Sinfest

[Yinello]

The freedom of speech argument is bullshit in this case. You don't get the right to defend that you're an asshole who is purposely seeking to harm someone.

If I know there are people out there who could be triggered by what I could say and I say it anyway because I value my shitty enjoyment more than their mental wellfare then I am an asshole.
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Sinfest Comments Bingo because we like Schadenfreude~

[cixelsyD]

Why do black guys always cry after sex?

Because of the mace.


Rape joke that is also racist! Seemed topical.
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"I am the enemy," was the reply. "The one you thought would never come."

[Yinello]

You forgot Judaism and handicapped kids. No cookie.
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Sinfest Comments Bingo because we like Schadenfreude~

[bitflipper]

[Monkey Mcdermott]

If you want to use your free speech to be offensive, don't be surprised when public opinion turns against you. Don't be surprised that when it's brought out into the general public there are social and financial consequences to it. And don't be surprised when people begin to view you as an asshole and don't want to be around you.

The only thing worse than shitty jokes about horrible subject matter is when people get butthurt that people get offended by their shitty jokes about horrible subject matter and don't want anything further to do with them.
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[Dogen]

Every time we talk about speech we have to reiterate that saying someone ought not do something isn't the same as saying we should ban them from saying it, and saying that you are free to speak doesn't mean we can't hold you responsible in some fashion for what you say. Or, to be trite, having the right to do something doesn't make it right.

I'm on my phone, so I can't find the quote from earlier in this thread, but in essence it was that making jokes about the strong is courage and making jokes about the powerless is just cruel.
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"Worse comes to worst, my people come first, but my tribe lives on every country on earth. I’ll do anything to protect them from hurt, the human race is what I serve." - Baba Brinkman

[trustedfaith]

I'm starting to think I'm invisible here.
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My blog is back bitches!! Check it out and comment: http://www.quixoticroads.com

I'm also doing the twitter thing; you should stalk/follow me: http://twitter.com/sillygurlroo

[mouse]

nono - you reactivated the discussion, so people noticed. some of the responses are a bit oblique.

i'm starting to get riled up by the "but freespeech!" defense, because the only right the constitution gives you is that _congress_ can't make a law stopping you. someone who owns a club or a television stations certainly _can_ limit what you say (george carlin's 7 words still can't be said on anything outside of premium cable). and, as dogen has pointed out, it certainly doesn't mean we can't object to what you say. nor that we can't deny you a free platform to say whatever you want.

so yeah - daniel tosh has the right to make any sort of disgusting joke he wants. that doesn't mean i have to sit still for him taking up space on the television airways, or can't object if the local comedy club owner decides to hire him. because i also have the right to free speech.

right now, tosh gets those things because comedy central and the club owner figure they will make money off of him. and we are certainly allowed to try to change their minds about that.

maybe i am a goodie two-shoes, but i get so tired of nastiness. of people saying cruel things because other people are cruel enough to laugh at them. i don't see where that benefits the world, and i think it should be discouraged. i'm not saying outlawed - i'm saying discouraged. as in, comedians should be discouraged from getting laughs out of making fun of other people's pain. laughing at ourselves is one thing - laughing at other people is another.
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aka: neverscared!

[bitflipper]

[mouse]

censorship, at least in the u.s., is really weird. you can blow up huge numbers of people, and that's ok, but you can't say 'fuck' (or do it, either), unless you are labeled 'adult entertainment'. i don't want congress setting down hard and fast laws on what language you can use where, or even whether or not you can make a movie that depicts the hero mowing down people with a machine gun. but i tend to think that it hardens a kid more to see people being killed in large numbers than to hear the occasional swear word, or even to see a bit of naked flesh.

i haven't really followed the 'die hard' movies, but it seems to me (from the trailers i've seen of the latest one) that the level of violence has been jacked up over time (surely someone has done some sort of study?). that sort of thing, i think, is Not Good. i see no benefit in blowing up a fleet of cars, just to give the audience an adrenal rush (or whatever they get from it).

someone or other on TCM said something the other day about old movies - something like "we didn't have the technology to blow so much stuff up, so we had to tell good stories". do we really need the violence and the meanness to tell good stories?

i guess hbo has the right idea - they tell you (before the show) that they are warning about language, sex, violence, "mature content". maybe we should have similar ratings on everything...including 'pathetic immature humor' and 'humor based on hurting others'. maybe even 'dehumanizes on the basis of sex/race/religion'. then you would be able to make a clear choice.
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aka: neverscared!

[mouse]

on the other hand, seems that the guy who started the crusade against comic books for corrupting youth um....sorta made shit up.. so maybe we don't need to protect the children.

but i kinda want some protection myself, you know? for the sake of my eardrums, if nothing else.
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aka: neverscared!

[bitflipper]

I like that idea: "Rated 'lame,' for sophomoric humor!" "The national content advisory board hereby warns the viewer that this warning contains more intellectual stimulation than the entire rest of the movie."

..."May contain nuts." (with apologies to Sir Terry Pratchett)
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I am only a somewhat arbitrary sequence of raised and lowered voltages to which your mind insists upon assigning meaning

[Snorri]

[Canopus]

Trusted: You cover subject matter succinctly and leave room for open discussion. Even if they don't respond directly, it's apparent people agree with your points and channel them, myself included. I actually was going to post something similar to yours for the jihadi convo in the other thread. This applies to my thoughts about Mouse as well.

So don't worry, be happy

[Dogen]