Should comedians have boundaries?

[Runa216]

Comedy is about balance. If something is offensive, it needs to also be either making a point or absurd to the point nobody would take it seriously. If you're just punching down (Using 'comedy' as an excuse to perpetuate racial, ethnic, or other stereotypes, or to shit on marginalized groups), then that's not comedy. That's mean spirited and harmful.

George Carlin and Bo Burnham are two great examples of comedians who say horrendously offensive things, and both are funny as fuck because their audience understands that what they're saying is self depreciative, absurd, or actually making a point about something.

Dave Chapelle is just shitting on trans people. Most conservative comedians are just using comedy as an excuse to justify their bigotry or normalize it.

You need to find that line. Comedy is pushing boundaries, not leaping over them and firmly planting yourself on the wrong side of history.

And for people saying 'don't like it, don't listen'...look, do I have to invoke Godwin's Law here? (Eventually, all arguments online lead to hitler). You can't just ignore the normalization of bigotry, even if it's masquerading as comedy. That's just step on on the 12-step program to a holocaust. That's why so many 'libs' are so quick to jump on this shit and nip it in the bud. We've seen where this shit leads, we know what is going on. We're not snowflakes, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and cutting this shit off when it's still presented as innocuous 'comedy' is halting it from escalating to actual hate crimes. And don't even pretend that's not what happens. Anyone with two eyes and at least two brain cells to rub together can absolutely see it happening in modern culture.

So no, Comedians don't need 'boundaries', but they do need to understand the difference between boundary-pushing comedy and bigotry masquerading as comedy. THAT is where the difference lies. Anyone saying otherwise is wrong, ignorant, blind, or just outright amoral.