Looks like we’ve got a little leftist civil war brewing after what just happened!
Larry David is stirring up controversy again, this time targeting the left. The comedian published a new satirical essay at Air Mail that parodies the manifesto of the Democratic Socialists of America, and the reaction has been fierce.
David framed the piece as a personal account of joining the DSA after the group accepted a dozen “modest proposals” of his. The proposals are deliberately outrageous, written in the style of a political parody. In one passage, he writes that reparations for slavery will include a lottery system in which white people are selected to serve as slaves to Black families for one year, with “government-issued whips” distributed for free and “lashings encouraged for excessive whining.”
Another section declares that Israelis will give up their land to Palestinians, relocate to Pitcairn Island, and stop calling themselves the “Chosen People,” referring to themselves instead as the “Bagel People.” He also jokes that in a socialist America, police would be reduced to settling domestic disputes at farmers markets. Larry David’s DSA satire essay drew immediate attention online, with the New York Times rounding up critical commenters who labeled the 79-year-old as unfunny, out of touch, and even racist. The DSA declined to comment.
Not everyone piled on. One supportive blogger pushed back on the criticism, writing, “I am not sure what brought on this ‘coming out’ by Larry; perhaps it was seeing his good friend Jerry Seinfeld repeatedly attacked by the Free Palestine zombies.”
This isn’t David’s first foray into political satire. Last year he wrote an essay headlined “My Dinner With Adolf” that targeted President Trump and Bill Maher, drawing its own round of headlines. His latest piece shows he’s willing to take swings across the political spectrum. Whether readers find it funny or offensive likely depends heavily on where they stand politically, and that debate is already well underway online. Share your take in the comments or on social media.
