Current Events > The whole country needs to pause, breathe and stop taking comedians so seriously

(+) Yeah! (+)

Personally I can laugh at people I dont agree with, but if I couldnt, I simply wouldnt watch them. I mean like, even if you cant stand Chappelle, Louis CK, Ricky Gervaise and now Bill Burr, why keep giving them attention? Why go on a social media crusade about it?

Their whole point was to draw heat in the first place! And you elevate their star power every time you type their name online

If you really wanna hurt a comedian, you should take a tip from Paul Anka: https://youtu.be/SlKao_Pox5A

Never heard of them.

Onimusha posted...

why keep giving them attention? Why go on a social media crusade about it?

It's an endless cycle. Hyperactive social media experts are super quick to crusade against anything they don't like. As a result, the person/thing they don't like ends up getting far more clicks, attention, and by extension, money. So the person/thing they don't like continues doing the thing that keeps getting them more money.

I just bow out of all of it because I've opened my eyes enough to see that it'll never end.

It's like recycling; I know a hopeless cause when I see one.

Ignoring shitheels only works if everyone ignores them, which rarely happens

Stand up comedy is pretty cringe, I was a fan of it as an edgy teen bit now I find it hard to enjoy any of it... It just seems like a bunch habitual line steppers for men, anyway

TaylorHeinicke posted...

It's an endless cycle. Hyperactive social media experts are super quick to crusade against anything they don't like. As a result, the person/thing they don't like ends up getting far more clicks, attention, and by extension, money. So the person/thing they don't like continues doing the thing that keeps getting them more money.

I just bow out of all of it because I've opened my eyes enough to see that it'll never end.

It's like recycling; I know a hopeless cause when I see one.

Yeah man. Ill be honest, Im starting to think people like getting worked up. When theyre outraged and sound off in 500 post topics, or on social media, they both gain mob approval and draw attention to themselves. Its kind of like when a crowd gathers to watch somebody breakdancing on the street, except now were watching to see who can throw the loudest fit.

Ill never forget when I first read that CNNs ratings quadrupled during Trumps term. And to this day CNN anchors bring him up as much as they can, sometimes working themselves into literal tears over him. The outrage, the sheer offended incense of it all breeds attention. And parasitic individuals and media outlets feed off the hated celebs heat to gain clout and attention for themselves.

Onimusha posted...

Yeah man. Ill be honest, Im starting to think people like getting worked up. When theyre outraged and sound off in 500 post topics, or on social media, they both gain mob approval and draw attention to themselves. Its kind of like when a crowd gathers to watch somebody breakdancing on the street, except now were watching to see who can throw the loudest fit.

Ill never forget when I first read that CNNs ratings quadrupled during Trumps term. And to this day CNN anchors bring him up as much as they can, sometimes working themselves into literal tears over him. The outrage, the sheer offended incense of it all breeds attention. And parasitic individuals and media outlets feed off the hated celebs heat to gain clout and attention for themselves.

You're throwing a fit right now

Posting is a low energy hobby

It would be possible if people hadn't been taking the "jokes" of comedians as gospel political, social, and cultural truth, ever since Carlin at least.

In any topic about comedians and whatever stupid point they make you'll see at least 40 percent of the people saying they tell the truth.

One of the biggest arguments for the cultural importance of comedy is that they speak truth to power and address uncomfortable subjects in a way that's more palatable.

You can't say that and then also say "iz only jokes, why you heff to be mad" when people pick up on the implications of what you're saying.

MedeaLysistrata posted...

Ignoring shitheels only works if everyone ignores them, which rarely happens

ignoring always works, in my experience

It all goes back to that line from the Howard Stern movie.

The average radio listener listens for 18 minutes. The average Howard Stern fan listens for, are you ready for this, an hour and 20 minutes . . . Answer most commonly given? I want to see what hell say next.
As for those who loathed Stern: The average Stern hater listens for two and a half hours a day . . . Most common answer? I want to see what hell say next.

People aren't happy unless they're mad.

MedeaLysistrata posted...

You're throwing a fit right now

Posting is a low energy hobby

Am I? I just thought I was agreeing with someone. Oh well, I guess you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
legendary_zell posted...

It would be possible if people hadn't been taking the "jokes" of comedians as gospel political, social, and cultural truth, ever since Carlin at least.

Which is why I said people need to press pause for a beat and stop taking comedians so seriously. That includes both what theyre saying and what theyre selling.

bigblu89 posted...

It all goes back to that line from the Howard Stern movie.

People aren't happy unless they're mad.

Yep. I totally agree.

FL81 posted...

ignoring always works, in my experience

Selective ignoring is more effective...

Onimusha posted...

Im starting to think people like getting worked up.

They don't. They're just exceptionally sensitive.

Humans really don't have robust egos. Myself included.

MedeaLysistrata posted...

It just seems like a bunch habitual line steppers for men, anyway

Line stepping is how society changes, though. Not that I'm saying it needs to.

I'm indifferent to stand up comedy, myself. Just wanting to segue into this comment.

I mean it's not like there are huge numbers of people in this country who would listen to a stand-up comedian that makes jokes about extremely marginalized people for no other reason than to disparage them and take those jokes to heart and start believing really fucked up shit about those people, right?

...

...Right?

Heartomaton posted...

I mean it's not like there are huge numbers of people in this country who would listen to a stand-up comedian that makes jokes about extremely marginalized people for no other reason than to disparage them and take those jokes to heart and start believing really fucked up shit about those people, right?

...

...Right?

Those people definitely exist. Definitely.

Flea_Plus posted...

Line stepping is how society changes, though. Not that I'm saying it needs to.

I'm indifferent to stand up comedy. Just wanting to segue into this comment.

That is true, but when I say line stepper I mean someone who knows how to start a fight, not defend someone who needs to be defended.

Yoy can make progress by starting fights sometimes but change and progress are different. Also if you have to rely on a comedian having the right moral compass, you just acknowledge that their opinions are already more highly valued for popularity reasons.. Because it's not their moral compass that makes them funny.

Flea_Plus posted...

Line stepping is how society changes, though.

This is correct in many ways.

to be clear, people are upset about Louis CK because he sexually harassed women in his workplace (on TV sets, pressuring his direct reports to watch him masturbate, etc), promised to take some time away and be better, then returned to the stage in under a year lying about the circumstances of his sexual harassment to paint himself as the victim

TheGoldenEel posted...

to be clear, people are upset about Louis CK because he sexually harassed women in his workplace (on TV sets, pressuring his direct reports to watch him masturbate, etc), promised to take some time away and be better, then returned to the stage in under a year lying about the circumstances of his sexual harassment to paint himself as the victim

Thats true. I shouldnt have included him with the others. His situation is different.

TheGoldenEel posted...

to be clear, people are upset about Louis CK because he sexually harassed women in his workplace (on TV sets, pressuring his direct reports to watch him masturbate, etc), promised to take some time away and be better, then returned to the stage in under a year lying about the circumstances of his sexual harassment to paint himself as the victim

What do you mean. He fessed up and gave a sincere apology. You're not obligated to accept the apology of course but he didn't claim he was actually the victim the whole time.

People should focus more on politicians.

If nothing else, this is why I like British Comedy. I may not get all their jokes, but they sure as hell aren't afraid to make fun of whoever and whatever. Frankie Boyles Mock the Week bits are legendary.

Mock the Week, 8 out of 10 cats, Nevermind the Buzzcocks, even QI just like taking the piss out of everyone around them. There was nothing funnier than 6 comedians making fun of Mel B/Spice Girls after she acted like a brat the entire show on big fat quiz of the year a couple years ago.

Chappelle started taking himself serious and having sit down moments right before throwing the Trans community under the bus. He set himself up to be taken more serious. People just blindly love him already and give him the benefit of the doubt even though he completely set himself up for his special to be taken more serious. He also said "Im team TERF" in the middle of his special and there was absolutely no joke in it.

You can tell others to stop. But you could also stop being so easily manipulated by Comedians who have bigger intentions than just being comedians while they slowly guide your thoughts.

Everyone else you mentioned, I never had a problem with their comedy. Bill Burr doesn't do a bit about women and in the middle cut the jokes and declare he's actually anti-women. He married a feminist that has elevated his understanding of women behind the scenes. He constantly talks about how his wife corrected certain perceptions he had.

Dave Chappelle uses one the only Trans friend he had as a shield and acts like she was a monolith for all trans people. Even though they obviously only connected because they were Comedians and their friendship had nothing to do with supporting the trans community. Instead he uses his dead friends memory as a shield to insult her community after she passed. He's a douchebag now and it's disappointing

MedeaLysistrata posted...

That is true, but when I say line stepper I mean someone who knows how to start a fight, not defend someone who needs to be defended.

Ah, yeah. I'm talking more of a literal approach to being yourself. Like how gay people were ostracized by society more frequently decades ago just for outwardly wearing it on their sleeves. At the time, that was widely considered to be socially unacceptable by culture at large here in the US. So if you define morality as being on the right side of society, then gay folks would've been morally wrong in that scenario.

To say nothing of standup comedy itself, actually being yourself in public will always piss someone off depending on the cultural milieu of a particular era. Do we just stop and cocksuck those people? I think not.

They really do. They need to stop taking a lot of things so seriously.

whitelytning posted...

They really do. They need to stop taking a lot of things so seriously.

I agree with this. But also be smart enough to know who's using not being serious as a manipulation tool. Otherwise you'll find yourself being as foolish as those on the opposite end

Tyranthraxus posted...

What do you mean. He fessed up and gave a sincere apology. You're not obligated to accept the apology of course but he didn't claim he was actually the victim the whole time.

his apology, at the time, was good, but the sincerity of his apology has come into question since nearly all material related to his sexual harassment paints himself as the victim (it was consensual but they put me on blast and now everybody knows my thing)

it was not all consensual, and it was in places where it would literally never be appropriate or ok to even ask (one accuser from the New York Times article which he admitted was all true, was an intern who was called into his office in the middle of the workday to watch him masturbate. Another accuser was a co-star on a television show he was guest actor on)

Flea_Plus posted...

Like how gay people were ostracized by society more frequently decades ago just for outwardly wearing it. At the time, that was widely considered to be socially unacceptable by culture at large here in the US. So if you define morality as being on the right side of society, then gay folks would've been morally wrong in that scenario.

That wouldn't be how I define morality, also linestepping usually refers to micro situations, not mass scale action.

When I think of comedians I just think of "it's just a prank bro", which is what I mean by line stepping. If you tell someone something is just a joke, that WAY different from saying it's immoral. Comedians exemplify "poke the bear", and I hope you can see how that's different from "get rid of the bear and elect a benevolent bear"

I guess the take away is that comedians empower people to be line steppers

I guess you can say the same for activists, but jokes and rights aren't the same thing

MedeaLysistrata posted...

That wouldn't be how I define morality

How would you define it?

MedeaLysistrata posted...

also linestepping usually refers to micro situations, not mass scale action.

I'm autistic. I don't agree with this. If I slip up around an NT, everyone in the room is outraged. Is that not mass scale?

That said, I'm definitely more respectful of boundaries in micro situations. Groups/society annoy me though. :p

MedeaLysistrata posted...

I hope you can see how that's different from "get rid of the bear and elect a benevolent bear"

Yeah, I can.

Flea_Plus posted...

If I slip up around an NT, everyone in the room is outraged. Is that not mass scale?

A small group of ppl is still micro

I mostly agree with universal rights based morality and capabilities building/approaches to rights

MedeaLysistrata posted...

apabilities building/approaches to rights

What does that mean? Enjoying this conversation.

so if Nazis start calling themselves comedians do you think that should get a pass too?

thronedfire2 posted...

so if Nazis start calling themselves comedians do you think that should get a pass too?

Unrelated hypotheticals that have no point for $200 Alex.

The problem is that you think that this is a "whole country" problem.

In reality, it's just a small number of people that are way too terminally online and even then some of those people are just trolls/bots/schizoposting online.

Go talk to people in real life about this shit and most people don't even know that its a thing, and if they do they don't have a solid opinion on it anyway.

Prescribing this has some sort of insane country wide phenomenon is insane.

thronedfire2 posted...

so if Nazis start calling themselves comedians do you think that should get a pass too?

There is no objective line for morality, but for me personally? I wouldn't like it.

thronedfire2 posted...

so if Nazis start calling themselves comedians do you think that should get a pass too?

That seems like an extreme take.

Plus, there are Nazi's out there making jokes and memes that they may find funny, but no one else does.

And you know what we do to combat that? We ignore it. Just like people should ignore whatever comic it is out there they consider offensive. If enough people do it, they will not longer have a platform to perform on.

It literally happens in comedy clubs all across the country. A comics material falls flat with an audience, and the club doesn't book them anymore.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

https://youtu.be/mSy5mEcmgwU

I guess I think that there are things that differentiate a great stand up comedian from me just reading jokes out of a joke book. Delivery is obviously part of that, but there are good/successful comedians who don't have particularly amazing delivery and instead are successful because of the jokes that they write. A stand up comedian really does want engagement with the audience on a level that's more just "I strung some words together with a funny voice and made a pun".

Even looking at Dave Chapelle, the original Chapelle Show had many sketches that in one way or another satirized or held a mirror up to race relations in America. And part of the reason that's often given for him quitting the show was because...a lot of people didn't get that and were laughing along with the racism instead of at it. So Dave Chapelle understands himself that "just jokes" can have negative impacts, but chooses to ignore that when it's trans people who are being marginalized instead.

bigblu89 posted...

That seems like an extreme take.

Plus, there are Nazi's out there making jokes and memes that they may find funny, but no one else does.

And you know what we do to combat that? We ignore it. Just like people should ignore whatever comic it is out there they consider offensive. If enough people do it, they will not longer have a platform to perform on.

It literally happens in comedy clubs all across the country. A comics material falls flat with an audience, and the club doesn't book them anymore.

yes because ignoring the Nazi shit in this country for the last 10-20 years has worked out great right?

not everyone ignores those memes. plenty of people really believe them. And plenty of people only find Dave's trans jokes funny because trans people existing is funny to them

"The whole country"

Nobody is mad at bill burr. Just like, 4 people on CE.

Anteaterking posted...

Even looking at Dave Chapelle, the original Chapelle Show had many sketches that in one way or another satirized or held a mirror up to race relations in America. And part of the reason that's often given for him quitting the show was because...a lot of people didn't get that and were laughing along with the racism instead of at it. So Dave Chapelle understands himself that "just jokes" can have negative impacts, but chooses to ignore that when it's trans people who are being marginalized instead.

Exactly. He learned something, left to go grow as a person. But ended up coming back and just reaiming it at others instead of himself and his own community. If that's not a douchebag, I don't know what is.

The thing about him aiming at his own community is that we knew underneath it all he had a deep love and respect for his community. As to where, his deep connection to the trans community is him using his only trans friend he brought up as a shield to attempt to make others not criticize him

thronedfire2 posted...

yes because ignoring the Nazi shit in this country for the last 10-20 years has worked out great right?

No, but there's a big difference between comedians and politicians. No one should be defending literal Naziism, but comedians don't really have any systemic influence or political clout.

pinky0926 posted...

"The whole country"

Nobody is mad at bill burr. Just like, 4 people on CE.

I mean, I only named Bill Burr like once in the entire topic. The topic is about comedians in general.

Onimusha posted...

I mean, I only named Bill Burr like once in the entire topic. The topic is about comedians in general.

I think you're meaning to say you failed to find real examples to push your poorly thought out perspective.

Lost_All_Senses posted...

I think you're meaning to say you failed to find real examples to push your poorly thought out perspective.

My only failure was overestimating your comprehension skills.