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Nineteen years ago a small group of nonviolent, pro-democracy protesters,Otpor, decided to play a public prank on Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic. Theprotesters took an oil barrel, taped a picture of Milosevic to it and set it up in the middle of Belgrades largest shopping district. Next to it they placed a baseball bat. They then moved away to a spot where they could anonymously watch what happened next.

As Otpor co-founder Srdja Popovicrecounted, Before long, dozens of shoppers lined the street, each waiting for a chance totake a swingat Milosevic the man so many despised, but whom most were too afraid to criticize.

After 30 minutes the police arrived, but they were at a loss for how to stop the mockery of the dictator. The culprits were nowhere to be seen and those wielding the bat were just innocent shoppers. So thepolice decided to arrest the barrel. Popovic explained that the image of the two policemen dragging the barrel to their police car went viral: Milosevic and his cronies became the laughing stock of the nation, and Otpor became a household name. A small group of students grew to 70,000. Milosevics days were numbered.

Fast-forward to the present where in the United States we have recently inaugurated the Donald Trump administration in whatisostensibly a democracy butthat increasingly feelslike an authoritarian regime. As was the case in Serbia under Milosevic, we are able to watch the role that comedy can play in unsettling a despot. InSerbia asmall group oflaughtivistssought to use humor to bring down a dictator; in America we already have a full-blown satire rebellion.

Last week comedian Melissa McCarthy impersonated Trumps press secretary Sean Spiceron SaturdayNight Live. It was one of the most potent impersonations yet of the Trump regime. The clip went viral and was seen by more than 20million viewers in less than one week.

Even better, though, the impersonation has apparently rattled the White House. Politicoreported, Trumps uncharacteristic Twitter silence over the weekend about the SaturdayNight Live sketch was seen internally as a sign of how uncomfortable it made the White House feel. Itfurther reported that Trump is especially unhappy that a woman impersonated Spicer. Wordis that Spicer may be at riskof losing his job.

That same week Jon Stewart appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for the first time since the inauguration. In amock Trump impersonation, Stewartclaimedthat in only 11 days and after 20executive orders we were all fatigued: The presidency is supposed to age the president, not the public. After revealing that one of Trumps forthcoming executive orders was to make bullshit the official language of the United States, Stewart ended on a somber note.

We have never faced this before: purposeful, vindictive chaos, but perhaps therein lies the saving grace of my, Donald J. Trumps, presidency, Stewartsaid. No one action will be adequate.All actions will be necessary, and if we do not allowDonald Trumpto exhaust our fight and somehow come through this presidency calamity-less and constitutionally partially intact, then I, Donald J. Trump, will have demonstrated the greatness of America just not the way I thought I was gonna.

Stewart is right, of course. There is no one action that will be the magic pill that puts the Trump administration behind us. But one thing is clear: Satirical mockery, political comedy and laughtivism are some of the most powerful weapons in our anti-Trump arsenal.

Trumps weak flank when it comes toridicule was already well apparent before Election Day. Alec Baldwins extraordinary impersonations ofTrump on SNL have led the thin-skinned narcissist todesperately tweet in response. Each time that Baldwin has mocked him, Trump has replied and looked even more foolish as a result.

Michael Moore keyed in early to the power of satire forbringing down Trump. During a pre-inauguration protest in front of Trump Tower, he called onpeople to remember that facts dont matter to Trump but mockery does.Moore called out to the crowd: Whats he affected by? Hes affected by comedy! He has the thinnest skin, the thinnest skin of any bully Ive ever met. In all his anti-Trump rallies, Moore has urged the crowdto form an army of comedy to go after Trump and help bring him down.

The potential power of satireis not limited to simply getting under Trumps skin. As I wrote with co-author Remy Maisel in Is Satire Saving Our Nation?, satire always emerges in moments of crisis and Americans have a long, robust history of using satire to productive political ends in our nation.

While satire is not likely to persuade Trump supporters to change their view of him, it is worth remembering thatTina Feys impersonation of Sarah Palin is credited with destroying her election run. So satire can affect public opinion and change history.

Where satire is its most powerful is in the ways it helps rally resistance and create a community of those who are in on the joke. As authoritarian regimes seek to divide and demoralize society, shared jokes breathe life and force to collective resistance. This, for instance, was what Colbert and Stewart did whenin 2010 they helda pre-midterm election rallyon the National Mall.

Satire, through its dependence on irony, where the satirist says one thing and means another, is a key weapon in the fight against stupidity, faulty logic and BS.When Stewart signed off as hostof The Daily Show, he reminded viewers that his comedy had tried to expose bullshit mountain.

In fact, much of the excellent anti-Trump satire available involvespreciselyusing irony, sarcasm and snark to expose thelies, alt-facts and hubristic smokescreens that Trump and his minions throw at us daily.A mainstay of political satire, from John Olivers expos of Trumps true last name,Drumpf,to Samantha Bees recurringsegment People Are Saying, is to champion logic and critical thinking.

Satire can form a central part of collective resistance. It was a key part of thepussyhat projectthat helped addfun irony to the activism of the Womens March. Lizz Winstead, one of the original creators of The Daily Show, is a co-founder ofLady Parts Justice, which uses comedy to help fight for womens reproductive rights. The organizations goal is to blow this shit up in a smart and funny way . . . . to get folks to sit up, take action and reverse this erosion of rights.

Similarly, the satirical activism of groups like theYes Menhas helped public protests gain attention and advance political causes. These groups offer models for public stunts, campaignsand marchesthat blend the fun of pranks with the punch of protest.

Because satire is fun, it can play a major role in helping combat aculture of fear. The Trump team doesnt only try to frighten its supporters; it also consistently threatens any opposition. Against that sort of bullying, satirists likeLee Camp,Bill MaherandJimmy Doreoffer viewers fearless opposition. One key feature of their political comedy is that they refuse to submit to prevailing narratives, which means that they go after Trump but dont give liberals a pass either.

Maher has always refused to succumb to aparty line and was even fired after 9/11 for saying things others dared not to.BothCampandDoreconsistently attack the capitalist oligarchy. Their comedy helps model the sort of righteous anger that true political resistance needs.

Satire also can play a major role in creating community and developing a common critical vocabulary that can be used to speak truth to power. SNLhas been at the forefront of this sort of comedy in the Trump era, repeatedly offering viewers skits that have gone viral.

In addition to Baldwin and McCarthy making guest appearances, members ofthe regular castof SNL (especially Kate McKinnon and Beck Bennett) haveoffered fun, entertaining, yet hard-hitting skits.Saturdays show is set to have Alec Baldwin as host and is sure to ruffle Trumps feathers while helping millions across the nation and the world laugh at his expense. Despite Trumps whining that the show sucks,its rating have popped more than20percentsince last year and are at theirhighest level in 20years.

In a similar vein, bothSeth MeyersandTrevor Noahhave sharpened their satirical teeth going after Trump and hiskakistocracy. Working their dimply smiles and boyish charm, both comedians have used their charisma to pack a different kind of satire punch.

In another example, Comedy Central has recently launched a new online satirical show, the Mideast Minute hosted byPardis Parker, which pokes fun at U.S. propaganda news. And we cant forget the good work in the fake news ofThe Onionand accomplished by The New YorkersAndy Borowitz.

The reality is that the satire rebellion is using a range of tactics and the examples are too numerous to list which is exactly the kind of strategy the anti-Trump resistance needs.

Serbian satirical protestor Popovicexplainedthat while humor has often been a part of protest, it is playing a bigger role in 21st-century struggle and thats because it works: Humor breaks fear and builds confidence. . . .The best acts of laughtivism force their targets into lose-lose scenarios, undermining the credibility of a regime no matter how they respond. These acts move beyond mere pranks; they help corrode the very mortar that keeps most dictators in place: Fear.

Thats why we need to follow the lesson of Serbia under Milosevic. History teaches us that for satire to really be powerful, we all have to be in on the joke.

The satire resistance cannot be limited to professionals. It depends on all of us.

At the New York protest in January, Mooreremindedpeople that they, too, can play a role in the satire rebellion: Everybody here has a sense of humor. Use it! Use it! Participate in the ridicule and the satire for the emperor who has no clothes.

And thats one of the strongest signs that satire is a key part of the anti-Trump campaign. Every day an average citizen is mocking Trump and his team. There is even a Twitter parody account forTrumps bathrobe.

On Twitter, on Facebook, via Instagram and on the White House lawn, the assaults are constant. Satire has literally become the political idiom of resistance.

So whether you share clips from Baldwins appearance on SNL tonight or create your own meme, you are making a difference. Each joke shows Trump that he is the butt of itandlets uscontrol the story and create a broader community.

Our laughter isnt just making us stronger; its reminding us that fighting for our nation can be fun.

Excerpt from:
Hitting Trump where it hurts: The satire troops take up comedy arms against Donald Trump - Salon