If there is time, you can fight Alinsky ridicule by EXPLAINING it. Say WHY Jon Stewart is mocking X. What is the goal? Why is freedom allowed for THESE people but not the ones he is mocking.
I would agree with your comment. Ridicule is sometimes difficult to overcome because it comes from a more primitive level than truthful (intellectual) dialogue.
To Alinsky and to Stewart I would say look—don’t you understand that your use of ridicule diminishes your intellectual standing in a general sense and specifically it exposes the fact that the point you’re trying to make is so weak it can’t be stated openly and honestly.
Ridicule is the same thing as putting lipstick and a fancy dress on Cinderella’s homely stepsister.