Every time a right-winger gets caught making an attempt at humor that comes off as racist or otherwise vile, the defense is always the same: “Come on, lighten up. Sheesh, people can’t take a joke anymore.” And quite often it’s followed by “How dare you try to take away my First Amendment rights!” And of course something about wokeism something or other woke-ity woke.
The First Amendment, of course, is irrelevant to such matters. The First Amendment guarantees that the government can’t stop you from expressing yourself. It doesn’t mandate that private entities offer you a platform, and it certainly doesn’t shield you from fallout if you make an ass of yourself. People who take exception to what you say are not “censoring” you. They’re just exercising their own First Amendment rights. Are people sometimes too sensitive? Do they sometimes go overboard? Well, sure. That’s a topic for another day, but let’s just say here that the fact that some people overreact does not mean they have no legitimate grounds to react at all.
Let’s look instead at the defense that the offenders are “just joking”, and we shouldn’t take their words so seriously. Sometimes, that’s a valid point. You have to look at the context. If an African-American comedian uses the N-word, it probably is not with racist intent; and at the very least, we should give her far more leeway than if a white person uttered the same comment. Context is often key.
Which brings us to what prompted this little discussion: the grotesquely ugly hate fest at Madison Square Garden held by the MAGA candidate in the closing days of the 2024 presidential campaign. Or more precisely, one particular “joke” that one speaker made during that rally, a wisecrack that likened Puerto Rico to a garbage heap. Racism aside, it was a very dumb joke, but that’s par for the course when it comes to right-wing “humor”. But is there any redeeming quality to it? Is there any reason we should not characterize it as racist? Very little.
Again, consider the context. When you look at some of the other remarks that were uttered at this event, and the kind of people who made them, and the things they have said and done in the past, it’s astounding that this one bad joke — which otherwise might have been merely brushed off as a momentary lapse in judgment — received virtually all of the public outrage compared to other things that were at least as worthy of it.
There were “jokes” about how Latinos love to make babies, and blacks love watermelon. There was the declaration that “America is for Americans and Americans only”, echoing Hitler’s comments that Germany is only for Germans (and the significance of the venue where Nazis staged a rally in 1939 has not been entirely lost on the public or the media). The speaker of that line, Stephen Miller, certainly did not have a very broad concept of what constitutes “Americans”. Another speaker referred to Kamala Harris’ husband as a “crappy Jew”. And one speaker even acknowledged that he was addressing a “Nazi rally” — presumably meant to be a sarcastic reference to its being characterized as such, but why would he even use the phrase, especially without making the irony clear if irony was intended?
The Former Guy reiterated his pledge to begin unprecedented mass deportations on day one; he has even vowed to deport the Haitian refugees LEGALLY residing in Ohio — and to send them to Venezuela, apparently on the premise that one “shithole country” down south is interchangeable with another. His own very long history of vile racist comments and actions has been well established.
Both he and his running mate promoted the loony rumor that those Haitians were eating pets; Vance continued to repeat the rumor even after learning it was false, declaring that he was quite willing to fabricate stories about immigrants if it helped stir up animosity toward immigrants. And while acknowledging that he was aware the Haitians were legal residents, he indicated he didn’t care, and was going to keep referring to them as “illegals” anyway.
Indeed, the entire MAGA campaign has been built around demonizing and spreading lies about immigrants. Since there is no legitimate reason for making immigration such an obsession, the obvious explanation is racism. In fact, if you read between the lines (and it’s very easy to do when the writing is so bold), Make America Great Again really means Make America White Again.
The fallout from the line about Puerto Rico was so intense that the campaign issued a statement insisting that it did not reflect the views of their candidate. Which of course is total bullshit, as anyone knows who has any familiarity with him at all. The damage control team also claimed they didn’t know the “joke” was going to be made. Which also doesn’t add up; the monologue was prepared in advance and fed through a teleprompter. The handlers screened it in advance, and even requested the removal of a line calling Kamala Harris a “cunt” — a surprising move given all the other unsavory things said about her. There’s no way they simply didn’t notice the line in question.
Furthermore, the campaign did not distance itself from any of the other tasteless comments. Why should they, when nobody is making a particularly big stink about them. Oh yes, and one other thing they did not do is apologize . Because these people never, never apologize for anything. (Except for the standard right-wing “apology” that “I’m sorry if you were stupid enough to take it the wrong way.”) Apologizing requires at least a modicum of character. And that utter lack of contrition for anything they say or do should be a huge honking lighthouse-size clue about their true intentions.
This kind of “humor” is not harmless fun. It incites more blatant hatred, and even violence. And this all came at a time when MAGA leaders were, almost unanimously, clutching their pearls over V.P. Harris quite accurately characterizing their Lord as a fascist, in concurrence with insider input from his own former henchmen.
Sometimes, adding context can reveal a seemingly racist comment to be really quite innocuous. In other cases, the more context you uncover, the worse the comment sounds.
The Propaganda Professor 
I am so glad you wrote this article and wish that all News outlets like CNN and MSNBC would hold live forums to discuss issues like the 1st Amendment on cable TV. I’d like to discuss openly all the salient points you made that might persuade the last few on-the-fence voters to quickly jump down and vote for Harris and Walz. I also hope the stinkingly tasteless jokes made by Trump’s supporters about Puerto Rico etc., become the eye-opening issues that will win the election for Harris. It’s been much too long, but finally, (perhaps), Trump and his sycophants have been given enough rope to hang themselves!
My impression of the dialogue during the New York rally was the same as yours. It was “a grotesquely ugly hate-fest,” specifically staged to spread hate in a way that must be intended to send Trump’s “basket of deplorables,” into spasms of ecstasy. And yes, if those of us who were too easily offended, when being cast as weak and snow-flaky “radical left-wing liberals,” won’t mind if we make disparaging remarks about their crudeness and their vile “jokes,” why then do (they) even care? Don’t we have the right to joke too? Aren’t they just being way too sensitive when we suggest that Perhaps Trump did not win the election in 2020? Maybe we can also approve of Vance’s rationalizations and say that we don’t care if what we said (is) a lie if it brings attention to the vile spit sprayed from the hungry mouths of Trumpers who don’t mind lying about supposedly ugly and hate-loving Democrats, who conceal their real intentions each day! If they don’t like it, how dare they deny our First Amendment rights?
I also witnessed Trump calling Democrats evil, vile, terrible people, and referring to Kamala Harris as a “whore,” while he entertained the crowd with juvenile antics aimed at making fun of the teacher (who in this case, was Kamala Harris), but considering that such criticisms often come from a guy who seemingly lies with every breath, and who was prosecuted for having sex with a porn star and other victims, who then concealed those facts by doctoring his financial records to cover them up? And hasn’t he lied about hate crimes again and again? So if Trump was running against Hitler, isn’t it possible that his supporters might be placing the bar much too low for Hitler?
Hey, you liars in Congress who even ignore the fact that Trump’s former AG, William Barr said on videotape and under oath, that he told Trump his stolen election claims “were bullshit,” And look closer all you voters who don’t believe Mitch McConnell’s own words when he said, “Trump and other powerful people, incited a riot, by encouraging protesters to attack the Capitol and prevent the peaceful transfer of power,”–as they managed to injure dozens of people and caused the subsequent deaths of 5 capitol policemen who tried valiantly to stop them from kidnapping Harris, and from chanting “hang Mike Pence,” which they later tried to laugh off by mischaracterizing the entire incident as a harmless group of tourists being shown the inside of the capitol?? Their supposed jokes are indeed made in bad taste and with open hatred towards the Constitution, which does not exist to help leaders like Trump refuse to surrender power–because (pulling off such a crime might instantly transform America into another damn (banana Republic)!
If we ever recover from the daily power-mongering lies told by Trump, I hope that in the future HS students will be required to complete a course in critical thinking so that those voting in the future won’t be taken in by the same vile lies and power-grabbing tactics!
On the whole, too many voters don’t believe the current election cycle is the most important one in our history, and even more so than the election in 2020. So consider that we have never before seen an attempt to hijack our democratic system at the urgings of such a “hugely” deceptive man–one who seems to lie with every breath! SHAME ON US IF WE ALSO BUY THE BS that has taken control of the ethical and moral consciences of our Supreme Court justices who have openly granted Trump power that is potentially unlimited, and which of course, would make Trump’s buddy Putin and his romantic lover, Kim Jung Un, smile. Trump’s many devious efforts to gain control are concealed in plain sight, but all you Trumpers out there, don’t you dare become angered by people like me who love to joke about serious political issues by insulting MAGA sissies out there who are too stupid to tell that we are only joking?
Sorry for that angry screed, but it was inspired by the horrible conduct of Trump and his mob during their gathering in Madison Square Garden in New York. How long will jerks like them get by with rationalizing their immense lies and then feeling they have the right to insult Democrats by referring to a Presidential candidate as a “whore?– And that is not even scratching the surface of their hostile and blunt attacks on anyone who might detain number 45 from his self-made appointment to be crowned king of the Universe!
It’s now after midnight on election night, perhaps a midnight that will see no dawn. In a world that no longer values civility and freedom of the press, where the Supreme Court has granted Trump unlimited power to do whatever he pleases? We are no longer a nation of liberty for all; we are a nation of right and left and full of people who believe what they want to believe. This is no longer the world’s greatest Democracy, it has become the world’s greatest failed state, where true freedom of mind, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion, may become obsolete artifacts of a world we once knew. Hell to science! Hell to real educational freedom! And Hell the idea of a freer and more civil society shared by all. Trumpers have bought the lie that Biden has ruined the country, while the facts do not support that conclusion. And after revealing the grossness and mendacity of Trump supporters at MSG, It’s plain to see that our country has slipped many rungs down toward a place controlled by a totalitarian state. And if we are allowed to see real facts and make real choices, how ironic is it that propaganda and incivility will become accepted parts of “liberty”, only because Democrats will accept the lawful outcome of this travesty in a Country where facts no longer matter? Democrats will not fight this outcome as if it never happened. and Will accept the rule of law even if the results are not in our favor–and Remember always that Trumpers would not grant us the same considerations!
Were large numbers of us starving? Didn’t 9% inflation shrink to 3% under Biden’s watch? Didn’t Biden create more jobs than Trump? Did we starve or just experience financial difficulty that caused us to give up our souls for a few more dollars more of take-home pay–Which Kamala would have delivered soon?
Jesus told us that a man defiles himself by what comes out of his mouth, not what he does, not by what his intentions are. So if actions speak louder than words, why in the world is Trump’s cult pretending that their hero is a moral being?
May we all give up our illusions and not sell our souls for a barrel full of lies and hate.
One day at a time…one day at a time–no matter how many days expire!