Tosh Point No
There seems to be a finite amount of freedom to go around. They gave some to the gays, so they’ve had to cut some from another group. Sadly they’ve had to take some from the ladies. Women are the new gays.
The takebacks include defunding Planned Parenthood, defunding contraceptives, de-personhooding women and other schemes to keep women down. It also doubles as a long-range GOP jobs program. Without childcare or pre-K programs, women with children have to stay home so men can take the jobs.
So called “rape jokes” are part of the takebacks. It’s about taking freedom – of assembly at a comedy club, in this case – away from women. Kudos to the courageous woman in the audience who said that rape jokes aren’t funny. Her statement is described as heckling. Her simple comment destabilized the daring Tosh. He responded by suggesting a gang rape.
I loathe the band of comic brothers [and sisters] with their mealy-mouthed chickenshit excuses for rape jokes. I loathe the equivalency examples in this national conversation: it would be as if a woman comic made a Bobbitizing joke, and some guy said that’s not funny and then she sicked all the gals with knives in the audience on the complainant. As if.
They talk freedom of speech, lecture about comic tradition and yes they have daughters and girlfriends and it pains them to defend their fellow comic Daniel Tosh but defend him they must.
To review: rape is not about sex. It’s about power and dominance. It’s true of prison rape, child rape, date rape which are also staples of comedy clubs. Comedy does club.
Do not even suggest that I don’t have a sense of humor. Get your rape joke heckle on. It’s apparently quite effective.
July 21, 2012 @ 7:10 pm
Kate, thank you. I can’t believe we’re still fighting this battle. Thank you for your wonderful fierceness.
July 22, 2012 @ 11:12 pm
I have to admit ambivilence here. I’m not proud, but I have lol’d at some pretty outrageous stuff. I’ve also survived true horror. I can still see where the line is. And I wouldn’t dare accuse anyone who feels otherwise of being humorless, perhaps more evolved and less myopic than myself.
July 23, 2012 @ 1:03 pm
Thank you for standing up to this topic.
July 23, 2012 @ 6:24 pm
I am not taking Tosh’s side but considering his jokes and his view of comedy, why did she even go there in the first place. I think he has pretty much made fun of just about everything. I wouldn’t expect less from his routine. He does alot of shock value comedy. If it offended me I would have just got up and walked out. If you heckle be prepared for a come back. I remember some people wanting to censor you during the Bush administration. The problem with all the passage of bills against women were long overdue if you stop and think about it. I need to do some research and see how many states legislations are controlled by republicans. It would be interesting to see how much money the way out there Christian groups are feeding to the re-election campaigns.
July 23, 2012 @ 7:50 pm
Phoenix, this sounds a little like blaming the victim. Regardless of the reason she was at the Tosh show, there is no more excuse for Rape Jokes than there is for Rape. Joking about something like this can lead to more execution of it. I applaud anyone who stands up for the serious problem of making a joke about any violence against women (or in the case of rape, even some men). Be ever vigilant!