Comments

1
"Is this word spelled correctly?" -- hilarious.
2
Well done, Bell. That was great.
3
So excellent.

I occasionally roll my eyes at the low hanging fruit in some of Lindy's more "outrage-y" Jezebel columns, however the kind of hate solicited by her fairly mild position in the debate on rape jokes was sickening. Seriously made my stomach churn.

Part of it of course was a the usual dipshit amplification caused by the pseudo-anonymity of the internet which empowers the worlds cowards.

But the bulk of those attacks were the revolting symptoms a deeply fucked-up culture. It makes me deeply ashamed of my gender.
4
Bravo. No one is arguing for censorship. We're saying that if your speech is offensive, the listener has the right to take action. They can write to you, they can tweet about you, and they can complain to your sponsors. I respected Jim Norton and what he had to say, except for when he attempted to argue that listeners should not speak up or speak out. That's bullshit and I will not be silenced.
5
"Is this what it's like to be White?"

I laughed so hard.

Here's Kamau on that Cheerios commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9UcHWeM3…
6
In other news....

http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes…

UNC Drops Charges Against Student Who Spoke Out on Rape

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes…
7
More specifically, it's about power: If one's speech or joke comes from a place of power (say, from a white man), and makes those with less power the butt of the joke or the blamed party in the speech (say, women, or other ethnicities), then that is offensive. It's as simple as that.

American humor, oddly enough, has a lot to do with making fun of other people. Whereas in more sophisticated humor one tends to make fun of oneself, or those in a position of power.

If you make fun of those weaker than you, then yes, you are a dick. A pasty, floppy dick. End of story. Deal with it, Dick.

If you don't understand that white men have a lot of social power and privilege in this society, then you have some work to do in order to become more aware of what that means. Before you offend again.
8
Now, that is how to handle a sensitive subject with humor.
9
Go ahead and be offended but stop telling people to stop offending you. Other people find it funny. The rest of the world doesn't need to step around your "triggers."
10
@9 "stop telling people" is saying "be silent". No. No, I will not be silent.
12
@7 proscribing all humor to be ideological is just as problematic as it is crafting purely thoughtless humor. Seeing that as end all be all is a little frightening.

And in the age of light speed information I shouldn't need to caution anyone that endorsing the formation a reactionary mob or internet posse every time you feel offended can also stifle weaker voices and lead to bulling. Even when the mob is "right." Everybody thinks they're right. The world doesn't need more angry crusaders.

There is no simple "do and don't" solution to open speech and keeping an form of expression interesting and free. Literally everybody needs to be more thoughtful and less reactionary.
13
@9,

No, *you* shut up.

See how that works?
14
Bell is fucking awesome. Also he provides a venue for Hari Kondabolu, who is also fucking awesome.
15
@ #7

+100!
16
I don't like that Lindy was threatened. But I still disagree with her.
17
Don't let Rob in Baltimore see this clip. It will make his head explode.

Please wait...

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