What Makes You Think You’re Funny?
Snark
That’s a form of Snark I’m familiar with – a ground launched cruise missile with a nuclear warhead. It’s launched by the two solid rocket motors and then the jet engine takes over when it’s airborne.
Of course there’s the original snark from the pen of the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson [AKA Lewis Carroll], in his work “The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in 8 Fits)”.
But let’s discuss the form that requires a “snark mark”, perhaps an interrobang [ ‽ ], winking emoticon 😉 , or my own twisted version 😈 .
The key to successful sarcasm is the target. If the target is powerful, then the humor will probably be seen, but if the target is powerless, then you’re just being a jerk.
When Don Imus, Chris Matthews, or David Shuster make sexist and/or racist remarks, they aren’t being “one of the boys”, unless the boys all have rap sheets and are “people of interest” in street crimes. The behavior is thuggery, not male bonding. Most of the time the remarks are directed at victims of crimes or disasters. The speakers are bullies, who think they have meaningful opinions, only because their followers laugh. They don’t attack their targets’ ideas because their minds aren’t that complex. They go for the superficial, because that’s what they are and what they know.
7 comments
😈
😈
thuggery sounds about right. too bad kali isn’t around to take care of these jerks.
They don’t have the guts to try their crap on anyone with any real power or an ability to answer. They blast it out – like Limbaugh and O’Reilly, and cut off any answer.
If the corporations were doing their jobs, no one would have to complain, a standards department, just like a good editor, would bring them up short to protect the firm. These days, the networks are just as arrogant as the hosts, because most people don’t have the resources to sue them, and money is all they care about.
Good post.
And don’t forget The Cruise of the Snark by Jack London.
FWIW: February 10, 2008 New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle spoiler:
SNARK was the answer to the clue “Lewis Carroll character.”
SC, Hipparchia embeds links with her 😈 and covered the London story and the day-sailer.
MB, the planned supersonic version of this missile was going to called the Boojum, and I assume that a hypersonic version would have been the Jabberwock. You start with an engineer at Northrup with a bit of whimsy and the military will take it to its illogical extreme.
😆 i don’t always, only sometimes.
😈
Often enough that I check.