Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

just-sayin

2019-02-17 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
just-sayin
Votey panel for just-sayin
This explanation is incomplete or may contain errors. It was generated by AI and has not yet been reviewed by a human editor.

Explanation

The Joke

The comic shows a political rally or town hall scene. A supporter in the crowd declares, "I voted for him because he's brave. He says things other politicians wouldn't dare to say!" The politician at the podium then says something along the lines of, "We should eat the poor! We should eat them! Then take their skins and make a stew!" -- something outrageously horrible. The supporter responds, "It's gonna cost a lot of political capital, but he doesn't care!" while another person nearby says, "So refreshing."

The comic satirizes the political phenomenon of voters who value "saying what others won't" as a virtue in itself, regardless of the content of what is being said. The politician's statements are deliberately monstrous and absurd (advocating cannibalism), yet the supporters frame the willingness to say awful things as "bravery" and find it "refreshing" compared to typical political speech.

The Humor

The humor comes from pushing the logic of "he tells it like it is" to its absurd extreme. In real political discourse, some voters celebrate politicians for "saying what everyone is thinking" or "not being politically correct," treating bluntness as inherently virtuous. The comic tests this logic by having the politician say something no reasonable person could support, yet the supporters' reactions remain exactly the same -- they praise the courage and find it refreshing. This reveals the hollowness of valuing rhetorical boldness without evaluating the substance of what is actually being said. The mundane, approving tone of the supporters contrasted with the horrifying content of the speech creates the comedic tension.

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