Unfunny people from around the world have been shouting from the rooftops these past few years about how comedy is not the same anymore because society has become "too sensitive." They relish in the good ol' days when they were free to be as offensive as they wanted because hey, it was in the name of comedy. Now, they complain about having to walk on eggshells in order to prevent themselves from saying or doing anything problematic. These supposed comedians roll their eyes when anyone says the word feminism because they blame feminists for society taking everything too seriously.
Well, the cold, hard truth is that if this is how you feel, then you were never funny. You thought you were funny because the people that you would surround yourself with would enable your offensive statements. You would hide your discriminatory beliefs behind the mask of it being a "joke" but both you and everyone around you knew that you were serious.
The jokes that I've seen people defend the most are homophobic jokes. For example, Kevin Hart made a joke saying
"One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay. That's a fear. Keep in mind, I'm not homophobic…Be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, as a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will."
When he was confronted about this joke, Hart said that he loves everyone and that he has matured, but he never directly apologized for saying a homophobic joke. Hart's fans came to his defense and said that his joke was harmless and that he clearly was not homophobic.
Someone tell me, how does it make sense to tell a homophobic joke and not be homophobic? You're telling the joke because you think it's funny, and if being gay is the punchline, then aren't you making fun of gay people? How is that not homophobic? Oh yeah, it is homophobic. You may believe that these jokes are "harmless," but they are coming from a place of truth. These kinds of jokes encourage homophobes to be violent towards gay people because it normalizes homophobia.
And I know, some of you reading this may think I'm a killjoy, and I don't care. When a marginalized group says that something is offensive and not funny, then that's what it is. I know that in the beginning, it can be difficult to change the jokes you are used to saying because it has become a habit, but if you are serious about stopping, then you can. It is understandable to slip up and accidentally make an offensive joke while you are trying to change. You just have to apologize and do your best moving forward to change.
It is possible to be funny without being offensive. There is no reason to attack marginalized groups for a cheap joke. There are plenty of other things to make jokes about. If you go out of your way to make an offensive joke, then you just want to be a jerk.
