Creative Courage: Go Ahead - Laugh!

Or; Humor works as a tool of dissent

Oct 23, 2025

1Cliches usually come from a kernel of truth, and laughter is, in fact, good medicine. Particularly, laughter that forces the corners of your face up without increasing your anger. Good, true, and deep laughter can dispel fury and leave room for healthy reactions that don’t rip us apart inside.

I attended the No Kings protest in Bothell, Washington. This was not a huge protest crowd as Washington State goes, maybe 3,000. There was a guy dressed up as Jesus, at least two popes, a smattering of inflatable unicorns, frogs, and dinosaurs, as well as a number of people in their rainbow best. I was struck by the sheer joy, humor, and fun of the protest.

Those of us protesting are serious. We gave up time to attend. We want this administration out of power. Yes, we’re angry and afraid and even mystified. But it was also a social event, a party, and a collective clap back at Trump and company. I believe the No Kings protests were a success because they stayed peaceful and incorporated humor into costumes, signs, and even mood. I wore a frog hat!

Keeping humor as a weapon matters:

1) Dictators hate being laughed at.
Trump particularly hates it. Look at how Steven Colbert and then Jimmy Kimmel were treated. He will use humor against his enemies (think AI video of Trump dumping sludge on protestors), but he doesn’t like humor that is directed at him.

2) Peaceful protests work.

Humor and whimsy are an effective protest strategy. Protestors outside the Ice facility in Portland have chosen to roller-skate, knit, crochet, and dress up as inflatable frogs outside of the facility. You think we’re violent? Here - have an inflatable T-Rex and try not to laugh. All of those strategies and more seem to have gone viral across the last No Kings protest.

3) Humor helps us.

Times are hard. Maddening things like the destruction of an entire wing of the White House and the continual pardoning of criminals continues. I don’t need to recite the litany of things to be disturbed about here, but it’s a daily grind and I know that a few minutes of late-night TV humor or a Josh Johnson reel helps me get through many days.

Historic success at regime change has depended on numbers and peaceful protest. Yeah, there’s other work to do. Politicians need backbones, funding has to happen, food banks need to be staffed, the national debt DOES need to come down. But for all of us, part of our work is to keep up the pressure, to band together in community, and to keep laughing so we can all get through the no good very bad time together.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I added more links than usual, including some links at the very end to standup comedy you might laugh at. Thanks for reading. Feel free to like, share, or comment.

I don’t have anything personal to share that is more important than keeping our sense of humor and showing up in community with laughter, compassion, and empathy. Have a great week or two, and I’ll see you back here with another post soon.

Dictators hate being laughed at:

In Battles over Free Speech, Comedians are Often Center Stage. Boston.com, by Jake Coyle (AP) September 20^th, 2025

Donald Trump Says Late Night Shows Aren’t Allowed to Mock Him. Newsweek, Sept 2025, by John Toher

Peaceful Protests Work:

The Enduring Power of Nonviolent Protests (University of Wisconsin-Madison), by Isabella Ruder, December 2023

Global Non-Violent Action Database (great resource)

Humor is effective:

Beautiful Trouble: Use Humor to Undermine Authority, by Elspeth Tilley, undated

Laughing in the Face of Oppression: How Humor can Defy Autocracy (Development and Cooperation), by Sophia A. McClennen and Srdja Popovic, March, 2025

Humor is good for us:

Can you Laugh Away Anger (Psychology Today), by Judy Carter

Stress Relief from Laughter? It’s no Joke (Mayo Clinic)