“It’s felt pretty Civil War-ish,” says one comic of the changing atmosphere in clubs. Illustration by Ryan Casey.
The current political scene has long been fodder for comedians, and generally speaking, people have usually taken political humor with grace, even if it’s been at the expense of their personal views. Not anymore. The people who voted for Trump don’t seem to have much of a sense of humor, and their aggrieved entitlement has taken a toxic front seat at comedy venues, making comedians change everything. Rolling Stone has a good look at how the current political climate is changing the comedy scene.
But since the election, Mattern, Rodriguez and other comedians have observed that Trump backers are much more vocal in clubs – intimate settings where comics can become the hyper-focused target of frustrations, pride and insensitivity. And after getting ridiculed in clubs throughout the campaign season, Trump supporters are lashing out in victory.
“They dare you to be the opposition now,” Rodriguez says of some Trump-supporting audience members she’s encountered. “They’re emboldened; they yell out shit they know they’re not supposed to say.” Rodriguez recounts a recent set when she referred to the President-Elect as “the guy from The Apprentice” and was told by someone in the crowd to “get the fuck off the stage.” Lately, Mattern says, he’s perceived a dip in comedy club attendance on the part of minorities. “If there’s a diverse crowd I’ll say, ‘Look at how different you all look! This is great that you’re all together.’ And of late I’ve had to kind of tweak it to, ‘Man, you’re really a diverse-looking bunch of white people.'”
This is a really bad sign, of just how fast bigotry and oppression spread, along with the intolerance of fascism.
