--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The popular culture has also lowered the…" description: "\"“The popular culture has also lowered the threshold on public shaming rituals. It is not only suppressing certain speech on college campuses, but makin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/kim-r-holmes-34917_double-standard_the-popular-culture-has-also-lowered-the_2636792.jpg" --- # The popular culture has also lowered the threshold on… ![“The popular culture has also lowered the threshold on public shaming rituals. It is not only suppressing certain speech on college campuses, but making public denunciation of certain classes of people into a form of popular entertainment. The masters of the funny cheap shot are comedians Jon…” quote by Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/kim-r-holmes-34917_double-standard_the-popular-culture-has-also-lowered-the_2636792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/kim-r-holmes-34917_double-standard_the-popular-culture-has-also-lowered-the_2636792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd6/kim-r-holmes-34917_double-standard_the-popular-culture-has-also-lowered-the_2636792.jpg) > ““The popular culture has also lowered the threshold on public shaming rituals. It is not only suppressing certain speech on college campuses, but making public denunciation of certain classes of people into a form of popular entertainment. The masters of the funny cheap shot are comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who routinely and cleverly skewer conservatives as stupid bigots. After the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, for example, Stewart asked what was wrong with opponents of same-sex marriage, as if a view held for thousands of years, even not very long ago by both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, were incomprehensible. The use of humor is a cultural trick. It provides a cultural permission slip to be nasty because, or so the assumption goes, the enemies of "the people" are so unattractive that they deserve whatever Stewart or Colbert throws at them. When Stewart compares Senator Ted Cruz to the Harry Potter character Voldemort, he knows we will then think of Cruz as the book's author describes Voldemort, "a raging psychopath, devoid of the normal human responses to other people's suffering". It may seem futile to complain about the crudeness of American mass culture. It has been around for decades, and it is not about to change anytime soon. The thin line that exists these days between politics and entertainment (witness the rise of Donald Trump) is undoubtedly coarsening our politics. It is becoming more culturally acceptable to split the world into us-versus-them schemata and to indulge in all sorts of antisocial and illiberal fantasies about crushing one's enemies. Only a few decades ago most liberals had a different idea of tolerance. Most would explain it with some variation of Evelyn Beatrice Hall's line about Voltaire's philosophy of free speech: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". That is no longer the case. It is now deemed necessary, indeed even noble, to be intolerant in the cause of tolerance. Any remark or viewpoint that liberals believe is critical of minorities is by definition intolerant. A liberal critique of conservatives or religious people, on the other hand, is, again by definition, incapable of being intolerant. It is a willful double standard. For liberals, intolerance is a one-way street leading straight to conservatism.”” [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage argues that modern media turns political criticism into entertainment, lowering tolerance for dissent and encouraging dehumanizing ridicule of opponents. **In simple terms:** Comedy is used to legitimize harsh attacks on political enemies, eroding free‑speech norms. Key Takeaway Recognize humor’s power to polarize and protect open dialogue. Themes politics media free speech polarization culture Mood critical concerned analytical Type commentary analytical critical When to use this quote - college campuses - news commentary - social media debates - public rallies - political satire Key Concepts cultural criticism media theory political discourse Questions to Reflect On - How does satire affect public perception of political ideas? - Can humor coexist with respectful disagreement? A Different Perspective Humor can oversimplify complex issues, risking misinformation and alienation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Critique Conservatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critique-conservatives-2235322/) [Double standard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/double-standard/) [Free speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-speech/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Intolerant Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intolerant-liberal-2235320/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jon-stewart/) [Liberal Critique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-critique-2235321/) [Liberals Intolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberals-intolerance-2235319/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Popular culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular-culture/) [Public Shaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-shaming-265166/) [Religious people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-people/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stephen-colbert/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ted-cruz/) [Thin line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thin-line/) ## Related quotes > [As far as our culture of humiliation goes, what we need is a revolution. Public shaming as a blood sport has to stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/as-far-as-our-culture-of-humiliation-goes-what-we-need-is-a/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [Calling out people for not voting, what experts term 'public shaming,' can prod someone to cast a ballot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/calling-out-people-for-not-voting-what-experts-term-public-shaming/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [Public shaming is a blood sport that has to stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-lewinsky/public-shaming-is-a-blood-sport-that-has-to-stop/) [Monica Lewinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-lewinsky/) > [It's time for me to give out an award to newly elected Majority Leader John Boehner. Mr. Boehner was elected just a few days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-time-for-me-to-give-out-an-award-to-newly-elected-majority/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I just love Stephen Colbert. He's a genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-eichner/i-just-love-stephen-colbert-he-s-a-genius/) [Billy Eichner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-eichner/) > [Then this would make me Stephen Colbert's stiesr. Hhhmmm Wouldn't I have even the vaguest memories of this? If true I must attest that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eslam/then-this-would-make-me-stephen-colbert-s-stiesr-hhhmmm-wouldn-t-i/) [Eslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eslam/) > [ “Stephen Colbert: \[sitting to Stewart’s right at the anchor desk\] Actually, Jon, we’re not quite done. Jon Stewart: \[rolling away from Colbert on his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-smith/stephen-colbert-sitting-to-stewart-s-right-at-the-anchor-desk/) [Chris Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-smith/) > [I was a fan of "The Daily Show" I watched it,I never imagined being on it, but I figured I would just go down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aasif-mandvi/i-was-a-fan-of-the-daily-show-i-watched-it-i-never-imagined-being-on/) [Aasif Mandvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aasif-mandvi/) > [Twenty-two astronauts were born in Ohio. What is it about your state that makes people want to flee the Earth?" - Stephen Colbert to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/twenty-two-astronauts-were-born-in-ohio-what-is-it-about-your-state/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Senator John Kyle claiming that over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does is abortion. Stephen Colbert: Over 90 percent, that is unbelievable...in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/senator-john-kyle-claiming-that-over-90-percent-of-what-planned/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Here’s an easy way to figure out if you’re in a cult: If you’re wondering whether you’re in a cult, the answer is yes.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/here-s-an-easy-way-to-figure-out-if-you-re-in-a-cult-if-you-re-2/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [In a weird way, our satirists probably have the most complicated, nuanced views of our politics now - Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-neville/in-a-weird-way-our-satirists-probably-have-the-most-complicated/) [Morgan Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-neville/) > [Stephen Colbert's recent comment is apropos: When the Republican legislature of North Carolina responded to a scientific study predicting a threatening rise in sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/stephen-colbert-s-recent-comment-is-apropos-when-the-republican/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Well, I thought it was funny. -Stephen Colbert”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-smith/well-i-thought-it-was-funny-stephen-colbert/) [Larry Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-smith/) ## More by Kim R. Holmes > [ “\[W\]hat is historically new is the alliance with the cultural left. Back in the 1960s, many economically minded New Deal liberals and even socialists… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/w-hat-is-historically-new-is-the-alliance-with-the-cultural-left-back/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“Jefferson's ambivalence toward the French Revolution matters. As a key founder of the American republic, he bridges the moderate and radical Enlightenments. He tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/jefferson-s-ambivalence-toward-the-french-revolution-matters-as-a-key/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“The French Revolution gave history its first instance of modern leftist illiberalism -- an embrace of tyranny in the name of the people. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/the-french-revolution-gave-history-its-first-instance-of-modern/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“University Life" bureaucrats are teaching the next generation of young Americans that the First Amendment is not a guarantee of constitutional rights; it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/university-life-bureaucrats-are-teaching-the-next-generation-of-young/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“Racial stereotyping. For Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders, the sin of white racism was stereotyping all black people as inferior.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/racial-stereotyping-for-martin-luther-king-jr-and-other-civil-rights/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“Practically every radical cause in America today shows the influence of this postmodernist assault. From radical feminism to racial and sexual politics, postmodern leftists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/practically-every-radical-cause-in-america-today-shows-the-influence/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“Being accused of microaggression can be a harrowing experience. Manhattan Institute Fellow Heather Mac Donald relates in City Journal how an incident got out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/being-accused-of-microaggression-can-be-a-harrowing-experience/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“When most people think of intolerance, they imagine a racist taunting a black person. Or they may envision a male chauvinist hurling bigoted insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/when-most-people-think-of-intolerance-they-imagine-a-racist-taunting/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“As existentialists as Jean-Paul Sarte learned, radical individualism can be a dead end for social justice. It is not easy to establish a coherent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/as-existentialists-as-jean-paul-sarte-learned-radical-individualism/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“It can be astonishing how far some colleges will go to enforce ideological discipline. For example, at the City University of New York's Hunter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/it-can-be-astonishing-how-far-some-colleges-will-go-to-enforce/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“artificial order on civilization is with brute force. The only way to make something unnatural appear to be natural is to force everyone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/artificial-order-on-civilization-is-with-brute-force-the-only-way-to/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“Double-Standard Bigotry. It is not uncommon within progressive circles to find the assumption that certain kinds of people are less equal than others. White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/double-standard-bigotry-it-is-not-uncommon-within-progressive-circles/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) > [“The postmodern left gets its particular brand of egalitarianism from the New Left of the 1960s. It was then that neo-Marxism and other radical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-r-holmes/the-postmodern-left-gets-its-particular-brand-of-egalitarianism-from/) [Kim R. Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) [Explore all 14 Kim R. Holmes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-r-holmes/) ## More Double standard quotes > [I think people are more likely to comment on a thin person's weight then the weight of an over weight person. Double standard?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-people-are-more-likely-to-comment-on-a-thin-person-s-weight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want someone that'll love me unconditionally through the good and bad. No double standard. I want something real, just once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-someone-that-ll-love-me-unconditionally-through-the-good-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm shocked at the sexism and double standard coming out of the far right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mikulski/i-m-shocked-at-the-sexism-and-double-standard-coming-out-of-the-far/) [Barbara Mikulski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mikulski/) > [“It was astonishing that the pseudo wreckers, who knew perfectly well that they weren't wreckers, believed that military men and priests were being shaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-was-astonishing-that-the-pseudo-wreckers-who-knew-perfectly-well/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-we-cannot-have-a-double-standard-we-cannot-see-our-art-as/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Many women have made the mistake of changing their beliefs to accommodate their work; it must be the other way around. No circumstance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/many-women-have-made-the-mistake-of-changing-their-beliefs-to/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [When it comes to antisemitism, I have felt for a long time that there's a double standard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suella-braverman/when-it-comes-to-antisemitism-i-have-felt-for-a-long-time-that-there/) [Suella Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suella-braverman/) > [One of the reasons I don't trust the media is you can't have a double standard for guys you like and dislike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/one-of-the-reasons-i-don-t-trust-the-media-is-you-can-t-have-a-double/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) > [“We�'ve all heard the statement "It�s not fair that a woman who sleeps around is a whore, but men who sleep around are studs."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-ve-all-heard-the-statement-it-s-not-fair-that-a-woman-who-sleeps/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Just because a person is attractive/beautiful, this does not mean it is okay to villainize them. We always say that we cannot judge a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/just-because-a-person-is-attractive-beautiful-this-does-not-mean-it/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [The Church has no double standard of morality. The moral code of heaven for both men and women is complete chastity before marriage and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/the-church-has-no-double-standard-of-morality-the-moral-code-of/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [The police can go to downtown Harlem and pick up a kid with a joint in the streets. But they can't go into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-police-can-go-to-downtown-harlem-and-pick-up-a-kid-with-a-joint/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The laughter in response to my question unmasked the double standard our deconstructionists espouse. And that is precisely the double standard of atheism! It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/the-laughter-in-response-to-my-question-unmasked-the-double-standard/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [In the Goldstone Report, Israeli perpetrators of possible crimes against humanity were made subject to prosecution and punishment, although the geopolitical leverage of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-falk/in-the-goldstone-report-israeli-perpetrators-of-possible-crimes/) [Richard A. Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) > [The techniques are all means of dealing with one simple idea: She wrote it. (That is, the "wrong" person--in this case, female--has created the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/the-techniques-are-all-means-of-dealing-with-one-simple-idea-she/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) [Browse all 194 Double standard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/double-standard/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The popular culture has also lowered the threshold on public shaming rituals. It is not only suppressing certain speech on college campuses, but making public denunciation of certain classes of people into a form of popular entertainment. The masters of the funny cheap shot are comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who routinely and cleverly skewer conservatives as stupid bigots. After the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, for example, Stewart asked what was wrong with opponents of same-sex marriage, as if a view held for thousands of years, even not very long ago by both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, were incomprehensible. The use of humor is a cultural trick. It provides a cultural permission slip to be nasty because, or so the assumption goes, the enemies of \"the people\" are so unattractive that they deserve whatever Stewart or Colbert throws at them. When Stewart compares Senator Ted Cruz to the Harry Potter character Voldemort, he knows we will then think of Cruz as the book's author describes Voldemort, \"a raging psychopath, devoid of the normal human responses to other people's suffering\". It may seem futile to complain about the crudeness of American mass culture. It has been around for decades, and it is not about to change anytime soon. The thin line that exists these days between politics and entertainment (witness the rise of Donald Trump) is undoubtedly coarsening our politics. It is becoming more culturally acceptable to split the world into us-versus-them schemata and to indulge in all sorts of antisocial and illiberal fantasies about crushing one's enemies. Only a few decades ago most liberals had a different idea of tolerance. Most would explain it with some variation of Evelyn Beatrice Hall's line about Voltaire's philosophy of free speech: \"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it\". That is no longer the case. It is now deemed necessary, indeed even noble, to be intolerant in the cause of tolerance. Any remark or viewpoint that liberals believe is critical of minorities is by definition intolerant. A liberal critique of conservatives or religious people, on the other hand, is, again by definition, incapable of being intolerant. It is a willful double standard. For liberals, intolerance is a one-way street leading straight to conservatism.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kim R. 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