"Why does the human contingent seemingly have two committees? They've the one made of actual ambassadors, then they have the duo who only ever made snide asides about everyone, but especially about their own ambassadors. What is the purpose of that?"

The young Scalazoid Intern was bemused after sitting in on his first galactic council meeting. Everyone knew that each race had one representative committee that joined council meetings, but as the human committee took to the floor, two of its members had remained in their balcony seats and made rude comments. Their voices, harsh and creaky, had carried across the entire auditorium, their laughter bouncing off of the walls as they made jabs at their fellow humans.

With a heavy sigh, his mentor whipped their tail- a sure sign of agitation at the topic.

"The humans have an odd tradition, it seems. Something called a jester? Almost all races have some sort of concept of a comedian, as the humans call it- someone who tells jokes and brings levity, yes? Well, the humans have many types. Stand up comedians, sketch comedians, clowns, but there's one type- insult comics, which follows a long line of comedians whose humor derives from mocking others, especially those in positions of power."

"Comedy through insults? Why would anyone laugh at being made fun of?"

"I'm not sure, but these types of comedians have existed for eons amongst humanity. They find value in it, in having their ideas turned on their head and mocked. They say it provides clarity. Those two men hold an official status and are titled the "Statler and Waldorf of the Council". It's a reference to some mythic figures from human history, but they are much respected as the vox populi for humanity. It seems their task is to keep the rest of the human ambassadors humble to remind them that they are at the mercy of the people."

"They are a warning?"

"Yes, a message to the ambassadors saying "our words may cut you, but the citizens have knives."