[Humour] Is any subject taboo when it comes to jokes?

[usernamed]

Katy Bourne has herself been the victim of stalking so I don't doubt that she is sincere. Very sincere.

Doesn’t change anything. Scumbags will continue to be scumbags. I’d personally rather she was spending her energy on ensuring officers were trained in catching perpetrators and dealing sensitively with the victims of this type of crime, than starting online hate campaigns against card manufacturers.


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[Mr Banana]

Of course not. Life is tragedy, death is coming, part of the job of comedy is to transgress taboos etc etc.

The trouble with Gervais is that he's hardly ever funny, picks the easiest, least original possible targets while feigning to be an edgelord (trans and the disabled and so on and so on) and then takes great umbrage with anyone pointing that out.

Similarly, for somone presenting themselves as the alternative voice of reason, Jim Jefferies has an audience exclusively made up of alpha male gammons in Ben Shermans and Trimm Trabbs.

 

[RossyG]

Some subject matters just don't lend themselves to humour as they are not funny or have become not funny as societies values changed and that's why the dinosaur comedians such as Bernard Manning audiences shrank.

I think “audiences wouldn’t stand for that now” was an excuse used by media executives in the 80s to ditch a lot of comics that they personally didn’t like and were embarrassed by but that the audience still found funny.

When the very un-PC Little Britain somehow slipped through the net much later, it found a large and appreciative audience, although I certainly wasn’t one of them. I think the reasoning given was that the black- and yellow-face, mocking of the disabled, and calling an East Asian boy Ching-Chong Chinaman as a punchline was somehow ironic and so ok.

Nowadays, the woke/PC Brigade/loony left/Guardian readers (call ‘em what you like) have decided that trans rights is the hill they’re dying on this year and would go ballistic at the “I’m a lady” sketches. Five years ago, they wouldn’t have batted an eyelid at them.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Yes, unnecessary filthy language.

 

[El Presidente]

Context is critical. The episode of South Park 'With apologies to Jesse Jackson' is a perfect example.

Some jokes are best for WhatsApp groups, some for NSC and some for cards, even so it is possible to get these wrong too (I've done so myself at times). Going to a Frankie Boyle gig and being offended does seem strange, surely you would know what you are watching beforehand.

 

[m@goo]

The trouble with Gervais is that he's hardly ever funny, picks the easiest, least original possible targets while feigning to be an edgelord (trans and the disabled and so on and so on) and then takes great umbrage with anyone pointing that out.

I wasn't trying to start a discussion on who was funny and who wasn't. I just happen to agree with his stance on jokes.

 

[Doonhamer7]

When I saw Frankie Boyle at the Dome a few years back he made loads of offensive jokes - started with a Gay one as he was in Brighton and everyone laughed at nearly everything until one subject - the McCanns and you could feel the sharp intake of breath. He then turned that back on all of us, by saying how offensive he had been on the pope, date rape, gays etc but we didn’t like talking about parents leaving their kids alone. It did really make you think on what society will find funny at the right time.

I always though we as Brits dealt with disasters by immediately having jokes about it, whether it was Diana death, the herald of free enterprise, Kings X fire. But now you just don’t hear them - I know it less offensive but something is missing.

 

[Billy the Fish]

I don’t think either side is right or wrong.

People are allowed to feel those cards are offensive and wrong .... other people are allowed to feel that any subject is open to humour.

I suppose the lines between causing offense and bullying/criminality are becoming more blurred in modern society and it’s becoming more sterile because of it.

I think my main concern is the people who will watch a comedian like Gervais and laugh at the cancer/disabled/aids jokes but then be outraged and offended at the rape joke because it’s personal to them.

Nailed it

(That's not a Jesus reference in case anyone is offended)

 

[Billy the Fish]

I bet Guilty Cards on ETSI are loving this, sales must be through the roof this morning

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Doesn’t change anything. Scumbags will continue to be scumbags. I’d personally rather she was spending her energy on ensuring officers were trained in catching perpetrators and dealing sensitively with the victims of this type of crime, than starting online hate campaigns against card manufacturers.


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It's easy telling other people how to do their job, isn't it?

 

[RossyG]

Nailed it

(That's not a Jesus reference in case anyone is offended)

Yes, it’s a bit like someone decrying racism and then calling people gammons.

There’s a lot of hypocrisy involved.

 

[studio150]

I'm still traumatised by the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, and will therefore be starting a petition to withdraw ALL Valentine cards so that everyone can enjoy the day without being reminded of the events of 1929.

 

[usernamed]

It's easy telling other people how to do their job, isn't it?

Well, it’s probably too much to ask, but since we as taxpayers pay for crime commissioners, I had hoped they might focus their energies on crime, rather than the tastefulness (or otherwise) of greeting cards.


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[herecomesaregular]

Most jokes will be offensive to someone. There is only bad taste in my book and I'm never offended by that.

The rape joke in Life of Brian, should that be removed?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Well, it’s probably too much to ask, but since we as taxpayers pay for crime commissioners, I had hoped they might focus their energies on crime, rather than the tastefulness (or otherwise) of greeting cards.


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Stalking is a crime. A crime which can end in murder.
Do we allow paedophile cards?

 

[rippleman]

The world has bigger problems than a Valentines card.

I'm surprised the police & crime commissioner doesn't have more important things to do with her day.

 

[Curious Orange]

Man sees stalking as a joke. Woman is terrified as a result of a crime.

Try thinking about your wife, or sister, or daughter, and then stand up for freedom of comedy.

I see your point, but the context of how and when a joke is made is an important consideration.

Part of our freedom of speech is to both be offensive and to be offended, the context of how, why and when those things happen tell you more than the joke itself.

I recommend listening to Louis Theroux's podcast on BBC Sounds where he interviews Frankie Boyle, as it gives an interesting insight into the topic.

 

[RossyG]

Stalking is a crime. A crime which can end in murder.
Do we allow paedophile cards?

Yup.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Do we allow paedophile cards?

https://www.creasedcards.com/p/no-idea-everyone-on-tv-was-a-paedo-funny-birthday-card

 

[The Clamp]

Katy Bourne the Crime Commissioner has started a campaign to ban some valentine's cards because the subject of them is stalking and she's been a victim of stalking.

I think it's important we stand up for freedom of speech in comedy and as Ricky Gervais once said which I agree with: and I paraphrase, no subject should be taboo when it comes to the basis of a joke. It depends on the content and context of the joke. Just because a joke is about the thing that has affected you doesn't mean it can't be the basis of a joke. These particular cards in my view aren't aimed at the victims of stalking. The sender is the butt of the joke. The worst thing these cards can be accused of is being tiresome imo.

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19076746.valentines-day-card-banned-thortful-complaint/

A lot of people agree with her on her twitter...

https://twitter.com/KatyBourne/status/1359104480424456193

Personally, I don't think any subject should be off the table. The crucial thing is circumstance. Know your audience.

However, I don't believe in offence. It's an abstract construct that has too many variables to be used as a guideline for what is acceptable. IMO.