Right?
This has come up recently in relation to a comedian hired at a major atheist conference who was so offensive people left and got mad and even blogged about it. The argument has been made that you can say whatever you want and it isn’t really offensive if you are a comedian … people just have to decide if they think you are funny or not, and the possibility that somewhere out there in the world there just might be one person who does think you are funny makes it OK.
But that, it turns out, isn’t at all how it works.
Have you read the breakthrough novel of the year? When you are done with that, try:
In Search of Sungudogo by Greg Laden, now in Kindle
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or Paperback
*Please note:
Links to books and other items on this page and elsewhere on Greg Ladens' blog may send you to Amazon, where I am a registered affiliate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps to fund this site.
Back when I was in grad school I did some consulting work. One project was a minority needs assessment study for a small, tired mill city in Massachusetts. I went to interview the mayor, and what do you think was the first thing he said to me? “What do you call a black kid with a bicycle?” I said I didn’t know. “A thief,” was the punch line.
I believe he was trying to break the ice by mocking racism — he turned out to be on the right side as the interview went on — but that was one weird first impression.
So yeah, you need to be really careful about that shit. Good intentions don’t much matter.
Co-incidentally, just finshed watching an episode of Last Comic Standing where (I think) the very last woman was eliminated.
With oodles of male comics left.
Something seems wrong with this picture ..