Can You Put A Price On Ignorance Or Stupidity?
Tags: comedians, free speech, stand-up comedy, stand-up diaries, standup diaries, The Stand-Up Diaries, writingIn Quebec they tend to go overboard with things, whether it be with defending their French language, banning religious symbols from the workplace and with free speech.
There was a story that came out a couple days ago about a Quebec comedian that made a “joke” about a disabled boy five or six years ago. In this “joke” he was amazed this kid was still alive and called him ugly. The subject of this “joke” was ridiculed at school daily, and eventually filed a human rights complaint over it. The tribunal ruled in his favour and ordered the comic to pay a fine of over $40,000. The comedian is currently filing an appeal to this fine, which is why the story came out a few days ago.
This comic never bothered to do his research on his subject from the sounds of it, because he wasn’t aware that this boy had a life altering condition he was born with, which is why he looks the way that he does.
Now, there are a few different ways I will go with this one, and again, these are opinions that are mine and nobody else’s.
I would like to list the comics name, but it isn’t worth doing. If you Google it you’l find all the details. This guy says he is living his dream telling tasteless jokes. Hmmmmm, you sound like Louis CK and guess where he ended up? Then he says that people will be afraid to try stand-up comedy in Quebec out of a fear of being censored.
Really? Last time I checked, there is a difference between being a comedian and being an ignorant jackass/bully.
I’ve been at this a while, over seven years now. I have also been the subject of bullying, slander, threats and harassment from other comics. I can tell you that the ones who spew that kind of garbage towards others is a reflection of who they are. It doesn’t matter why they decide to do it. It’s a reflection of who they really are, and that’s the truth.
I also get the argument that if this comic isn’t that funny then people won’t buy tickets to his shows. But to suggest that free speech is under attack because of this human rights tribunals decision is a bit of a stretch. Free speech isn’t under attack. Instead, the jackasses of the world are being exposed, one at a time. If people wanted to pay to watch an idiot perform tasteless jokes, I’m sure they would rather go to the bar and pay some drunk loudmouth to tell tasteless jokes instead.
Also, the venue you play at may have restrictions as to what you can or cannot say. That doesn’t automatically mean you try to push the envelope on purpose just to get attention.
Free speech isn’t under attack. If anything, society is taking a stand against such garbage. It isn’t funny because it amounts to bullying. If you want to lose an audience fast as a comedian, start being a jackass and talk about other races or disabilities in a derogatory way. There generally needs to be a point of view a comedian has when telling a “joke”. If you are just telling a joke to be an asshole because you are getting paid for it, that’s pretty sad.
Even if he has a point of view, he sounds like such a bully or ignorant asshole that his point of view is overshadowed by the fact he said something that tasteless. Maybe the culture is different in Quebec with respects to comedians and the type of material that an audience is receptive too. But around these parts, that shit won’t fly.
Times are changing. There are many options for entertainment available to people these days, so getting value for your dollar is paramount. In that sense it then becomes easy to identify the ones that might be a waste of your time and money.
Comedians need to have a point of view when on stage and give you, the audience, a reason to follow along with them. But to get on stage and be a loud mouthed asshole telling tasteless jokes, next time a comic like that should just go to the bar and get people to pay him to tell that stuff too, because eventually, that’s the only audience he will have left, and deservedly so.