Do you people genuinely not understand the significance of the difference of punching up vs punching down? Not know the difference between teasing something for something they said or did vs something out of their control? the difference between comedy and mean-spirited bullying? 

It baffles me that so many people genuinely seem to believe that all behaviour is acceptable as long as you tag it as humour, that context doesn't matter, and that compassion and empathy are weakness.

True comedy doesn't have barriers, this is true. As discussed in this thread. The thing is, a lot of stuff people laugh at isn't comedy. it's bullying with a 'comedy' mask. I can't ever see someone complaining about how 'sensitive' people are now without assuming they'd call me a retard or faggot or drop hard-R n-bombs if they thought they could get away with it. People aren't too sensitive, some people are just dicks or actively trying to use the blanket of 'humour' to get away with being an ignorant dick. 

It's like people committing acts of assault then crying 'it's just a prank, bro', like that makes it okay, then bitching about how some people are so sensitive to their audience. 

I was very badly bullied as a child so I do know but... we aren't kids anymore and if ya haven't grown thicker skin by now something has gone wrong. I'd hardly think there are any kids on this forum. 

A big issue I have with a lot of this thread is that it is incredibly subjective. 

Comedy is subjective. 

Boundaries are subjective. 

A lot of people here are coming into this discussion talking about completely different things. A lot of people are coming into this discussion with completely different baggage (I'm upset about ____ being cancelled or something).

A lot of people here might even be interpreting "comedians" differently from each other. 

A lot of people have different ideas on how boundaries should be enforced or not enforced. Then people are being expected to take ownership of someone else's viewpoint on how enforcement happens, on the basis that they agree with boundaries existing.

I feel like people usually have two completely opposite responses to this kind of thing. They either accept it, and go well that's just how things are. Or they go the completely opposite direction and think that no one else should have to deal with that after them. 

I personally think the latter takes the thicker skin. You have to stand up to bullies, and you often have to be on your own - have to reject a lot of people that you knew growing up.

It's not all about having thick skin, there's a difference between having thick skin and brushing dirt off your shoulder. Being able to laugh at yourself and your most embarrassing aspects is freeing and it helps you get over those aspects you feel insecure about and eases tension between people if those aspects are tension causing. It's why people who are disabled, loose a limb or some other tragedy often use humour to cope, it's good for mental health. However trying to control other people isn't just annoying to those people but it's extremely bad for your mental health. I don't trust people who can't laugh at themselves or try to control others ability to laugh or speak freely, them to me are the new bullys and I find their behaviour far more on the bullying side than any comedian trying to bring joy with laughter. If it seems like bullying then the comedian will NOT get a laugh as it'll make people uncomfortable, people generally don't want to laugh at people but with people. Stand up is like democracy, the people will decide. Watch Kill Tony and you'll see how people decide...if you can handle the cringe of the comedian who bomb. It's very cringe inducing. 

Perfect example of what I was talking about in the first half of my post. 

I still maintain, don't like something, don't support it. There is no need to whine and cry.

I don't like fox news, so I don't watch it. Pretty simple. I don't have that hive mind mentality where everyone has to think the way I do.

And Legit has a point. The younger generation doesn't know what real problems are. My grandparents went through the great recession and my grandfather was at D-day.... but oh no, somebody today said something mean, we need to rally cry!

I was very badly bullied as a child so I do know but... we aren't kids anymore and if ya haven't grown thicker skin by now something has gone wrong. I'd hardly think there are any kids on this forum. Bullying with comedy mask my arse, if you go into a venue to watch a comedian you should know what you're in for. Also, it's only the person the joke is targeted at that has the right to offense. If someone makes a joke around the word retard, you don't have the right to be offended on my behalf cause I'm autistic. I don't have the right to your offense either but you know what right we both have, to leave the venue and not support the comedian. That goes for minorities, you don't have the right to their offense and if they don't seem bothered you shouldn't. Comedians get canceled all the time, the guy from Seinfeld went too far as one example and that's how it should work but to control every comedian preemptively is a mark of fascism.

As for people outside of comedy clubs, it's a prank bro is not what we're talking about. Everyone agrees that behaviour is fucking stupid. That's strawmanning the issue of normal human interaction and joking behaviour between people, you'd be shocked at how people joke with eachother. Social norms are different everywhere and everyone has to read to room and the person but I don't want to see people's humour with each other go away no matter how anti scoial it may seem. You have the right to tell the person you don't like that kind of behaviour but to ask them to halt all joking around you is entitled and childish. To bring it up in a work place or other setting and have it policed is a self centered, dick move and to try and control it on a societal level is simply a mark of fascism.

Hey, if you want to be a fascist, more power to ya. I for one do not. 

This is an ignorant and entitled take right here. IT's easy to ignore it when the ignorance and bigotry they peddle doesn't affect you but it's hard to just brush them off when they're actively calling for concentration camps and repeating known lies and misinformation. their rhetoric is actively DANGEROUS and it's infectious. Just ignoring them works as well as ignoring that bear barreling down at you with claws and teeth bared. 

I have plenty thick skin and most 'liberals' I know do as well. We're not out here crumpling if someone calls us fat or makes a joke at our expense. There's this weird right-wing/conservative idea that any kick-back to their ignorance and nonsense is just peopele being too sensitive and that's such a sociopathic stance to take. Again, so much of this opinion of yours (And many others) Boils down to the idea of demonizing the concepts of empathy or compassion. Like, you seem to genuinely believe that it's okay to be an asshole if you frame it as a joke. 

It's not. and acting like it is shows a lack of empathy on your part. That's why it's sociopathic, you get a rise out of making fun of people, you think it's funny when comedians make racist jokes like the only part that matters is the 'joke' part and not the 'racist' part. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Comedy is about knowing boundaries and pushing them, not using comedy as an excuse to push ignorant, political agendas and various forms of bigotry. 

You are genuinely a terrible person if you honestly believe that slapping the 'it's just a joke' label on things makes it okay regardless of the actual damage it can do or the level of hatred it entails. You're ignoring historical context and subtle nuance. IT's a blanket statement that I exclusively see conservatives making that internally justifies their shitty opinions while trying to glaze over the reality that so much of what they're saying is just racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, or glorifying violence masquerading as comedy. 

nobody's being too sensitive. We're just sick and tired of people actively being pieces of shit and we're trying real hard to not resort to violence because liberals have it in their head that we can resolve these issues peacefully. Why do you think it was such a BIG bit of news when BLM and Antifa finally started rioting when they RESPONDED to the perpetual, never-ending violence coming from the right? IT's because liberals at least TRY to take the moral high ground and that often comes across as meek whining about bigots doing the bigotry which gets translated in your head as 'weak willed snowflakes melting under the pressure of a few jokes'. It's never a few jokes. Nobody's crumpling. Nobody's weak willed or thin skinned, we've just got empathy for our fellow man and are sick of seeing all the bullshit happening like it's okay to preach these ideas that actually lead to hatred propagating. 

It's never just jokes. We're just culturally aware enough to see the bigger picture. Or 'woke' as you like to decry. We've witnessed the last decades (Centuries, even) Of human history and are able to identify the patterns. WE know where these philosophies go. we're seeing it happen now, where such ignorance and hate is so casually accepted or excused. cutting the bad-faith 'jokes' off before they grow into something more is the issue. Being able to identify the difference between actual jokes and bigotry using 'comedy' as a shield is key and it appears you do not have that critical thinking ability. Either that or you know exactly what you're doing and continue to do it anyway. Not sure what's worse. Ignorance or Malice. Take your pick. It's one or the other. 

This is an ignorant and entitled take right here. IT's easy to ignore it when the ignorance and bigotry they peddle doesn't affect you but it's hard to just brush them off when they're actively calling for concentration camps and repeating known lies and misinformation. their rhetoric is actively DANGEROUS and it's infectious. Just ignoring them works as well as ignoring that bear barreling down at you with claws and teeth bared. 

I have plenty thick skin and most 'liberals' I know do as well. We're not out here crumpling if someone calls us fat or makes a joke at our expense. There's this weird right-wing/conservative idea that any kick-back to their ignorance and nonsense is just peopele being too sensitive and that's such a sociopathic stance to take. Again, so much of this opinion of yours (And many others) Boils down to the idea of demonizing the concepts of empathy or compassion. Like, you seem to genuinely believe that it's okay to be an asshole if you frame it as a joke. 

It's not. and acting like it is shows a lack of empathy on your part. That's why it's sociopathic, you get a rise out of making fun of people, you think it's funny when comedians make racist jokes like the only part that matters is the 'joke' part and not the 'racist' part. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Comedy is about knowing boundaries and pushing them, not using comedy as an excuse to push ignorant, political agendas and various forms of bigotry. 

You are genuinely a terrible person if you honestly believe that slapping the 'it's just a joke' label on things makes it okay regardless of the actual damage it can do or the level of hatred it entails. You're ignoring historical context and subtle nuance. IT's a blanket statement that I exclusively see conservatives making that internally justifies their shitty opinions while trying to glaze over the reality that so much of what they're saying is just racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, or glorifying violence masquerading as comedy. 

nobody's being too sensitive. We're just sick and tired of people actively being pieces of shit and we're trying real hard to not resort to violence because liberals have it in their head that we can resolve these issues peacefully. Why do you think it was such a BIG bit of news when BLM and Antifa finally started rioting when they RESPONDED to the perpetual, never-ending violence coming from the right? IT's because liberals at least TRY to take the moral high ground and that often comes across as meek whining about bigots doing the bigotry which gets translated in your head as 'weak willed snowflakes melting under the pressure of a few jokes'. It's never a few jokes. Nobody's crumpling. Nobody's weak willed or thin skinned, we've just got empathy for our fellow man and are sick of seeing all the bullshit happening like it's okay to preach these ideas that actually lead to hatred propagating. 

It's never just jokes. We're just culturally aware enough to see the bigger picture. Or 'woke' as you like to decry. We've witnessed the last decades (Centuries, even) Of human history and are able to identify the patterns. WE know where these philosophies go. we're seeing it happen now, where such ignorance and hate is so casually accepted or excused. cutting the bad-faith 'jokes' off before they grow into something more is the issue. Being able to identify the difference between actual jokes and bigotry using 'comedy' as a shield is key and it appears you do not have that critical thinking ability. Either that or you know exactly what you're doing and continue to do it anyway. Not sure what's worse. Ignorance or Malice. Take your pick. It's one or the other.