Should Comedians Have Free Rein?

[Sawyer]

Comedians are the least harmful people on the planet. Their whole reason for existing is to make people laugh. That's it. So let's worry about other things, like terrorism, criminals, rapists, etc. Stuff that actually threatens us... not modern day court jesters.

Also, most of the time when a comedian "offends", everyone in the audience is laughing their heads off. It's only when they show the clip on Fox News and they have some whiny blogger on a split-screen do we think there's something "wrong".

My God.... Rocketman has actually said something I could agree with.

 

[Kar]

Well, one of the recent incidents going around is this one.

His jokes didn't land for me, but I never found him funny to begin with.



http://www.upworthy.com/a-comedian-went-on-tv-and-viciously-insulted-a-fellow-comedian-heres-her-eloquent-response?c=upw1&u=b957fb2fc3a17c60cf8b93ebf5b4a55d020be747

Fine example of when comedians are being ***** rather than actually being funny.

 

[The Shape]

As long as comedians aren't spewing violent or hateful comments with no basis in comedy, they should be able to say whatever they want. It's their JOB to say the things that no one else can, to push the boundaries, and sometimes "shock" people.

If this guy's tweets are so offense and people have been calling for his job, what ISN'T off limits in terms of comedy? Will we soon only be able to make jokes about inanimate objects and plants? Or won't those jokes even wind up offending someone?

Jim Norton said it best in his essay for TIME:

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"We're addicted to the rush of being offended

People say that Americans trends are transient, but the one activity we never seem to tire of is being outraged. Boy, do we love it! We simply can’t seem to get enough of that rush we feel when something offends us. It’s like the dopamine drip we get from that first drink or the first drag of a cigarette after getting off a cross-country flight. And what is our favorite thing to be outraged over? Well, it’s certainly nothing petty, like homelessness, or the fact that every single person we elect to public office is a manipulative, groveling, poll-obsessed liar. Nope. We’re not stupid enough to waste our energy on such nonsense. We save our collective outrage for the really important stuff, like things comedians say.

Which brings us, of course, to Trevor Noah, our guest star on this week’s edition of Manufactured Outrage. When Comedy Central named Trevor as Jon Stewart’s successor, our trusty, tireless brigade of social-justice warriors immediately went to work digging through his tweets and stand-up to find something, anything to be upset about. Much to their relief, Trevor didn’t disappoint. Being a working comedian, he’d made plenty of jokes over the years that a susceptible person could pick up, blow the dust off and aim at themselves to achieve martyrdom.

Trevor, while tweeting things with the intention of being funny, had gone … yes, you guessed it – over the line! (Click here for dramatic organ music.) In his rush to be funny, he had broken what has become the new golden rule in American public life, which is to never say anything (or, God forbid, joke about anything) that may be deemed even remotely offensive or upsetting by any segment of the population for any reason. Trevor forgot that in the new millennium, there is a seemingly endless checklist of subject matter that has been deemed inappropriate to address with humor. And by no means is that checklist final; it’s constantly changing and morphing and contradicting itself without warning.

He also neglected to take into account that Western culture as a whole has become an increasingly reactionary mob of self-centered narcissists who all have their own personal lines drawn in the sand. A comedian is fine unless he crosses their particular line, which, of course, in the mind of a self-centered narcissist, is the only line that matters.

Being outraged and upset and feeling bullied or offended are not only things we enjoy, they’re also things we have become thoroughly addicted to. When we can’t purposefully get our feelings hurt by a comedian, we usually find another, albeit less satisfying, source of indignation. A few of the old stand-byes are sports announcers, radio hosts, Twittering athletes and paparazzi-hating actors. These are always great sources to look to when we need to purposefully upset ourselves. And make no mistake about it: Upsetting ourselves on purpose is exactly what we are doing. At least that’s what I hope we are doing. Because the other alternative is that Americans have collectively become the most hypersensitive group of whining milksops ever assembled under one flag. I find this second choice to be particularly humiliating, so I opt for the first. I choose to believe that we are addicted to the rush of being offended, the idea of it, rather than believing we have become a nation of emasculated children whose only defense against an abyss of emotional agony is a trigger warning.

The image people have of comedians staring defiantly over a stationary line of good taste is simply inaccurate. We don’t approach this line, put our toes over it arrogantly and then scamper back to safety. The line doesn’t exist. The correct image for people to have is one of a circle, with a comedian standing in the middle of it, surrounded by a myriad of races, religions, social beliefs, sacred cows and political ideologies. And in these groups are endless numbers of sub groups and personal boundaries. There is simply no way to consistently do the type of comedy that addresses these things without upsetting somebody. No matter which direction you turn to aim the joke, someone is getting hit. And while the person who has been hit jumps up and down and exaggerates their injuries, everyone else in the circle is telling them to shut up and learn to take a joke. Until they themselves get hit.

Trevor Noah is a great, relevant young comic, and Comedy Central is smart to stand by him. I read the tweets he was “under fire” for, and some were funny, some weren’t. The thread that connected them all for me is the embarrassment I feel for anyone claiming to be offended by them. They weren’t vicious or written to be harmful. And everyone reading them knows that. But knowing his tweets weren’t intended to be harmful isn’t important when people who list ‘victim’ as their occupation smell blood in the water. Because their outrage is a lie and their motives are transparent. They are simply using his tweets to get their dopamine drip."

http://time.com/3766915/trevor-noah-tweets-outrage/

- - -

By the way, I have a joke for all of you..."women's rights".

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Fine example of when comedians are being ***** rather than actually being funny.

So don't listen to them. No one's forcing you.... Jesus...

 

[terry78]

Humor will always be subjective. If you're a fan of the comedian chances are you'll overlook them saying some pretty risque **** that is in real bad taste. Even some of the greats say stuff that has me going, "wow, that wasn't even necessary."

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

And is the obese, one-armed comedian really funny, or is it another pet "pity project" from the social justice crowd? The whole article reeked of self-important "you should love her, because you feel sorry for her" patronization that has become their trademark.

 

[Erzengel]

What's the adage, it's always funny until it hits too close to home?

 

[terry78]

I mean, there are white comedians that have said some pretty ****ed up jokes about black people and I confess I laughed. Now if it gets like more or less mean spirited like he's just mad his ex left him for a black dude, that's when it gets not funny anymore.

 

[Flint Marko]

"We're addicted to the rush of being offended

People say that Americans trends are transient, but the one activity we never seem to tire of is being outraged. Boy, do we love it! We simply can’t seem to get enough of that rush we feel when something offends us. It’s like the dopamine drip we get from that first drink or the first drag of a cigarette after getting off a cross-country flight. And what is our favorite thing to be outraged over? Well, it’s certainly nothing petty, like homelessness, or the fact that every single person we elect to public office is a manipulative, groveling, poll-obsessed liar. Nope. We’re not stupid enough to waste our energy on such nonsense. We save our collective outrage for the really important stuff, like things comedians say.

I said something similar to this early on in the thread and got told I was acting like I was "above being offended" or something along those lines. I'm glad to hear that Jim and I agree on this, I've liked him for a while now.

And is the obese, one-armed comedian really funny, or is it another pet "pity project" from the social justice crowd? The whole article reeked of self-important "you should love her, because you feel sorry for her" patronization that has become their trademark.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I mean, there are white comedians that have said some pretty ****ed up jokes about black people and I confess I laughed. Now if it gets like more or less mean spirited like he's just mad his ex left him for a black dude, that's when it gets not funny anymore.

Dude, black comedians have said some pretty messed up stuff about white people too and in the last couple decades those jokes have had much more mainstream acceptance than vice-versa because it's seen as comeuppance towards a traditionally privileged hegemonic class. Personally they don't bother me, because, yes, we do kinda have it coming. And I don't strongly identify as a white person over other aspects of my identity.
To me everything should be on the table when it comes to stand-up at least. The moment we start saying certain jokes are off the table is when free speech becomes a thing of the past. Of course people can choose to listen to it or not, but if they don't listen to it then they shouldn't have the right to try and deny those comics to the rest of us.

 

[Erzengel]

I do think if a white comedian makes some sort of black joke, I think he would be under more scrutiny than a black comedian telling a white joke.

 

[The Shape]

I do think if a white comedian makes some sort of black joke, I think he would be under more scrutiny than a black comedian telling a white joke.

And that's very sad indeed, especially because we're talking about jokes that are essentially being made by "jokesters".

 

[Kar]

So don't listen to them. No one's forcing you.... Jesus...

Who said I was being forced? This is what I've been saying in basically all my posts. You don't have to listen to them. I was just pointing that as an example of when people can just be nasty and not funny. I totally agree on the whole "you don't have to listen to them" part.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

posted this in the stupid thread, but it's appropriate here as well

now I'm not saying bill maher crossed the line and needs to give a public apology for it, but I don't think that was funny. that's all. simple as that.

 

[Human Torch]

I think "free rein" can be taken too far. I mean, something in bad taste will be in bad taste whether it's couched in humor or not.

I think people do get a bit overly sensitive when it comes to "ethnic" humor. I mean, if a black guy does a "White guys can't dance" joke it's alright. But If a white guy does a "fried chicken" joke there is outrage? So I think we should lighten up when it comes to being ultra sensitive about that kind of humor. It's generally harmless.

 

[jmc]

No subject is off limits with comedy and nor should it be.

 

[Greens]

posted this in the stupid thread, but it's appropriate here as well

now I'm not saying bill maher crossed the line and needs to give a public apology for it, but I don't think that was funny. that's all. simple as that.

I think that's pretty funny. The delivery wasn't perfect, but I like it.

 

[Travesty]

I'm not going to lie, it was actually the first thing I thought of when I saw that pic.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

I think that's pretty funny. The delivery wasn't perfect, but I like it.

looks like over 2,000 other people were not amused. I mean...does the terrorist thing have to be pulled with every brown Muslim celebrity (not like there even is that many of them)? to me it's just so tasteless

 

[Travesty]

Who cares if 2,000 people weren't amused, Greens said he was.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Who cares if 2,000 people weren't amused, Greens said he was.

I do.

 

[Greens]

1800 of those 2000 people are One Direction fans jumping to defend their Jesus figure.

It doesn't matter, anyway. The intention behind the joke was to shock, and it succeeded.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

1800 of those 2000 people are One Direction fans jumping to defend their Jesus figure.

You don't know that. I don't care about one direction and I didn't like it.

It doesn't matter, anyway. The intention behind the joke was to shock, and it succeeded.

That's not something I wouldn't expect from bill maher, but it's also not a great way to appeal to a wider demographic.

 

[Slushy]

No. That's why I couldn't stand Joan Rivers when she was alive. She said some vile stuff all in the name of "comedy" even though it was probably how she really felt on the subject.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Who cares if 2,000 people weren't amused, Greens said he was.

How many people were amused by it? Do we have a count for that? Maher is an equal opportunity offender.

For those that were offended? Oh well. They move on and don't listen to Bil Maher anymore. Is that so difficult?