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sunshinemiss -> RE: Too Far? (1/14/2010 6:34:03 AM)
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~FR~
quote:
It may be obvious that this was brought on by another thread. Is there really such a thing as too far when it comes to humor?
Monty Python comes to mind, "twit of the year race". Isn't that making fun of mentally handicapped? Am I the only one who laughed when I saw it the first time?
Is there a line to be crossed? If so who decides?
Hello Jeff,
This thread is at 12 pages which means there has been some kind of argument going on. I am not going to read that, but I am going to respond to your OP.
I went to see the Aristocrats years ago. Funniest movie I think I've ever seen. They were not prejudice - they made fun of everybody! I loved it! Other people walked out of it, but not me. I was crying and almost fell on the floor I was laughing so hard.
I went to a party where a guy dressed as a child molester. His lover was dressed as a little boy. Before we went, they came to me and asked me what I thought... was it too offensive. *I was working in child welfare, dealing with abused and neglected (and molested) children. I LOVED the costumes. Laughed and laughed.
I called someone dumb as a box of rocks one time and was chastised for making fun of mentally handicapped people. I turned to that woman and said, "I get up every morning and fight for the rights of mentally handicapped people. I go to work every day and make sure those children are safe. I will not stop myself from blowing off a little steam when I am with friends just because you are offended. Blowing off steam allows me to maintain my sanity so I can walk back into a courtroom or an abuse situation and fight for the very children you are chastising me about. What do you do? Nothing, that's what. When you get up every morning and fight for these children, you can chastise me. Until then, shut the fuck up."
The reason these stories are ok in my mind is because of what was underneath it all. Tremendous respect for what was happening. The child molester folks were absolutely fierce about protecting abused children (and animals for that matter). They had put themselves in actual danger to save children before. The Aristocrats - they made fun of everybody! They paid attention to the tiniest details of people and respect people so much, enjoy them, and celebrate the crazy quirks of people. That is why they were funny. Because they love people. People walked out of that movie because of THEIR OWN issues that they had not dealt with. A man was offended by my neighbor's costume because he'd been molested and had not faced that trauma in his life. The woman who told me to stop saying what I said was angry because she felt guilty for doing nothing.
There is a difference between laughing at a situation and taunting in a mean spirited way at a person. There is a difference between enjoying someone's silly quirks and being hateful to them.
What is going too far? Is when the intent is to hurt and to harm.
Best, and a good question,
sunshine
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