How Soon Is Too Soon?
There is a discussion that occurs amongst comedians that has been debated after every natural disaster, every act of war, and every generally bad thing that happens, and it is this:
"Is it too soon to make jokes about (insert catastrophe here)?"
Now, what I have heard is the generally accepted grieving time that you should allow after a lot of people die is 1 year per 500 people. I find that to be way too vague, because I could make a joke about the president being shot the day after, but I couldn’t make fun of 200 people dying in a Turkish bath after a terrible towel warming machine accident until well after March, and that’s inherently funny, although to me the president being shot is funny too. “George W got himself shot yesterday, which means that someone else in this world agrees with his position on executing retards.” Badum ching!
Personally, I don’t think there should be any down time in between a tragedy and me getting on stage and poking fun at it. To me, funny is funny, there’s little to no middle ground. I resisted making 9/11 jokes for a few months because of the political variables, but that didn’t stop me from making fun of Osama bin Ladin (Yea, remember him? Still out there somewhere.) until most of the sore spots had healed.
“The Statue of Liberty must’ve been worried as hell on 9/11. She’d must have been like, ‘what the fuck?!’ (holds up mic like the torch, looks behind). I should go back to France!”
Now I tell jokes like that one bout 9/11 and there are STILL people who get offended by them. I understand if you had family members or friends in the attacks, and I know it’s a touchy subject, but SHUT UP! I’m telling jokes here! I mean, if it’s funny, then laugh. There should be no other considerations there. It’s ‘stand up comedy,’ not ‘stand up bitch and moan if you don’t think what he’s saying is appropriate.’
“I went to the football game tonight and they were giving out these towels, and I thought, ‘Man, I can’t think of another stadium full of people who need towels.”
Some comedians ruin it for the rest of us. I have already heard a few hilarious bits on Hurricane Katrina. (this one from a comedian I heard 2 Fridays ago after a big football game here at OU.) But some are just insensitive and stupid and not funny by any stretch of the imagination. Here’s a hint: jokes about dead bodies are never funny. (Except zombie jokes. Zombies are funny.) Jokes about the government response or things like that are good; any good comedian knows that. Some people think disgusting the audience and making them hostile towards you is not good business.
I could go on longer, but it boils down to this: It is never ‘too soon.’ If your joke is funny.
And zombies rule.
"Is it too soon to make jokes about (insert catastrophe here)?"
Now, what I have heard is the generally accepted grieving time that you should allow after a lot of people die is 1 year per 500 people. I find that to be way too vague, because I could make a joke about the president being shot the day after, but I couldn’t make fun of 200 people dying in a Turkish bath after a terrible towel warming machine accident until well after March, and that’s inherently funny, although to me the president being shot is funny too. “George W got himself shot yesterday, which means that someone else in this world agrees with his position on executing retards.” Badum ching!
Personally, I don’t think there should be any down time in between a tragedy and me getting on stage and poking fun at it. To me, funny is funny, there’s little to no middle ground. I resisted making 9/11 jokes for a few months because of the political variables, but that didn’t stop me from making fun of Osama bin Ladin (Yea, remember him? Still out there somewhere.) until most of the sore spots had healed.
“The Statue of Liberty must’ve been worried as hell on 9/11. She’d must have been like, ‘what the fuck?!’ (holds up mic like the torch, looks behind). I should go back to France!”
Now I tell jokes like that one bout 9/11 and there are STILL people who get offended by them. I understand if you had family members or friends in the attacks, and I know it’s a touchy subject, but SHUT UP! I’m telling jokes here! I mean, if it’s funny, then laugh. There should be no other considerations there. It’s ‘stand up comedy,’ not ‘stand up bitch and moan if you don’t think what he’s saying is appropriate.’
“I went to the football game tonight and they were giving out these towels, and I thought, ‘Man, I can’t think of another stadium full of people who need towels.”
Some comedians ruin it for the rest of us. I have already heard a few hilarious bits on Hurricane Katrina. (this one from a comedian I heard 2 Fridays ago after a big football game here at OU.) But some are just insensitive and stupid and not funny by any stretch of the imagination. Here’s a hint: jokes about dead bodies are never funny. (Except zombie jokes. Zombies are funny.) Jokes about the government response or things like that are good; any good comedian knows that. Some people think disgusting the audience and making them hostile towards you is not good business.
I could go on longer, but it boils down to this: It is never ‘too soon.’ If your joke is funny.
And zombies rule.
reubs wrote this piece of shit at 1:38 PM
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