Mark Twain once said that “A sense of humor is the one thing no one will admit to not having.” Twain observation came to mind this week when Robin DiAngelo warned that “Comedy is . . . an excuse to get to be racist.” It appears that DiAngelo is moving from “White Fragility” to white comedy. The remarks of the author of the book “White Fragility” were carried on the Wisconsin-based non-profit Mythinformed. DiAngelo singled out “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons” as racist entertainment. For free speech advocates, the comments are concerning given the crackdown in other countries on comedians.
DiAngelo explained how comedy is a dangerous gateway for racism:
“Comedy is, I think, an excuse to get to be racist, right? I think TV shows like ‘Family Guy’ and ‘South Park’ and maybe a little bit ‘The Simpsons’ allowed White people to be racist self-consciously. Like, ‘I know I’m being racist and therefore it doesn’t count and it’s OK.’ I don’t think it’s benign to do it in a joking way. And there is a concept in comedy called punching up, not down. So if you want to punch up, there are very different power dynamics and it doesn’t hurt in the same way. It doesn’t invoke a deep, deep centuries-long history of oppression when you poke fun at say, White people. But it’s very, very different when you poke fun at people of color.”
Thus, comedians would be allowed to “puke fun at say White People,” but not people of color.
Notably, years ago, it was the Bush family condemning shows like The Simpson and Family Guy. The media widely panned them for the criticism and reminded them that this was just a comedy show.
Such suggestions have become effective commands in other countries. We have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in Europe (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). We have seen comedians targeted with such court orders under this expanding and worrisome trend. ( here and here and here). Scotland and other countries are adopting even broader rules that could eviscerate comedic entertainment.
We previously discussed one case where comedian Guy Earle has been called before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal for violating the human rights of a lesbian couple by trading insulting comments at a nightclub.
Canada is now facing a major ruling in the case of another comedian. A Quebec comedian, Mike Ward, is known for his irreverent and often insulting comedic stylings. In 2010, he mocked a younger singer named Jeremy Gabriel (known as “Petit Jeremy”) who was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a genetic disorder that can affect facial bone structure and severe deafness. Ward joked about trying to drown him as well as mocking his appearance. It was distasteful but the audience laughed and Ward followed up by saying “I didn’t know how far I could go with that joke. At one point I said to myself, you’re going too far, they’re going to stop laughing. But no, you didn’t.”
Gabriel later sued and the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal ruled against Ward for having “exceeded the limits of freedom of expression” and discriminating on the basis of disability. The comedian appealed and lost before the Court of Appeal. The court gave cursory recognition of the obvious free speech dangers but insisted that its “intention is not to restrict creativity or censor artists’ opinions” but “comedians, like any citizen, are responsible for the consequences of their words when they cross certain lines.”
The question is whether those lines should apply to any citizens or whether such distasteful or cruel comments are still protected. Ward was mocking a fellow celebrity and in the United States his jokes are protected.
He is now appealing to the Canadian Supreme Court and comedians from around the world have rallied to his defense.
I would not wish to have to choose between the comedic stylings of DiAngelo and Ward. Instead, we can recognize that they both have free speech protections in voicing their views even if others find the unintentionally laughable or decidedly not funny.
When “words cross the line” reminds me of being unable to define pornography, but “knowing it when you see it”. A standard without standards. Well done.
Another list member, after saying he was Jewish, commented that he didn’t see anti-Semitism. I think a voice from elsewhere is needed to correct any impression made by that person who views himself as the center of the world.
The article is also about the racist UN Durban conference which legitimizes Jew-hate.
—
“This week, Ronald S. Lauder, former US ambassador to Austria and currently president of the World Jewish Congress, sent an open letter to US President Joe Biden setting out his concerns about rising antisemitism. “Recently, American Jews have witnessed something we never thought we would see in this country,” he wrote; “…a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke cannot walk down an American street without fear of violence. Jews have been attacked by pro-Palestinian mobs in Los Angeles, New York and other cities. Antisemitic incidents have more than doubled in the past year. Hate crimes against Jews in America are twice as high as crimes against any other religious group”.
In Britain, the Community Security Trust, a charity that monitors antisemitism and provides security for the Jewish community, reports that racist attacks against Jews in May this year “surpassed anything we have seen before”, with more antisemitic incidents than in any single month since records began in 1986. In London, a convoy of vehicles drove through Jewish areas brandishing Palestinian flags and screaming at passers-by to kill Jews and rape their daughters. According to the UK charity Campaign Against Antisemitism, recent examples of hostility include physical beatings and vandalism, chants and placards at rallies, social media abuse and threats to Jewish children at schools and universities.
Similar antisemitic attacks have been on the increase around the world from Buenos Aires to Brussels. …”
cont: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17601/durban-un-israel
The woke and [morally] broke advise their supplicants of the masochistic kinks and self-flagellation. Perhaps a little redistributive change, and planned parent/hood (e.g. carbon neutral), too, atone for politically incongruent sins past, presents, and progressive. Take a knee, beg, good girl, boy, whatever.
https://rumble.com/vkepch-side-by-side-video-shows-hunter-biden-smoking-crack-joe-biden-gives-anti-cr.html
Excellent
If this is where American society is heading . . . Giant Meteor! Just End It Already!
Where is Lenny Bruce when you REALLY need him! Probably rolling over in his grave
Robin DiAngelo is, apparently, quite fragile if she cannot take a joke.
Comedians are given license by society to say racist, sexist and bigoted statements that we would not tolerate in normal conversation (as long as we understand that they are joking). And yet, what makes it humorous is the fact that there is some truth in the jokes (the more truth, the more biting the comedy). However, there is a fine line between good-natured comedy and comedy that crosses the line. Every comedian has to evaluate when some event is “too soon” to ridicule. The Holocaust comes to mind. Jewish comedians are privileged to make jokes about the Holocaust because they are presumed not to do so for the wrong reason. Humor relies upon subtext. And it is true that people nowadays are loosing their sense of humor because we are in a culture war where everyone is looking to accuse the other side of bad faith.
Nonsense Jeff Silberman.
Can ya be a little more specific? I said nothing at all that made any sense to you?
If you do not wish to listen to something – Don’t.
But there is no “We”.
You do not speak for me. You speak for yourself.
I decide what I what i will listen to or not – you do not.
Further tolerate and listen are not synonyms.
You are free to not listen to anything you wish.
You are pretty much obligated to tolerate speech with few if any limitations.