Jimmy Carr's Oscar joke in 2014 caused an uproar, but he isn't the only one who had to deal with this monster.
Political correctness, infamously known as PC, is trying a hard as you can to not say/do anything that will offend anyone or anything, whether race, religion, gender, sexuality, or weight. Of course, it's impossible to do many things like writing an article, making a movie, and especially telling a joke.
What was thought to be a way of promoting equality and politeness has become the censorship of anything that might offend someone, misused by the media and politicians to hang on to their oversensitive supporters.
PC has resulted in people becoming oversensitive and angered by anything they find offensive, whether it relates to them or not. They become sheltered and small-minded.
Nowadays, many people have to be careful of what they say in person or online, especially comedians. Jerry Seinfeld refuses to perform at college campuses anymore because he finds the students too PC. He believes it's hurting comedy.
So what is it about comedy that can get people's undies in a bunch? Well, comedy comes from offending someone or something. It's based on the misery of another. It can be anything. Comedy can be as simple as a pun, to the extreme like the humor you'd find in South Park (*bad taste can be a good thing). Comedy nowadays seems like it's becoming more hateful in the eyes of bloggers online and others looking to be offended, but why?
Well it's because most of the time comedy is mistaken for hateful insults. A good joke is there to bring light on a simple or harsh reality in life and offer a funny and different point of a view on it. I don't believe there's such thing as a joke that goes too far if your intention is to NOT to seriously hurt someone. You can apply common sense and a balanced mindset to the humor to make a joke work. What isn't a joke is blatantly trying to seriously hurt someone, such as calling them a racial slur or saying they're "fat." Sometimes you have to use that brain-thing.
People mistake this with many comedians who are trying to get a point across and become offended by something that isn't really there. What they don't realize is that comedy is free speech and it shouldn't be limited by a list of what we can't make fun of.
There will always be jerks looking to hurt someone and whiners who look to be hurt by someone. They're people we all hate to come across and should just be ignored.
There will be comedians with bad jokes (not as bad taste but more a bad punchline to bad taste) and actual hateful statements. There will also be bigots with opposing views and harsh words. While they can be horrible, does that mean we should force them to apologize and change their ways in the most hostile ways possible? Of course not.
Know that comedy is very tricky. You got to have your audience laughing and if your bit is on a controversial topic, dance on the fine line between a good point or a nasty comment.
Don't fall with the jerks or cry with the babies. Sometimes it can hurt you and you may find a joke came too soon. If it does hurt you, find a way to let it heal. It's all about acceptance of reality, not hiding in your safe space and crying about it online (whether it was a good joke or a bad joke).
You'll find yourself offended many times in your life by a joke. But that's what comedy is. Let it offend you. Let yourself be challenged by comedy and let it take on your ways of thinking. It is important to all of us, and the more we let PC culture put it down, then we won't have a reason to laugh anymore.
