In 2018, Majorie Taylor Greene suggested the California wildfires may have been started by a laser beam… from space… under the control of the Rothschild family. Today, Greene is a member of Congress from the great state of Georgia.
Greene has embraced and promoted many conspiracy theories in recent years. The topics are varied (mass shootings; Qanon; the murderous Clintons) but the enemies are consistent: the left, the Blacks, and the Jews.
Following the recent revelation of her 2018 wildfire theory, Jewish space laser jokes are spreading like… well, you know. At the same time, backlash to the jokes have been having a moment. I’ve seen many comments suggesting that antisemitism — even ridiculous antisemitism like this — is dangerous, and while jokes may help people cope, they are causing people to take Greene and others and their views less seriously.
I make jokes about sensitive topics for a living. My creative agency has worked with comedians to make videos for clients working on a wide range of issues, including gun violence, climate change, racial injustice, and anti-Muslim bias. I’ve also worked in the Jewish community for many years and continue to have Jewish organizations as clients. So I consider myself something of an expert on the propriety of Jewish space laser jokes.
My take: on balance, I’m in favor of the jokes. Here’s why.
When I meet with a prospective client for the first time, inevitable they say something like this: “I love comedy. I think comedy is a great way to bring attention to an issue. But I’m not sure comedy works with OUR issue. There is just nothing funny about X.”
In fact, I heard this perspective so many times, I wrote an article about it.
I don’t think there are topics that should be off limits for jokes. I do think there are jokes that are bad. Bad because they aren’t funny. Bad because they are made at the expense of those who are vulnerable or have less power (punching down). Antisemitic jokes are bad. Jokes at the expense of antisemites, or that expose antisemitism through a critical lens, can be good.
If our goal is to reduce the amount and impact of antisemitism, do jokes about Jewish space lasers help or hurt? Here are a few ways they may help.
- Exposing antisemitism is critical to mobilizing people against it. Jokes are sticky and viral. Jokes about Jewish spaces lasers will grab people’s attention in a way a news report or press release or angry tweet will not.
- We want antisemites to be marginalized to reduce their numbers and power. Jokes that humiliate antisemites can help marginalize them.
- Bigotry is inevitably built upon absurd beliefs. Focusing attention on the most absurd of these beliefs implicates seemingly less absurd beliefs, helping to reduce their power.
- Being the target of bigotry is exhausting. It creates stress and fear, which can make it more difficult to mobilize in opposition to the bigotry. Humor can help people cope, and by coping they are better able to act.
When we joke about Jewish space lasers, it’s not because we think it isn’t a dangerous fiction. Greene’s speculation is both broadly conspiratorial (bad for the Jews) and asserts unseen Jewish control of dangerous phenomena (also bad for the Jews). So while the specifics of Jewish space lasers are ridiculous, they stem from the same worldview that sees Jewish control over the media and the banks and dark-skinned people and the weather and the New World Order. Our challenge is to show that while some of these sound more ridiculous than others, all of them are actually equally ridiculous.
Remember what Greene actually said? The Rothschild family was behind a laser in space that was responsible for the wildfires. By framing this as “Jewish space lasers” (rather than “Rothschild space lasers) we are both establishing the joke and asserting an important fact: references to the Rothschild family in any conspiracy theory are a code word for Jews. This is important, since the alleged machinations of the Rothschild family is a common antisemitic trope.
At the end of the day, the virality of this joke (and the purity of its antisemitism) will make it easier for Greene to be stripped of her committee seats in the House, with perhaps more serious consequences to come. And in the meantime, we get to laugh a bit, which given the past five years is a welcome change of pace.
I’ll end with my favorite Jewish space laser joke, courtesy of Kate McKinnon on SNL. Responding to Greene, McKinnon asks: “So there are lasers in space, that cause wildfires, and the lasers identify as Jewish?” A joke about antisemites and Jewish identity! Perfect.
