Comedians are not going to save us. No matter how many times they “slay” or “kill” or “destroy” on their nightly shows, they’re not going to save us. The only difference they’ll make is perhaps causing one to laugh at what is one great, big misfortune.

All the jokes about Trump and his administration, all the zingers and impressions and dressing down aren’t going to affect change. The late night monologues aren’t going to help, either. The rants about climate change and impeachment and white supremacy will resonate with the audience for a few minutes and then the words will just clang around the internet for a day or two before we remember we’re depressed as fuck and nothing seems funny or even impactful anymore.

The hashtags are not going to save us. They are not going to push impeachment or make him resign, the tweets and retweets and quote tweets are not making a single fucking difference except for making you feel like you are part of a process, but that process is more about thinning the anger for a few seconds than anything else.

The comedians are not going to foment a revolution. Their routines will not propel social just forward. Their tweets will not destroy or kill or slay anything but your existential dread, and that’s only for as long as your laughter lasts, which is as long as it takes for you to realize there’s really no humor in all of this at all.

They can dismantle speeches and take down policies and zing their way into rising ratings but it just does not fucking matter. The audience will hoot and holler and applaud wildly as if a pressing…