Does it offend you?

[jimmbob]

Steve Hughes says it best in this video.

OFFENDED.

[David T-W]

Originally Posted by sarahdent

I didn't mean specifically jokes which make fun of disabilities. I mean jokes which generally are thought to offend members of the public, of course if we banned everything that offended people there would be very little left

Yeah, I know you didn't. But where does one draw the line? Who should be the arbiter of taste? It's the thin end of the censorship wedge, really.

[Suicidal Dave]

I think most of us use humour to deal with death/dark issues, its what helps us to cope/stay sane.

I saw Billy Connelly just days after the Lockerbie bombing and he used it as part of his act.
Most of the audience were in stunned silence, a couple even walked out.
Personally, i thought the way he dealt with it was hilarious.
It may, or may not have been in bad taste, but it was funny.

[KidKimura]

I think most 'offensive' humour isn't menat to offend, its more poking fun at social stereotypes and prejudices. I generally won't find it funny if the comedian actually comes across as being racist/sexist/whateverist.

Frankie Boyle is funny as fuck, but Bernard Manning just makes me wanna slap him.

[Gothika85]

Originally Posted by KidKimura

I think most 'offensive' humour isn't menat to offend, its more poking fun at social stereotypes and prejudices. I generally won't find it funny if the comedian actually comes across as being racist/sexist/whateverist.

Frankie Boyle is funny as fuck, but Bernard Manning just makes me wanna slap him.

This is definatly something I agree with. I think there is a difference between making a few near the knuckle jokes & actually believing what you say.

For example, Jimmy Carr will make rape jokes, pedophile jokes etc.... but you defiantly get the feeling that he doesn't actually mean it.
However, when someone like Bernard Manning or Jim Davison tells/told a racist or sexist joke & you know full well that they believe(d) what they joke(d) about.

On a slightly broader scale, I think circumstance also has a lot to do whether a joke is offensive or not.
For example, a comedian will tell a joke onstage or on tv & people laugh.
If the same joke was told by someone to a smaller amount of people at a social event, or in work, then it runs the risk of making people feel uncomfortable & offended.

I think people associate things that they see on TV as not being real. More removed from real life, as it were. We've become desensitised to what we see & hear on the box.

Brendan Burns Edinburgh show won the coveted perrier (or whatever its called now) award for his show last year. It's called "So I suppose THIS is offensive now?" Please, please buy rent or steal the dvd, it deals with everything you can imagine on this subject!!

additional: all humour takes the piss out of someone/thing etc. We really do have to learn to laugh at ourselves and the stereotypes of our social, political, ethnic, religious groups or we'll never laugh at anything again!

[cab]

We live in a country that still allows us to have the freedom of speech so why would someone telling a joke upset me enough to get angry? I like Frankie Boyle he is a very clever man and is very dark in his humour.
The vast majority of jokes that are told have someone as the subject of the joke so we could argue that all jokes will offend someone. To be fair if I didnt like a comedian I wouldnt go see them. To be fair I dont think that anything should be ruled out as a subject of a joke, it is only that a joke.

[NEIL_D]

I love stand up comedy, and for me it doesnt have to be controversial/offensive material to make me laugh. Some modern comedians choose to use only this sort, and Im not saying thats a bad thing, like someone said previous, if you're going to see Frankie Boyle, you should already know what youd be expecting with some of his material. Okay, maybe some sort of rating system of how offensive a show or dvd is would be helpful for people who are buying as a gift or are curious about seeing one... but i think they do that already and show enough warnings do they not?

Also i think that people should realise by now, its a pretty fucked up world we live in, some of the shit that goes on. Comedians are raising subjects not only what people havnet got the balls to speak about normally, but by jesting about it- they are usually twisting it with irony. Sort of saying, hey if you are listening to this and laughing, we are both as bad as eachother mother fucker... or, meerly saying- cmon, if we cant all laugh at our own individual differences/religions/misfortunes (whatever it may be), or laugh together at them in a world that has become so politicaly uptight (for use of better word)... then surely that has to be a good thing. If not then i feel those offended are carrying inside of them their own hate/ some sort of emotion that needs extinguishing. I have no idea where Im going with this... just thought id have a say lol.

[EnaSharples]

I got suspended from work for almost 6 months for having a sense of humour

[Gixerkid]

I loved Frankie Boyles stand up dvd though i did wince a few times while i laughed thinking damn i shouldn't be laughing at this...same with some borat stuff too.

I can't remember which comedian said it but he stated that 'you can make jokes about anything you want as long as you make jokes about everything else too and don't make exceptions...you discriminate the moment you make a subject taboo