Pod Only Knows #035 – Sarah Posner – Humor vs. Rage and The Ohio Blood Libel
“They’re eating the dogs” is already enshrined as one of the most memorable and iconic (and insane) phrases ever to enter the arena of American politics.
Donald Trump is a ridiculous, unserious, and increasingly gullible person, and his amplifying of a fake story of Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating pets in front an audience of tens of millions is a new low even for him.
“They’re eating the dogs” has been memed and remixed to death already, sometimes to hilarious effect. And plenty of experts on the authoritarianism highlight the need to mock and belittle authoritarians. Plenty of “they’re eating the dogs” memes serve that end.
But it’s also a carbon copy of the Blood Libel, the medieval conspiracy theory against Jewish populations that accused them of stealing and feeding off the blood of Christian children.
So is there a line where humor has to end and genuine outrage response has to begin?
Also, who’s gonna win this election anyway?
For thoughts on that, we turned to our friend, journalist Sarah Posner, who last joined us in March.
You can find Sarah on Bluesky @sarahposner.bsky.social
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