A pasquinade was a statue in Rome back in the day, in which people would post nasty things said in funny ways. It was a single location and you had to know where it was and how to get there in order to enjoy the action. It took some effort to get your kicks from some one else’s discomfort. The problem is that the word pasquinade came to mean any kind of joke or statement or lampoon directed at anyone in a public manner. That it has come to mean this in this day and age, means that only comedians are allowed the realm of the pasquinade. That is too bad because most of the comedians today simply aren’t funny. Who today can compare with just three things that Winston Churchill said about Clement Attlee?
A sheep in sheep’s clothing.
A modest man, who has much to be modest about.
An empty taxi arrived at 10 Downing Street, and when the door was opened, Atlee got out.
These are witty and funny and devastating. They are not ribald or filthy or coarse. They are however, impossible to respond to.
Pasquinades today are pretty public what with Facebook and Twitter and the so called comedians. The problem with humor is that it has to have truth behind it. Just throwing out lies and filth and hoping to have it re-twittered and played on YouTube is a sad attempt at wit.
Jesus was witty and to the point with his pasquinades. He was devastating in his criticism because it was true. It was also always directed at the self-righteous. Check out Matthew 7 and 23. One of Jesus most devastating funny lines in Matthew 7:3.
