Liberals, PC Police and Big Business

No, it appears that you don't. I don't think any joke made by Bush about killing American's and Iraqi's for no good reason could ever be funny. He has completely forfeited the ability to be entertaining on this subject. I'm suggesting that I can find jokes that drive home that particular point funny, and I wanted to know if you could too.Thanks for answering the question.

I think this trumps the rest of what you're about to say. But I will give it the benefit of the doubt. I did see it, back when it first happened. As a comic I found the jokes to be funny. I caught myself laughing at them. You can laugh at anything you want to laugh at. Should someone be making jokes about it? That's another question. In my world, yes, go for it. If it's funny then you did your job. If it's not then don't do the joke again. Nothing, absolutely nothing, changes one way or the other just because someone made a joke.I've heard some great 9/11 jokes. I've seen audiences hate them. But I don't see the point of getting made at a comedian for saying the joke, or at the very least trying the bit out. Or in this case, getting mad at Bush for the jokes.- Oni

yeah I get that. That's what I said in the OP. I was just correcting you as I thought you didn't get his point. SInce you do, and I agree with what you're saying, we're good.- Oni

Yeah I guess I didn't express what I meant properly. Well that's not the case at all. The comic wants the result to be laughter at his/her ability to turn a subject matter like rape into a funny joke about rape.Taking offense when the joke is funny - if the joke is funny, like Sarah Silverman's rape joke that always kills - is, I feel, the person just projecting their dislike of rape onto the comic who chose to make a joke about it, and not a fair evaluation of the joke itself.- Oni

No he wouldn't - since I asked him. We were talking about comics who make their living entertaining people, and not ordering army's to kill brown people.As a comic, however, he and I can see the well written jokes Bush delviered, and might I add with pretty good timing. Now, that's not to say Bush making jokes about the horrific shit he caused is not offensive, I can see how you would be. We just aren't offensded by it since, like I said in the OP, I don't get offended.- Oni

Damn, that's hard to know. It would make me pause and think "Fuck, did this guy just steal Sarah Silverman's "rape joke" while raping my wife?" I don't know which would bother me more, the joke stealing or the rape. I'm actually laughing right now thinking about that.- Oni

First, yeah, there IS comic gold in there. I'm trying to refrain a smirk as I write.Second, I had to scour the internet to find a 'good' example of a rape joke. Not surprisingly, there aren't many. I found them generally dumb. I suppose a good comedian could somewhat improve upon them in the telling.Third, I think Silverman's rape joke only works because it is more a non-violent Jewish joke than a violent rape joke.Fourth, I hesitated appropriating Silverman's joke because I imagined it would draw some people away from my hopeful point which is: A person, while in a violent act, cannot be funny. E.g.: A rapist while raping cannot be funny.
A war criminal while commiting war crimes cannot be funny.
A proctologist while commiting a digital examination cannot be funny.

Are you telling me that you have no impressing that people consider rape to be offensive? I don't accept that. I agree that the comics intent is not to offend, but surely the comic knows he is being "edgy."

Maybe not while raping....But rape jokes can be funny - e.g. telling Kent Hovind not to drop the soap in the shower. Is there a difference if it's a man being raped? Or somebody we don't like being raped? That would be like slipping on a banana peel - it's funny when it happens to somebody else.

It depends on the comic and the delivery. From comics who are funny, I've heard plenty of good rape jokes. Maybe not while it's happening, and probably not to the victim. But if I saw a rape on video for example, and the rapist said that joke up there I'd laugh. I'd still feel sorry for the victim and wish the rapist would get arrested, etc.... But I can also find him saying that funny.- OniEdited by onifre, : No reason given.

No I'm not saying that. I said the comic is trying to take that subject matter and make it funny. My point is that the comics goal is not to be offensive, just to be funny.Not in all cases is the comic purposefully trying to be edgy, that happens more with newer comics who haven't figured out who they are yet. When a comic is being honest about who they are, and what their demons are, and what truly makes them who they are, you can start to ride the line on edgy.For example, there is a comic in NY who was a Jehovah's Witness as a kid, lost the faith while in college. His material reflects all of that experience, from sexual repression to shitting on the Bible and pointing out the hypocrisy in it. This guy is not trying to be edgy, it's just who he is.But I agree however that in some cases comics are going for the taboo subjects to get more of a reaction from the audience.- Oni

How would a rape joke manifest as indicative of who someone is? Would they need to have experience of rape?To be clear here - I'm not disputing that rape jokes can be funny. I just don't see how the 'who someone is' approach works with regard to rape jokes in this context?Things like references to bending over in prison showers to pickup the soap can be rape jokes. How funny they are or are not is a matter of personal taste. But I don't think most people find such jokes particularly offensive because they aren't necessarily targeting individuals or groups who are systematically picked on.

"Maybe"? You are asking WHILE a MAN is being raped, can the rapist also be funny? If Bush Jr. supporters can laugh at Bush Jr.'s jokes about the children's deaths in Iraq, I suppose THEY could also find humor in the raping of men. Are you suggesting that schadenfreude or street-justice is not necessarily 'humorless?' A funny thought. But no, I would not find a proctologist 'cracking' jokes WHILE performing his examination to be humorous. Ewww.Not even if the humor was tongue in cheek.

Well Ringo's comment made me laugh...... I think humour can often be a pretty natural human response to some pretty dark shit.

He's unaware that he is edgy? I didn't say he was trying to be edgy. I'm saying that he knows that he's edgy.