Once we stop laughing, this is no longer funny...

I don't know how to paste Twitter threads. But there was a really funny one recently, regarding Kid Rock:

• Obligatory: Kid Rock makes music for people who know exactly how much Sudafed you can buy at a time. - Kid Rock music is the official soundtrack for copper theft. - One time Kid Rock played on the radio while I was driving and somehow I stole my own catalytic converter. - His music came on and an electric Sawzall just appeared in my hands like some kinda trailer trash Exalibur.

Ok. First of all, those are really funny. As a proud redneck from SE Ohio and NE Tennessee, I appreciate the humor in those Tweets. Jeff Foxworthy had a great routine where he'd repeat, "You might be a redneck if..." with lots of different punch lines — those Kid Rock Tweets are all top-shelf and could compete with Mr. Foxworthy. And my fellow rednecks would all laugh, at our own expense.

Although Mr. Foxworthy's punch lines rarely sounded critical. He did not condescend. Us rednecks identified with his descriptions, like, "You might be a redneck if...":

...your front porch collapses and kills at least three dogs.
...you've ever lost a loved one to kudzu.
...your coffee table used to be a telephone cable spool.
...you think that potted meat on a saltine is an hors d'ourve.
...you consider a six-pack and a bug-zapper to be high-quality entertainment.
...fewer than half of your cars run.
...you've ever bathed with flea & tick soap.
...your wife has ever said, 'Come help move this transmission so I can take a bath.'"
...your baby's first words are, "Attention Kmart shoppers."
...your wife's job requires her to wear an orange vest.
...you've ever shot a deer from inside your house.
...you have a rag for a gas cap (on a car that actually does run).
...you've ever been too drunk to fish.
...your richest relative buys a new house and you have to help take the wheels off it.
...the directions to your house include the phrase 'turn off the paved road'.
...you've ever gone to a Tupperware party for a haircut.
...you have a very special baseball cap, just for special occasions.
...you mow your lawn and find a car.
...going to the bathroom in the middle of the night involves putting on shoes and a jacket and finding a flashlight.
...you have a house that's mobile and five cars that are not.
...you've ever hit a deer with your car - deliberately.

I will not admit how many of those fit my childhood, except to say that it is not zero. And I find all of them hilarious! Wonderful stuff.

Comedians are struggling these days. Because white rednecks are just about the only group that you're allowed to make fun of anymore. You can't do Polack jokes, black jokes, gay jokes, feminist jokes, or really any other kind of jokes. All you're allowed to do is make fun of rednecks. And us rednecks find those jokes to be hilarious!

But Trump's assassination attempt yesterday highlighted the fact that this really isn't funny. The establishment — the wealthy, the investors, the elite, the successful — they have always treated us rednecks with disdain. Which seems like harmless fun, when you're watching Married... with Children.

But perhaps this is not funny.

A close friend of mine who is gay told me that once we stopped laughing at gay jokes, his joyous lifestyle became a deadly serious job. He thought that he was offended by the old, stupid gay jokes, but now he misses them.

I spent a weekend in Alaska with 800 gay men from California, and all they did all weekend was crack gay jokes. I was the literal straight man to more gay jokes than I thought were possible. We had a great time, and I made some great friendships. Friendships with people who seemed different from me, but with whom I had a lot in common. It was beautiful.

Once things aren't funny anymore, then things aren't funny anymore.

Sometimes we laugh at our differences. Other times we try to destroy those different from ourselves.

I hope that we can understand such seemingly fine distinctions.

As it turns out, this may be extremely important.

If they once viewed you as funny, and now view you as a threat, you should pay attention to that shift in perspective. It may be extremely important.