"If we cannot laugh at ourselves, if we cannot take a joke at our expense, then perhaps there is something else going on underneath. Perhaps the real reasons for the backlash are not the jokes themselves, but our feelings of deep insecurity about our place in the world. If that is true, such insecurities should be remedied, perhaps with counseling."
I'll admit I went into this thinking "Oh, one of _these_ articles" thinking it would be lacking in substance as I've unfortunately seen in the past (even if I agree with the thesis). I'm happy to be proven wrong! You've discussed some great points here that I'll writing down in my notebooks.
Thank you to the author, and thanks again to JoFBT!
Nice post! I am an America white male. A few years back I was reflecting on if/ how I may have contributed to what my company calls micro-aggressions during a forced "struggle-session" required for all employees courtesy of our Human Resources team in which all the offenders were white males. Go figure. One joke came to mind that I'd heard involving George Burns and Tina Turner, wherein the former used a forbidden word in the presence of the latter. It was also the one "racist" joke that I ever remember chuckling over. In deconstructing the joke, I found that the humor was based not on disparaging/ belittling Tina Turner ... It was that the cute, cuddly grandpa figure was in fact a racist as measured by his use of the epithet. Which is to say, the joke was against George and my real amusement was the diminution of George. For a sizable portion of Thought Police, I suppose my being amused makes me a racist. But, I don't feel that's a fair reading - not that the TP ever attempt to understand the point. It makes me sad that I couldn't even bring it up for the discussion based on the HR rules.
"working on a series of novels that explores African myths and legends, using them as building blocks to create captivating fictional stories." Very interesting. Can you share more about this?
Comedy and plays are an ancient form, thousands of years older than Christ. And protecting the freedom of artists has long been a main stay of ancient civlizations.
Maybe people think protecting freedom of art for 6,000 years has been a bust and want to try something new by heavily restricting art and commedy? If we tried this new approach, what could go wrong?
“Are students so brittle that the performance of an offensive joke would shatter them to the core and leave them traumatised? Do they need to be shielded, coddled and sheltered from what might otherwise (and quite naturally) make them laugh?”
To answer your well crafted question… yes!
As a group, college kids, at least the very vocal minority have lost touch with the meaning and necessity of comedy. And they’ve ruined it for the majority of kids that can take a fucking joke.
And this is why the best and brightest comedians today simply refuse to book a gig with most universities.
It’s yet another example of social justice doing the opposite of its cause.
Unlike Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and John Oliver who cannot bear to poke fun at the foibles of the left, Ricky Gervais, Bill Maher and Dave Chappelle are equal opportunity comedians. That’s why they are consistently funny and the others are not.
Yes, comedy should be the bastion of free speech, but many in the “ marginalized community “ do not have a sense of humor …only a sense of “offense”. They are so insecure that they can’t take a joke! What a way to live..constantly whining about how “hurt” they are, constantly trying to control others!
Imagine me showing up in a 'cracker' bar in the Deep South, mouthing off honky jokes. Flirting with the blue-eyed, blonde, and big-booty bartender? Lol!!!!
"If we cannot laugh at ourselves, if we cannot take a joke at our expense, then perhaps there is something else going on underneath. Perhaps the real reasons for the backlash are not the jokes themselves, but our feelings of deep insecurity about our place in the world. If that is true, such insecurities should be remedied, perhaps with counseling."
Yeah. TYTY for writing this Truthful essay, sir!
Charles: I always appreciate the thoughtfulness of your essays. You nailed it with this one.
Also, "Hotel Shendam" is a must read for anyone else reading my comment. It really is a page turner.
I'll admit I went into this thinking "Oh, one of _these_ articles" thinking it would be lacking in substance as I've unfortunately seen in the past (even if I agree with the thesis). I'm happy to be proven wrong! You've discussed some great points here that I'll writing down in my notebooks.
Thank you to the author, and thanks again to JoFBT!
Great to hear this, thank you for the praise!
I'm glad you found substance in my write up.
Nice post! I am an America white male. A few years back I was reflecting on if/ how I may have contributed to what my company calls micro-aggressions during a forced "struggle-session" required for all employees courtesy of our Human Resources team in which all the offenders were white males. Go figure. One joke came to mind that I'd heard involving George Burns and Tina Turner, wherein the former used a forbidden word in the presence of the latter. It was also the one "racist" joke that I ever remember chuckling over. In deconstructing the joke, I found that the humor was based not on disparaging/ belittling Tina Turner ... It was that the cute, cuddly grandpa figure was in fact a racist as measured by his use of the epithet. Which is to say, the joke was against George and my real amusement was the diminution of George. For a sizable portion of Thought Police, I suppose my being amused makes me a racist. But, I don't feel that's a fair reading - not that the TP ever attempt to understand the point. It makes me sad that I couldn't even bring it up for the discussion based on the HR rules.
"working on a series of novels that explores African myths and legends, using them as building blocks to create captivating fictional stories." Very interesting. Can you share more about this?
Comedy and plays are an ancient form, thousands of years older than Christ. And protecting the freedom of artists has long been a main stay of ancient civlizations.
Maybe people think protecting freedom of art for 6,000 years has been a bust and want to try something new by heavily restricting art and commedy? If we tried this new approach, what could go wrong?
[Did the cultural revolution in China work out?]
A quote (mis?)attributed to Oscar Wilde: "Comedy is a way of telling the truth without getting hung."
One can't count on not getting hung anymore.
Great insight as always Charles. I love your writing. I'm so grateful to see FBT take interest in you. You deserve it!
Thanks Steve!
Maybe you can post Elon Musk's video in your article?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A00eGrw_c5Q
“Are students so brittle that the performance of an offensive joke would shatter them to the core and leave them traumatised? Do they need to be shielded, coddled and sheltered from what might otherwise (and quite naturally) make them laugh?”
To answer your well crafted question… yes!
As a group, college kids, at least the very vocal minority have lost touch with the meaning and necessity of comedy. And they’ve ruined it for the majority of kids that can take a fucking joke.
And this is why the best and brightest comedians today simply refuse to book a gig with most universities.
It’s yet another example of social justice doing the opposite of its cause.
And it’s maddening to watch.
Unlike Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and John Oliver who cannot bear to poke fun at the foibles of the left, Ricky Gervais, Bill Maher and Dave Chappelle are equal opportunity comedians. That’s why they are consistently funny and the others are not.
Yes, comedy should be the bastion of free speech, but many in the “ marginalized community “ do not have a sense of humor …only a sense of “offense”. They are so insecure that they can’t take a joke! What a way to live..constantly whining about how “hurt” they are, constantly trying to control others!
Imagine me showing up in a 'cracker' bar in the Deep South, mouthing off honky jokes. Flirting with the blue-eyed, blonde, and big-booty bartender? Lol!!!!