General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: If you have a strong moral objection to criticizing, satirizing or mocking deeply held beliefs [View all]Silent3
(15,152 posts)The important lesson is to leap to no conclusions at all based on the simple question of whether one is or isn't being mocked.
Certainly you can be overly sensitive and fail to defend what's right in the face of mockery, but it is also far too common to dig in and double down and miss valid points of criticism. Make no mistake mockery often does carry a valid message, and its shock value can offer more insight at times than gentle, patient explanations.
Even if mockery doesn't directly change the minds of those who have dug in on what's being mocked, it often creates an environment (for better or worse) where those who haven't taken up the mocked viewpoint are less likely to do so.
I'm pretty certain that the huge swing in public attitudes toward gay rights and gay marriage has been made not through careful argumentation and logic for the most part, but through emotional appeals and by making bigots look like idiots.