Andrei Kuznetsov
18th December 2009, 14:13
Has anyone noticed that far too many Marxists and Anarchist don't understand satire in the slightest- taking everything at face value or everything in fiction and art absolutely literally?
I have a huge problem: I have a very morbid, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, and it has gotten me in trouble with my comrades of all tendencies many a time (especially when I was working in RCP circles). I'm just kinda wired to be a bit twisted, and it's something that just can't be helped...
I have sooooo many examples. To start, I must say I greatly enjoy the band Laibach. I'm a rivethead to the core, and Laibach is totally STOMP STOMP STOMP UBER EVIL STOMP STOMP STOMP XD. As you may know, Laibach is a peculiar bunch: they dress in Nazi-esque uniforms, sing in German (despite being Slovenian), have a distinct militaristic tone to their music, and pretend to be the dictators of their own fictional country- the NSK State. I loooove Laibach, and actually possess NSK State citizenship papers and passport.
However, at one point, I had to hide my fanboyishness toward Laibach; why you ask? Because my comrades in the RCP and in the local Anarchist collective thought that I was listening to a "Nazi band". I tried to explain many times to them that Laibach is a satire band pointing out the absurdity of fascism and has its roots in Dada- but it was always to no avail. Laibach was a Nazi band, I was obviously becoming attracted to fascism, I needed to stop, end of story. (Oh, and let's not even go into the debacle when they found my Death in June albums...)
I also am a morbid history dork, and possess 3 t-shirts that reflect that: a Jack The Ripper t-shirt, an Elizabeth Bathory shirt, and a Vlad the Impaler shirt. We all know what Ol' Saucy Jack did: he was "quite down on the whores and I shant quit ripping them until I am buckled". Countess Elizabeth Bathory murdered somewhere between 200-600 young girls in order to bathe in and drink their blood in hopes that it would help her achieve immortality and eternal beauty. Vlad the Impaler... well, yeah, he was fuckin' Dracula. However, because of this, some Anarchists in my city see me as a misogynist and think that I advocate gendercide. The humor of a goth history major- which they all know I am- is completely lost on them!
Oh, and then there was the time I put on a Black Mass at a Halloween party. To me, it was a fun way to make the party memorable and I did it in a way that was completely absurd. My apolitical and Anarchist friends found it to be hilarious and fun. To my comrades, in the RCP/RCYB however, it was nothing of the sort: I was obviously falling back on religion, and that I needed to study Avakian's and Marx's works on religion and materialism to get myself grounded back into Atheism. *facepalm*
Let me think... there were some other ones... oh, the time I came to another Halloween party dressed as Sir Oswald Moseley. THAT didn't go over so well (except with the two British guys that came- they loved it!). The time I won the Air Sex Competition at Anime Weekend Atlanta... that made me a sexist pervert... eh, the list is endless.
Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I understand their are times and places for certain kinds of humor. You have to understand the sensibilities of certain audiences and delivery is also a major factor. You can't go acting like Borat in the middle of a group of Central Asians, or make Jewish jokes about the Holocaust among Jews. However, sometimes leftists frustrate me with their inability to understand ANY satire, tongue-in-cheek comedy, or ironic humor... even when it's blatantly obvious. It just seems completely lost on them, and it ends up making us look humorless and uptight to non-leftists. I swear, if Charlie Chaplin made The Great Dictator in this day and age, something tells me many leftists would denounce it as a fascist film and call Chaplin a Neo-Nazi!
So, I guess what my rant should end with is: c'mon guys. Get the stick out of your asses. We should be sensitive and tactful, but more importantly, let's not be dour or oblivious. Let's have fun. Let's be silly.
Let's learn to laugh.
I have a huge problem: I have a very morbid, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, and it has gotten me in trouble with my comrades of all tendencies many a time (especially when I was working in RCP circles). I'm just kinda wired to be a bit twisted, and it's something that just can't be helped...
I have sooooo many examples. To start, I must say I greatly enjoy the band Laibach. I'm a rivethead to the core, and Laibach is totally STOMP STOMP STOMP UBER EVIL STOMP STOMP STOMP XD. As you may know, Laibach is a peculiar bunch: they dress in Nazi-esque uniforms, sing in German (despite being Slovenian), have a distinct militaristic tone to their music, and pretend to be the dictators of their own fictional country- the NSK State. I loooove Laibach, and actually possess NSK State citizenship papers and passport.
However, at one point, I had to hide my fanboyishness toward Laibach; why you ask? Because my comrades in the RCP and in the local Anarchist collective thought that I was listening to a "Nazi band". I tried to explain many times to them that Laibach is a satire band pointing out the absurdity of fascism and has its roots in Dada- but it was always to no avail. Laibach was a Nazi band, I was obviously becoming attracted to fascism, I needed to stop, end of story. (Oh, and let's not even go into the debacle when they found my Death in June albums...)
I also am a morbid history dork, and possess 3 t-shirts that reflect that: a Jack The Ripper t-shirt, an Elizabeth Bathory shirt, and a Vlad the Impaler shirt. We all know what Ol' Saucy Jack did: he was "quite down on the whores and I shant quit ripping them until I am buckled". Countess Elizabeth Bathory murdered somewhere between 200-600 young girls in order to bathe in and drink their blood in hopes that it would help her achieve immortality and eternal beauty. Vlad the Impaler... well, yeah, he was fuckin' Dracula. However, because of this, some Anarchists in my city see me as a misogynist and think that I advocate gendercide. The humor of a goth history major- which they all know I am- is completely lost on them!
Oh, and then there was the time I put on a Black Mass at a Halloween party. To me, it was a fun way to make the party memorable and I did it in a way that was completely absurd. My apolitical and Anarchist friends found it to be hilarious and fun. To my comrades, in the RCP/RCYB however, it was nothing of the sort: I was obviously falling back on religion, and that I needed to study Avakian's and Marx's works on religion and materialism to get myself grounded back into Atheism. *facepalm*
Let me think... there were some other ones... oh, the time I came to another Halloween party dressed as Sir Oswald Moseley. THAT didn't go over so well (except with the two British guys that came- they loved it!). The time I won the Air Sex Competition at Anime Weekend Atlanta... that made me a sexist pervert... eh, the list is endless.
Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I understand their are times and places for certain kinds of humor. You have to understand the sensibilities of certain audiences and delivery is also a major factor. You can't go acting like Borat in the middle of a group of Central Asians, or make Jewish jokes about the Holocaust among Jews. However, sometimes leftists frustrate me with their inability to understand ANY satire, tongue-in-cheek comedy, or ironic humor... even when it's blatantly obvious. It just seems completely lost on them, and it ends up making us look humorless and uptight to non-leftists. I swear, if Charlie Chaplin made The Great Dictator in this day and age, something tells me many leftists would denounce it as a fascist film and call Chaplin a Neo-Nazi!
So, I guess what my rant should end with is: c'mon guys. Get the stick out of your asses. We should be sensitive and tactful, but more importantly, let's not be dour or oblivious. Let's have fun. Let's be silly.
Let's learn to laugh.