re: #433 reine.de.tout

There have been times when I have applauded a speaker for his candor, as a show of “yeah, been there, done that, too”, rather than as agreement with whatever the point is.

Exactly. Laughter, also, isn’t something that be judged without knowing the context - lots of times, people reflexively laugh out of discomfort or nervousness.

(sort of reminds me of an incident when I was in university - our class was watching an excerpt from Birth of a Nation, showing the KKK riding on horses to the tune of some cheesy, heroic “here they come to save the day” music. People laughed out of sheer “OMG did they actually film this crap” incredulity, not because they approved of the scene or the movie in any way).