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On Rachel Butera mocking Dr. Ford’s voice:
“That’s not satire by any stretch of the imagination.”
Hmmm… I’m not so sure:
sat·ire
ˈsaˌtī(ə)r
noun
the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
synonyms: mockery, ridicule, derision, scorn, caricature
Seems like she was doing the literal definition of satire. Sorry if it offended your delicate sensibilities. Were you as offended by SNL and every single late night host mocking Cavanaugh for the past 10 days?
Don’t be so easily offended, it’s unbecoming in a grown man.
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Hi Georgina – thanks for the comment. The crux of the issue is in your pasted definition, in that satire is about criticizing/exposing “people’s stupidity or vices.” There was no stupidity or vice being criticized or exposed by Butera, and thus it ain’t satire.
Butera was only making light of the fact that Dr. Ford’s voice did not sound like it matched up with the professional adult Dr. Ford is. By itself, that’s no big deal. If she’d seen Dr. Ford speaking at a business conference and mocked her voice, we all might have laughed. Timing isn’t everything, but it sure makes a difference. Mocking the voice of a person testifying about being sexually assaulted, and only for the purpose of making fun of her voice, is very poor form, indeed.
I don’t know if I’m offended by it, per se. I just have an opinion about it, especially when it comes to satire.
Now, if you believe that Dr. Ford is lying, and/or you think she’s a willing pawn in a Democratic “con job,” as some have described it, then make fun of that. Because *that* would be satire.