This has been an that I've been considering writing a diary about for quite some time. Having gotten into a confrontation with a few members here regarding my choice of humor a few days ago makes this seem like the perfect time to share my thoughts on the subject.
If you detest me, my writing, or any sort of joke that could be considered offensive, I suggest you stop reading or click here.
The first question we must ask is "what topics are off limits for a progressive to make a joke about or to find a joke funny?"
Through community moderation, and the excellent diaries of rserven, it's obvious that a joke about transgendered individuals is offensive humor here. The same sort of barrier extends to homosexuals, races, ethnicities, religions, various cultures around the world, and any other "group" that is often stereotyped. The DailyKos, being a politics-oriented blog (with the occasional cat picture diary and whatever stupid thing I decide to write), is a place where these groups should be accorded the respect they deserve for many reasons, including the fact that we want their votes. So yes, this isn't an open forum as say The Improv is, nor should it be.
Which leads to the second question: "When you're not in a serious setting, are the standards for humor the same?" My answer to this question is where I will differ from a lot of individuals here. On my own time, by my own mediums, as long as true hate isn't intended, by all means, bring on the nastiest, most cringe-inducing race-based, sexist, or any other type of humor and I'll laugh my ass off. What's not funny, however, is true racism disguised as humor. Here are examples of the difference between the two(language warning):
Lisa Lampanelli. She's an equal opportunity offender. She takes on blacks, hispanics, asians, everyone. And she does it with some of the most foul language out there, including every racial epithet known to man. But at the end of the day, you know it's all an act. You know she's not doing this out of malice or hatred, and at the end of the day, it's flat out hilarious:
On the other hand, there is the racism disguised as humor. I'm sure everyone has seen this video already, but it's Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld) going off on a disgustingly racist rant, not funny in the least:
So while we can and should condemn people like Richards, we should be careful that make sure that comedy is not taken too seriously. An interesting example of this is when our progressive President Obama was campaigning and invited the late Bernie Mac to perform at one of his fundraisers.
...at a Chicago fundraiser last night, comedian Bernie Mac said his "little nephew came to me and he said, 'Uncle, what's the difference between a hypothetical question and a realistic question?' "I said, ‘I don't know,’ but I said, 'I'll tell you what you do. Go upstairs and ask your mother if she'd make love to the mailman for $50,000.’"
Mac's wife, in the joke, said she sleep "with anyone" for $50,000, and Mac's daughter said the same.
Explained Mac: "Hypothetically speaking, we should have $100,000. But realistically speaking we live with two hos."
Obama addressed the issue in his remarks, saying, "We can't afford to be divided by race. We can't afford to be divided by religion, or by region or class. Or by gender. That means, by the way, Bernie, you got to clean up your act. This is a family affair. ... I'm just messing with you."
This joke sparked a minor outrage from people who claimed that it, and by extension, Barack Obama was insensitive and demeaning to women. Obama's somewhat sarcastic shunning of Mr. Mac, ending with "I'm just messing with you," didn't help and he later had to clarify his views.
Obama spox Jen Psaki issued a statement saying, "Sen. Obama told Bernie Mac that he doesn't condone these statements and believes what was said was inappropriate."
Now does anyone here really think that either Bernie Mac or President Obama are misogynists? I don't think so. False outrage. Another example comes from Barack Obama fanboy Al Roker, who made a joke about people with epilepsy on The Today Show:
"Remember that controversial Olympic logo for the 2012 Olympics in London? Some folks have complained that the campaign actually sent them into epileptic seizures," Roker said on Thursday's show.
"Well, we asked you to weigh in on our Web site in an informal poll; those of you who could get up off the floor after shaking around were able to actually log in . . . "
Yesterday, Roker said he was sorry.
Does anyone think Roker, who made a huge deal about Don Imus' "nappy headed hos" faux-pas, hates people with epilepsy? I doubt it. His hypocrisy was the problem to me, not his botched joke. Roker (emphasis mine):
I, for one, am really tired of the diatribes, the "humor" at others expense, the cruelty that passes for "funny". Don Imus isn't the only one doing this, but today he's the one in the hot seat...
...Yet, Don Imus needs to be fired for what he said. And while we're at it,his producer, Bernard McGurk needs to be canned as well. McGurk is just as guilty, often egging Imus on.
Personally, I didn't think either should have been fired, and I'm sure in each case, 100x as many people found the jokes funny as were offended.
But I digress.
We need to look at intent, rather than simply words used when deciding whether something is humor or a racist/homophobic/transphobic/antisemitic/whatever rant.
The controversy I was involved with regarded a few users here copy/pasting humorous posts from my own blog (that I would have never posted here, for the reasons I talked about above) and using them to label me as a "homophobic troll". This is the post in question and because it's already been brought here, I'll repost what seems to be considered the most offensive part. Keep in mind, I would have never posted this on DailyKos had it not already been posted many times to deface me:
Now before we get any further, I think it’s necessary that we list the hierarchy of AIDS:
- HIV - The virus that can cause AIDS. Most people probably have a little of this in them at any given time from drinking bad wine, spending too much time with Sandra Lee, or shaking hands with a homosexual.
- AIDS - What Magic Johnson has. Yeah, it sucks, but if you like swallowing pills, this is the disease for you!
- Full Blown AIDS - Starting to get comical.
- Super-AIDS - Radicalized form of AIDS, probably created by North Korea, infamously known for killing poker great Chip Reese.
Chip Reese passed away on December 4, 2007. Daniel Negreanu took time out from his search for submissive Asian boys on the web to break the news of Chip’s death to the Internet poker community. Neverwinpoker user devidee later confirmed that it was the result of complications from "Super AIDS."
Is the entire post crass? Yes. Potentially offensive to some? Of course. Hilarious? You be the judge. A homophobic rant? I don't think so. If anything, the comparing of the possibility of getting AIDS from shaking hands with a gay man or woman to that of getting it from drinking bad wine or hanging out with a Food Network host should undercut that completely. Saying I actually believe you can get AIDS from shaking hands is like saying Jesse Jackson honestly wanted to "cut (Obama's) nuts off."
I guess what the entire experience has taught me is that I think the majority of people on this site agree with my views on humor and, judging by the hundreds of hits (many of them turning into repeat visitors) my site gotten from the "negative" exposure a lot even enjoy my brand of humor. Just an example:
I'm just about done, but I'll leave you with these suggestions:
- Don't take yourselves too seriously. Outrage should be saved for the truly horrible things in life.
- Know your audience, or when critiquing someone, make sure to know who their audience was.
- Laugh. Life's too short not to.
So yes, I do think progressivism and humor are compatible, and I thank you for reading. Have a great evening.