old Barbies, ladies. They’re about to revolt.