Surely you've heard by now about Daniel Tosh's rape joke incident, but for those not so on top of the latest offensive happenings, here's a brief synopsis: Tosh is performing and says that anything can be funny, including rape. Woman in the crowd responds that rape isn't funny (you go girl), and Tosh responds thusly: "Wouldn’t it be funny if that girl [referring to an audience member who “heckled” him about rape jokes not being funny earlier in his set] got raped by, like, five guys right now? Like right now?”
My thoughts:
A. Rape jokes aren't really funny. Jokes in which a woman or man is forcibly penetrated or violated? Not hilarious. Not even funny when they're about Jerry Sandusky (perhaps a form of just desserts, but not funny per se).
B. What Tosh said to that woman was a personal attack, a form of bullying, and a tacit endorsement of our rape culture. What? Yes. Jokes are intended to poke fun at our culture, to make us think, to make us laugh. His statement that wouldn't it be funny if she was raped, by like, five guys, right now, is none of those thinks. It is a reflection of our culture in which rape is an acceptable way to keep women in line. Of keeping them from heckling "nice guys" like Tosh while they go about their very important business of entertaining. Of making sure that they abide by certain societal expectations and rules that regulate their behavior, their dress, and their appearance. Of keeping us afraid.
What do you think? Am I being too harsh on poor little Tosh? Or is it true that some shit just isn't funny?
Much love,
The Sheriff
Part 1 of 2.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Tosh…you piece of shit.
Let me be clear, I liked Tosh. I really did. I found his humor irreverent, scathing, and wonderfully deadpan. But as the Sherriff and many others have noted, he crossed the line. And for that I have lost a significant amount of respect for him.
One small difference though…
Everybody seems to dislike Tosh for telling the rape jokes…
I’m pissed because he apologized for them. Coward.
Hooray for misleading introductions!!!
But to my point; Tosh apologized for his jokes. In that act he denoted that he did something wrong. But that is not truth. Humor does is not a compelling active force. It is not a suggestion. It is simply an idea that serves as a foil to our everyday lives and experiences as individuals and collectively as a society. Granted the severity of this foil definitely varies from “Knock-Knock “ jokes to “Dead Baby” humor. But in of themselves, they are just ideas. The audience recognizes and finds the humor in them. And as such, the audience, or in the case of this one girl, finds offense in humor. As Jimmy Carr so eloquently said, “Offense is never given, it is taken.”
Moving onward…
I have known the Sheriff for several years and respect the fact that she is far more intellectually blessed individual than I. While we disagree on things, I thing that the vast majority of he positions have serious merit. However this is one of the rare expectations.
This isolated incident of Tosh and the rape joke is not any of the following:
- personal attack, a form of bullying, and a tacit endorsement of our rape culture.
- an example of the pervasive subjugation of women in our culture.
What this entire controversy is about RESPECT for others around you.
Part 2 of 2
ReplyDeleteDaniel Tosh is a comedian. His style is well known. If the girl in question did not like hearing rape jokes, she should have done one of the two things. Left the theatre for Tosh’s performance or simply dealt with her personal uncomfortable feelings for the duration. Now after the performance she could have done a number of mature and effective things. She could have boycotted his show. She could have tired to contact him and initiate a conversation with him about perhaps stopping this aspect of his routine. She could have blogged about how rape jokes are not funny.
But she didn’t. She heckled him. For some twisted reason she felt that her own personal indignation was so great, and so important, that it automatically superseded the interest of everyone else around her who had paid to hear Tosh’s ideas (not hers) or Tosh’s ability to put on a smooth and effective show…
I am sorry, but at that moment you have asked for it. Basic human rights do not apply. The comedian has full right to put you back in your place…
And so I say it.
The bitch got what she deserved.
I say this not because I think that this girl actually deserved to be raped by 5 guys. Nor do I say this because I endorse rape in the slightest or because I am part of a culture that subjects women. I say this because with her immature behavior she crossed a line, and Tosh rightfully told a searing joke at her expense so that the comedy could continue…The rape content of the joke was simple incidental because of the material that had been discussed before.
Now I hate to clarify this, because I think it should be obvious, but I judging this girl as a heckler. Not as a women. The gender of the heckler is incidental. Regardless of sex, disability, ethic background, religion, traumatic life experiences, etc., all hecklers are immature, delusional, inconsiderate fucks that fully deserve to be destroyed by the comedians they interrupt.
But lets take this full circle. Are rape jokes funny? And as the Sherriff purposed, are there certain things that simply are not humorous in any light?
The simple answer to that is no; nothing is immune to humor. Granted some material will work better with humor than others (i.e. Bushism vs. the Holocaust).
And furthermore, I think that comedy on the edge, that makes humor out of awful things should ALWAYS be a welcome part of our discourse. I say this because I do believe that telling “naughty jokes” are a key part of our moral development as a society. I will explain my point, but for that I need a naughty joke…
Me: You know how they say that there is safety in numbers?
Audience: Yeah…
Me: Tell that to 6 million Jews.
(credit to Jimmy Carr)
Why is that funny? It isn’t because the systematic killing of a entire religious/ethic group is rather funny. It is funny, at least in my opinion because a simple almost lighthearted question on a everyday turn of phrase, is being compared with one of the most horrific things that every happened. In the contrast between the two lies the humor. This joke doesn’t denigrate the seriousness of the Holocaust; rather the joke success depends on the audience associating the Holocaust with evil and despair. If the audience didn’t, if the Holocaust had been accepted as just another mundane historical event, then the joke would cease to be funny.
So yes. Tosh is right. Rape jokes are always funny. And we should all hope that they continue to be funny. The day we hear a rape joke and only slightly chuckle, or groan in disappointment because the joke just fell flat, then we are in trouble. On that day, rape will have become accepted at another mundane happening of life…
So for all you out there who have decried Tosh for being anti-women, and especially to the girl who heckling started this entire clusterfuck in the first place…y’all better wise-up. Tosh is not your enemy. He is in fact your ally.