Alright, people. For the record: · 6:39am Apr 25th, 2014
I am not defending what Joan Rivers said.
I am defending her refusal to bow to those she offended.
There is a difference.
As many of you are probably here because I write Letters, you've probably noticed all the lines I've crossed. It's the duty of the comedian to cross these lines. Now, Joan didn't cross a line, she took a flying leap over it, and it was one I probably wouldn't have touched.
But my point is this:
The right way to get offended:
How dare she. That joke was awful and tasteless. I am offended.
*moves on with day/life*
The wrong way to get offended:
How dare she. That joke was awful and tasteless. I am offended, and am going to yell and scream and call my attorney and demand an apology and cause all this drama, because my personal feelings are absolutely more important than another person's sense of humor.
That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm defending; Rivers fighting back against this wrong way.
I've also fought back against this wrong way. I don't have any personal vendetta against Pinkiepony; I was just sick of her telling us what is funny and what isn't, and in the end, she got her just desserts. It is impossible to never get offended. EVERYONE gets offended at some point.
So that's all. Political correctness is the single greatest threat to comedy. And I fight back against it with every fiber of my being because laughter is the best medicine in this world we live in.
To be fair, though, there is a second right way:
How dare she. That joke was awful and tasteless. I am offended.
I personally think that anyone who would make jokes like that is a person that I dislike as a human being. I will no longer be associating myself with them, and I will no longer purchase what they're selling.
*moves on with day/life, sans one comedian*
It's fully within people's rights to dislike other people, and disliking them over their sense of humour is no different than any other reason.
And that's where the problem arises for actual famous people. If they make a joke that offends 90% of the population, and those 90% decide to boycott them for it, then they're no longer making money. While I do fully agree that political correctness can suck it, there's always the almighty dollar to consider. As much as it sucks, sometimes you gotta apologize just for the sake of continued income.
Anyway, that's kinda something of a tangent. For the most part, I totally agree. Political correctness has no place in comedy.
2044976 The way I looked at it, I thought that ignoring them after being offended was a given in the "right" way. Just didn't elaborate enough I suppose.
And come on, she's 80. Not only is she not going to need that income much longer, but I think she's earned the right to say whatever she wants.
I don't even consider myself a Rivers fan. Think the only thing I've seen her in was the voice of DOT in Spaceballs.
Amen to this.
I have no idea what Joan Rivers did (I'm blissfully out of the loop!) but I do know this; political correctness does, indeed, threaten comedy, among other things. People need to learn that even if we don't agree with a joke, even if we don't get it, even if it burns us to our core... unless it's a personal attack on you as an individual, there's no reason to let it eat you up inside and go into a frenzy.
... Of course, I'm just repeating what you said, so this comment contributes nothing!
Ok... what the hell did she do? Links or it didn't happen
2045048 Be a callous insensitive unapologetic bitch in a public forum to people who've done nothing to deserve it.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/joan-rivers-offensive-joke-about-ariel-castros-victims-michelle-knight-amanda-berry-and-gina-dejesus/story-fni0b7jg-1226894644293
http://www.qt.com.au/news/joan-rivers-has-poked-fun-lindsay-lohans-miscarria/2238792/
And that's just this week.
2044976
Political correctness really shouldn't have a place anywhere. People need to look at offensive jokes and see the joke, not take offense. People getting angry when it's directed at them and them alone is understandable, but nobody else has a right to make a big deal out of it. If something offends you, feel free to dislike it, but you have no reason to be offended if it's not aimed at you in the first place. Taking the links 2045059 have us as examples, four people should be offended. Lindsay and the other three weren't wrong to take offense, but everyone else needs to calm down. It's just a joke.
I...have no idea what the story is behind this at all. Did I miss something involving a comedian?
I'm Mexican, so I'm a minority in the U.S. but I don't like people being politically correct around me. I'm never offended by words like "wetback" or anything. So yeah, best thing to do is simply ignore them. Words can never hurt you by themselves. They can only hurt you if you help them hurt you.
2045059
2045072
And even if it's unrelated to you, it's fine to get offended and upset. Tobyc is completely in the right to call her a callous bitch. I agree. Go for it.
Just don't tell her to apologize. The point where you tell her to take back what she said is the point where you need to get off your high horse and reevaluate your priorities in life.
2045392
'Kay. I worded that badly in some places. Tobyc is correct - she wasn't exactly being nice about it. People do need to calm down about it, though. They can take offense if they want to, but they have no real reason to. Her words don't affect anyone except the four she was talking about.
I agree with you. She may have made a couple of jokes that were bad, but there's no reason to call attorneys and sue people. That's just ridiculous.
2045573
Wait, people are suing? That's ridiculous! Why?
2045618
No, I'm not sure if their suing, I was just using it as an example.
I remember I once read a story where Rarity got offended by a comic Sweetie Belle was reading and ended up going way overboard in trying to deal with it. Kind of like what you just said.
Here it is, if you're interested.
How dare you. This blog is awful and tasteless. I am offended, and am going to yell and scream and call my attorney and demand an apology and cause all this drama, because my personal feelings are absolutely more important than another person's sense of opinion on a situation that has nothing to do with me.
2045650
Okay. Well, people are still being stupid about it.
2046321 Nice sarcasm.