I love making jokes about politicians. I don’t care what party they are affiliated with. I believe in diversity. Make fun of all of them. In fact, God created politicians and politics so comedians would always have something to joke about. How many lawyer jokes can you do? You need variety.
However, now political jokes have become politicized. Kind of ironic. You can make jokes about the party you disagree with but not the party you agree with. This reminds me of the story about the man who was on a deserted island and built two synagogues. But, that story is for another day.
Making jokes about politicians from local office to the White Office (regardless of party) is free speech. If you don’t like the joke, don’t laugh, change the channel, give me a bad review on Yelp!.
Some things are off limits. I don’t do jokes that body shame others, make fun of people with illnesses, news stories about murder or assassinations, or intellectual capabilities. OK, politicians with intellectual disabilities? Yeah, there are exceptions to the rule.
Some jokes don’t age well or may only be appropriate in certain circles. For example, a French student of mine was working on a written assignment. She used the British term for an eraser and asked the class if anyone had a rubber she could borrow. She didn’t understand why everyone was laughing. I told her that one of her classmates would explain.
Many years ago, the Monday after Thanksgiving, one of my students told me a funny story. She said that the prior week while she was in class, a telemarketer called. Her daughter answered and she said that her mom was in English class and to call back in a year when she could speak English.
In our crazy world, some people might accuse me of language-shaming. I have a Boston accent and I teach people to speak English. See the humor? But they are wrong; they’re just funny stories.
A friend of mine told me that a friend of hers, a friend of many years, told her that they could not be friends because she had voted for Trump. She then said to me that I hope we could still be friends. I told her that I would never end a friendship over politics. Who you vote for is your expression of free speech. I then smiled and said that there were so many other reasons not to be her friend. We are still friends.
So, laugh, enjoy life, and respect the free speech that you disagree with.