- Joined
- Dec 22, 2005
- Messages
- 16,343
- Reaction score
- 7,623
Re: Buffalo Bills WR Stevie Johnson to North Korea: "Bomb Foxboro, MA first!"
I thought Johnson's comment was acceptable, if unfortunate, and explained my reasons for taking that position elsewhere in this thread.
But, I live in NYC where a firm at which I have many friends actually did have a "bomb" dropped on it in the form of a hijacked plane, murdering over 230 of my friends' colleagues; so, I can understand that some folks might not be able to hear Johnson's remarks in the spirit in which I will, in charity, assume they were intended (i.e., the remarks of a competitive guy that was, to his mind, no doubt no worse than yelling "Kill the Ump" at Fenway).
The broader societal point you raise is valid.
Yes, it would, in an ideal world, be nice if we could all have a "sense of humor" about jokes directed at gender, race, ethnicity, religion, physical appearance or sexual orientation.
However, all too often "I was only kidding" or "Can't you take a joke?" is a thinly disguised way for a bigot to make a bigoted statement.
Personally, I stick to telling jokes that poke fun at my own religion, ethnic background, gender and race, without venturing onto ground that others might find offensive. And, I only do so among people whom I know will understand where I am coming from and "get" what I'm saying. In other words, with a relatively small group of friends.
Is that a limitation on my ability to speak freely? Sure it is. Is that limitation a necessary element of civil discourse in as diverse a society as we have in the United States? Yes, I believe it is.
Exactly. What he actually said should be taken as a complement to the Patriots, really. The butt of the joke revolves around the fact that the Patriots are good. Whether it's actually funny is beside the point.
Ah, I can remember the good old days when people would take a statement like this in context and not blink an eye, much less be outraged by it as though Stevie was actually condoning the dropping of a bomb on an American city in any way, shape, or form. Used to be that only old ladies might react that way.
If I were to say something like "I'll kill anyone that has a problem with this," some people may call the cops because I threatened their life. Holy cow. The political correctness of it all. You can't really tell a joke like "a priest, and Irishman, and dwarf walk into a bar" type joke anymore in public. If you can't laugh at yourself...
Twitter is pretty gay, though.
I thought Johnson's comment was acceptable, if unfortunate, and explained my reasons for taking that position elsewhere in this thread.
But, I live in NYC where a firm at which I have many friends actually did have a "bomb" dropped on it in the form of a hijacked plane, murdering over 230 of my friends' colleagues; so, I can understand that some folks might not be able to hear Johnson's remarks in the spirit in which I will, in charity, assume they were intended (i.e., the remarks of a competitive guy that was, to his mind, no doubt no worse than yelling "Kill the Ump" at Fenway).
The broader societal point you raise is valid.
Yes, it would, in an ideal world, be nice if we could all have a "sense of humor" about jokes directed at gender, race, ethnicity, religion, physical appearance or sexual orientation.
However, all too often "I was only kidding" or "Can't you take a joke?" is a thinly disguised way for a bigot to make a bigoted statement.
Personally, I stick to telling jokes that poke fun at my own religion, ethnic background, gender and race, without venturing onto ground that others might find offensive. And, I only do so among people whom I know will understand where I am coming from and "get" what I'm saying. In other words, with a relatively small group of friends.
Is that a limitation on my ability to speak freely? Sure it is. Is that limitation a necessary element of civil discourse in as diverse a society as we have in the United States? Yes, I believe it is.