If you look at the other comments, you can see that this concept of punching down vs. punching up is something a lot of people have touched on.

I don’t agree. I believe the essence of comedy is in absurdity. The fundamental structure of a joke is that it makes you anticipate one end but gives you another.

Often people “punch down” or make fun of those you would not expect them to make fun of, or consider off limits, for the shock value or unexpectedness of it.

We see this as common practice among comedians, and it’s a good method for garnering laughs.