Anti-Libertarian Humor

I have to admit it: This video is pretty damn hilarious.

Update: The creator speaks:

I'm the writer, director, editor, and producer of the video in question, and while I admit it's somewhat tongue-in-cheek, it's not intended to be anti-libertarian by any means. I wrote the poem 10 years ago when a Koch Associate applied to work for my organization and listed "libertarianism, poetry" as her interests....The idea of "libertarian poetry" seemed incongruous.

He adds that "if anything the poem and video are poking fun at a stereotype of libertarianism" and concludes, "If any libertarians or anarcho-capitalists take offense to the video, please note that it was not intended to offend you."

No offense taken. Like I said, it's hilarious.

Comments

SugarFree | April 25, 2008, 9:33am | #

I didn't think joe was that old.

Episiarch | April 25, 2008, 9:42am | #

Can someone describe it as I am at work and can't WTFV?

this is awesome | April 25, 2008, 9:47am | #

THIS IS AWESOME!

John-David | April 25, 2008, 9:48am | #

Holy shit, that was incredible! The end was the best.

Hugh Akston | April 25, 2008, 9:55am | #

So that's what Michael Douglas is doing these days.

Cab | April 25, 2008, 9:55am | #

I love that guy.

SugarFree | April 25, 2008, 10:04am | #

Epi,

He parody-rants about how wrong sidewalks and public parks are, occasionally punctuated with obscenity-laced diatribes about how awful the government is. It's really not much more subtle then our regular trolls bitching about how we want to enslave the poor and beat up people in nursing homes.

albo | April 25, 2008, 10:05am | #

A libertarian "Howl"

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by the Department of Education's Bureau of Extra Paperwok, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the Supreme Court Building at dawn looking for a Justice who voted for Kelo v. City of New London

Episiarch | April 25, 2008, 10:08am | #

Damn, I may have to remember to watch this at home when I get there at midnight.

Loupeznik | April 25, 2008, 10:08am | #

SugarFree,

"beat up people in nursing homes". Thanks! I have been wondering around all day trying to remember what I was supposed to do after work.

Taktix® | April 25, 2008, 10:11am | #

Is this Mike Gravel in his early years?

SugarFree | April 25, 2008, 10:11am | #

Loupeznik,

That's tomorrow night. Friday night is when we meet in our dimly-lit McMansions and a strategize on how to make minorities get pregnant in high school and drop out.

Didn't you get the updated schedule?

JW | April 25, 2008, 10:21am | #

SugarFree--Don't be silly, we know that the market will beat up old people in nursing homes for us. No need to bloody *our* hands with such common work.

Brian24 | April 25, 2008, 10:24am | #

Taktix' comment was funnier than the whole video.

Jesse, you have a weird sense of humor.

Peter Twieg | April 25, 2008, 10:24am | #

I enjoyed the movie. I know more than one libertarian who pretty much sounds like this. Probably the majority of the mises.org crowd would be nodding their heads in agreement.

Pro Libertate | April 25, 2008, 10:29am | #

Enslaving the poor, eh? Hmmmm, let me put on my top hat and noodle that around for a while.

If we put them all in prison, then we can legally enslave them thanks to the convict loophole to the 13th Amendment. Sounds like a plan. What constitutes "poor"?

The best part is some crazed liberal will take my post, excise this sentence, and repost it elsewhere as proof that "conservatives" are evil. At least joe has a sense of humor--some people are too dogmatic to find a laugh in darker comedy.

shrike | April 25, 2008, 10:31am | #

But the tone and anger was spot on, especially in light of the top Libertarian comedian - Doug Stanhope. (shameless plug for someone who should be more well known)....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2n34eeXWjUQ&feature=related

mediageek | April 25, 2008, 10:31am | #

That video is hilarious.

peachy | April 25, 2008, 10:43am | #

On a slight tangent - my favourite 'Howl' parody is part of PJ O'Rourke's epic rant against the 'safety nazis.' He is particularly exercised by the menace of the child-proof bottle-cap, and its effect on the hard-drinking modern adult; "I saw the best minds of my generation go at a bottle of anacin with a ball-peen hammer."

stephen the goldberger | April 25, 2008, 11:19am | #

Hahha this is awesome

UCrawford | April 25, 2008, 11:22am | #

It was okay, but if I was looking for a funny parody of libertarian ideals then I'd just pop in my DVDs of "The New Statesman". The guys who wrote that misinterpret libertarians too, but Rik Mayall is ten times funnier than this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPXLbyh6ke8

stephen the goldberger | April 25, 2008, 11:39am | #

This new statesmen thing is not funny.

Jesse Walker | April 25, 2008, 11:55am | #

The New Statesman sounds more like a parody of the Tory Party than a parody of libertarians.

Oddity | April 25, 2008, 11:57am | #

If you recite all that without irony it's pretty much what I believe.

Jose Ortega y Gasset | April 25, 2008, 11:59am | #

I thought it was mildly amusing, which is to say it was exponentially more funny than most of the libertarians I have encountered.

ChicagoTom | April 25, 2008, 12:01pm | #

me people are too dogmatic to find a laugh in darker comedy.

is that a racist comment? :)

Mike Laursen | April 25, 2008, 12:05pm | #

After you watch the video on reason.tv, make sure to scroll down and read the comment from the guy who made it. I would love to see his version of Atlas Shrugged.

Pro Libertate | April 25, 2008, 12:20pm | #

ChicagoTom,

Probably. I need to attend a re-education camp.

Calidore | April 25, 2008, 12:24pm | #

Jose,

Yo soy yo y mi circunstancia.

UCrawford | April 25, 2008, 1:20pm | #

Jesse,

The New Statesman sounds more like a parody of the Tory Party than a parody of libertarians.

It is, but they refer to B'Stard as a libertarian in the show and they portray his advocacy of the free market as an excuse to rob the poor and loot the government (typical socialist straw man). B'Stard comes up with amusing schemes, though...like when he won re-election by disenfranchising 90% of the population with a poll tax and solved a labor shortage by reinstituting slavery.

Frank_A | April 25, 2008, 6:49pm | #

God, that video makes me think of Bioshock and Andrew Ryan (video game Ayn Rand):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbI7gxxbYpo

"Is not a man entitled to the sweet of his brow?
No! Says the man in Washington, "It belongs to the poor!"

Lol!

e | April 25, 2008, 7:21pm | #

Is not a man entitled to his wealthy inheritance by which he may avoid tainting his delicate forehead with sweat?

Yes! Says the libertarian!

economist | April 27, 2008, 10:35am | #

I went to university to gain the sweet milk of knowledge,
But all I tasted was the bitter sweat of the taxpayers upon whom the burden was thrust.
Yeah, I'm not really a good poet. But then again, I've never much liked poetry anyway.

Eric the .5b | April 28, 2008, 2:24pm | #

The funny thing is, I can see a libertarian doing this as a parody of (stereotypes of) modern poetry. :)