Liberals, PC Police and Big Business

Well not every rape joke is told from a first person perspective, nor is every rape joke (or even most for that matter) making fun of the person being raped unless the comic is making fun of themselves being raped - Like with Sarah Silverman's joke about it being bitter sweet for a Jewish girl to be raped by a doctor. She was talking about herself there.In her case, I would say she is being who she is. She is Jewish, and there is the irony of a Jewish girl being raped (which is bad) by a doctor (which is good). In a few ways, with respect to comedians trying to be funny:A) you have the comic who does political humor and for example makes a joke about politicians who don't support abortion even in cases of rape. This person is using something topical about rape to make the joke about rape.B) the comic who had a friend or is telling a story of when they were raped. This person is simply finding that which hurts the most and taking control of it through jokes.C) the comic who is pointing out how their culture might condone rape - I've heard Middle Eastern comics play with this, and Sarah did it about being Jewish. Something that is often very real to the person.D) you have a comic who touches mostly on taboo subjects. It's where their curiosity lies and you can tell they are being genuine and is indicitive of who they are as a person.Then there's the comic who ends the joke with: "...then I raped her." Because they were just trying to shock the audience. This I'll agree is contrived bullshit, usually from a newer comic, or one who just isn't any good. But that guy's joke you never ever hear about since they don't make it. So who cares about them?- OniEdited by onifre, : No reason given.

He is aware that some people might think he's edgy. But that just means that's where their line is.- Oni

Well that told me!!I particularly like the way you phrased this: I think a lot of dark humour arises from that. Soldiers in extreme situations. Gang bangers. Some people who experience terrible health issues. Many of these people are capable of being fucking funny about things that are utterly depressing. I think it's a natural human response in many horrible situations to take the piss out of one's self, others in the same situation and the situation as a whole.I think the fact we (i.e. humanity) have this ability to be creative in the face of terrible shit is really quite cool.

I agree.e.g. Is this not funny?
Terry Waite: One time towards the end of my captivity, I was tied with masking tape and thrown in a boot. I got the tape off my mouth and I said there isn’t much room in here. And this voice said 'there was until you got in’. That was John McCarthy. Edited by Panda, : No reason given.

Proctologist while performing a digital exam: "Say AHHHH."

Errr, . . . that's why I got an appt with the proctologist.

Proctologist says, "You may feel a small prick".Of course, would a proctologist want his patient to laugh at that moment?

People can find humour in just about anything. Sometimes we feel that we "should" choke down our laughter. This thread seems to be about whether or not we should choke somebody else's laughter out of him. I don't think anything is "necessarily" humourless. On the contrary, humour is an excellent way of relieving the tension in an uncomfortable and/or unpleasant situation. Jokes about proctology might not be the best idea.... Grand Canyon jokes, maybe. I think it would be hilarious if he licked his finger and touched your cheek. (Of course, that should be before he begins the examination. Timing is everything in comedy.)

- See! That's funny!! Oh c'mon!!!!!! Imagine the proctologist made the same joke you did above?Inserts finger. Pauses. "Hmm. I've seen worse cases but we are dealing with some pretty dark shit here".You wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry.....

Very funny!!!I'd imagine that black humour of that sort does a lot to keep people sane in some situations.

If it wasn't for this ability I couldn't have gone through most of my life and come out sane. My initial reaction at bad news is almost always a joke. Sometimes it frustrates the person who told me, and they may even get upset, thinkinig that I haven't taken what they said seriously. But it's actually the other way around. I've taken what they said so seriously that I've put up a sheild against that thing hurting me any further by assuming control of the situation through jokes. It's quite powerful.Especially around other comics, where anything is up for grabs as far as what we can joke about. Most of the things we make fun of each other about would make normal people upset or even angry - like when my friend who was raised without his mother (she passed away a year after he was born) was over a comics house with a bunch of us for dinner, and he said "Wow, this food looks amazing. It looks like the kind of food a mom would make" and another comic said "Pfft, how would you know" and we all laughed hysterically - ESPECIALLY my buddy who lost his mom!It's the odd thing about us: we laugh at tragedy. That's why I say I have no "line" that can be crossed as far as jokes go. Everything is up for grabs, just make sure it's funny. But, even if it's not, it's still worth a try.- OniEdited by onifre, : No reason given.

I'm reminded of my father's funeral. There were two limos, one for the pallbearers and one for the family. The family limo was driven by an employee of the "funeral home" (which in itself is a funny concept). She was a black woman who went to the same church as my father and had known him.All the way from the church to the cemetery, she was laughing and joking. At first, I thought that was odd behaviour for a "funeral director" (another funny concept) but then I realized that that was exactly how my father had been at mom's funeral twelve years earlier. He would have been perfectly comfortable with the situation - so I was too.I wanted to tell her afterwards what a comfort she had been but I wasn't able to.

If you mean (which I think you do) that no topic is too taboo to be joked about then I agree.We've already hashed out the problems with the whole "absolutely anything goes in the name of funny" interpretation of "no line" in a previous thread: Ground Zero Mosque - Tolerance, Racism or Comedy?So I won't go there again.....

Cool story. I experienced the same thing at a funeral for a comedian. It started off as most wakes do, very sad and quiet. Eventually the comics started to tell stories of the dude who had passed away (to ourselves at first, but then a little ouder till most in the place could hear us) - each story getting crazier and crazier (drugs, hookers, fights, etc.).Initially the family members of the comic were very stiff about us doing that, being that his open casket was only a few feet away from us and they can see the guy lying there dead.But, the more we didn't let up, eventually turning the stories into a roast of the guy at his funaral, the more the family loosened up and began to laugh. I'm sure a few never quite got the point of what we were doing, however, those closest to him did. His mother came up to us after and thanked us for making the experience of having to bury her son a bit less depressing.- Oni

Well, I mean even personal jokes about that which is most painful to me to experience or imagine. If I made a joke about your son being kidnapped or molested, would you be able to laugh at that given that the joke was actually funny? ...or would you dismiss any possibility of the joke being funny because of the subject matter?- Oni