LogFAQs > #969465804

Jeff_AKA_Snoopy posted...

It was a bit more nuanced than that as it IS a comedic set. It's like a comedian making a joke about women drivers or Asians being good at math.

I'm not arguing those jokes are correct, I'm not arguing that those aren't hurtful stereotypes, I'm just saying comedy has a lot of its roots in this practice. Hell I would guess a lot of Jewish comedians make jokes about it too.

I think George Carlin once said that he felt the rule of comedy was not to punch down. There isn't a lot of comedy in taking the mick out of people who have less than you, in terms of power, influence, wealth, security, etc. So it's weird for a man who has far more power than most to comment on a group of people having more power than he does.

I hate the term "punch down" because the people that tend to use it are the ones that are implying that a certain race/religion/sex/etc. is "lower" than they are. Whereas the person making the joke is actually the one treating them like an equal by making fun of them just as much at they would make fun of their "own kind".

Like with Chappelle. Making jokes about poor, black, drug addicts was OK, because at the time he gave off the vibe that he was "hood", when in reality, he was "Clarence" from 8 Mile. Suburban upper-middle class. So apparently that wasn't "punching down" because everyone assumed he was a black man with a poor urban upbringing.