more fun.: I just have to ...
Respond to ONE more thing. (I swear i’ll stop after this and you’ll get your feed of kewl comix and art and stuff forever onward)
So. This is the kind of response to “offensive jokes” that i have a problem with:
I’m glad someone gets the joke. The more I see people getting up in arms about…
We can still be sensitive to issues and make jokes about them.
I do not like seeing people marginalized. I’ve worked with homeless and mentally ill people for 10 years now in Vancouver’s downtown eastside. I care for these people deeply, but I’ll still tell stories about the woman who was breastfeeding a rat or the time I was assaulted by a guy who tried to convince me he was the “policia”.
When we make these jokes in public people will read there own issues into them. They may not understand where we are coming from and may misconstrue it as an advocation for something distasteful.
However I’m going to defend people like Josh who in my opinion are not promoting or advocating oppression or violence even though they represent it in their comic. I’m not saying that because the work is satire doesn’t mean it is above criticism, but I will do my best to point out that we can laugh at ourselves even when a nerve is being touched and I think we will be better for it.
In response to Leah
1. I’ve always been on the outside just because I’m a weird person. I’m a very sensitive and caring person. I also have a dark sense of humour which helps me deal with all the bullshit in the world. I don’t really see the world in a power struggle sort of way. I think of it more like I’m some sort of barnacle on a rock in space. Life is fucking weird. It scares the shit out of me and I make fun of it.
2. I honestly think that for a medium to be truly powerful it can’t be comfortable. Saying something worth saying isn’t easy and when you say something that affects people there will be controversy. I want people to say the things that might seem crazy because there maybe something profoundly true or profoundly wrong in them. Either way I believe in the importance of being uncomfortable.
3. I totally agree.
