Should comedians have boundaries?

[Chrkeller]

Runa216 said:

Chrkeller said:

This.  Hurt feelings isn't a serious issue. 

Nothing in this world exists outside of context. Jokes, if they normalize bigotry, can absolutely be damaging. That's why it's so important to distinguish between actual comedy and bigotry masquerading as comedy. 

Do you think it would be appropriate if I told some joke that included a bunch of hard Rs or called people retards or made light of gay people in a way that insinuated they were all pedos or groomers? Because people make those jokes and it's treated in some communities like it's normal, like it's acceptable, like queer folk are deviants, where the 'joke' lies in how absurd it is that these people are allowed to exist in the spaces of others. 

People absolutely make jokes that are harmful. And if they're offensive, they need to be equally poignant or at least equally funny. If it's just an excuse to treat it as a valve to release and speak racism or sexism that you can't share openly...then it's damaging. 

Nothing exists in a vacuum. Without context sure, 'jokes' shouldn't have limits. but we don't live in a world where that's possible. We have centuries of historical context that paint those jokes in a certain light. 

IT's like these people who like to pretend we 'fixed' racism because OF the civil rights movement. And 'fixed' sexism because of suffrage. Like, on the books black people and women are legally people but that doesn't erase decades - nay, centuries - of history wherein that was NOT the case. You can't just flip a switch and then shoot finger guns at someone and say 'we good'. History is a factor. That's true in life and in comedy. So while devoid of context comedy has no bounds, GOOD comedy absolutely does and GOOD comedians understand the difference between just shouting obscenities and bigotry vs making offensive material with a point behind it. 

I genuinely don't trust anyone who prefers to strip any situation of its context, nuance, and depth. IT reeks of someone who either doesn't understand the circumstances surrounding the topics they discuss or they don't care and just want to stop hearing about it. 

You can tell whatever you joke you want.  I could not care less.

You don't trust me because I don't think jokes are a huge issue in America?  That is quite funny.  But here is the thing, I don't care.  You not trusting me has 0.0% impact on my life....  which links back to my original point in this thread...

Words are words, and people need to worry less about others and more about themselves.