For Arguments Sake

Let’s say that all of these comedians who are worried about “cancel culture” are actually worried about the craft and not the jokes they can “get away with”. What is it about their joke that would make someone offended? For some people going to see a show, it’s just full on ignorance of the comedians material. For others it might be their proximity to the pain of the joke and as a viewer, it’s hard to shake that discomfort. It’s like having a normal day then a trafgic accident. The one thing that does get to me a bit is how often the comedians stick together, despite some vile shit their cohorts do. Dave Chappelle had the joke about just leaving for women dealing with Louis CK, while at the same time applauding the “Me Too” movement, but what does it say when you’re supporting a person who has abused their power over women. *shrug* Honestly, I don’t know. There’s a history of friendship among some of these now “legends” where I’m sure if we heard some of the stuff they’ve done over the years we’d be hella uncomfortable. Loyalty to others and not to your values is dangerous.

So why aren’t comedians offended by jokes? Maybe it’s because they have to take hits in order to show their strength? Maybe they can’t be offended by a lame joke. Maybe the punchlines haven’t worked their way into their lives yet, who’s to say? Like, comedians will be upset but turn it into material. Which is their job, so if you have something that could make you some money but might get you in trouble… You’ll go for it because there’s no such thing as bad publicity. The problem I always found with some jokes is that their punchline is just an attack. For instance, a joke about Trans people is the punchline, being Black is the punchline, being Asian is the punchline, but it comes always with mimicry. It’s punching down. Now, after years of hard work and honing a craft, the world is changing. Undecided yet if it’s for better or worse, but no one is really facing repercussions other than their wallet maybe. I still haven’t seen a comedian “cancelled”, but I have seen a lot of them critiqued. Which is normal. Or maybe they got where they wanted to be and it’s still not enough? Which is kinda the story of a person who achieves everything except healing.