Can 'rape jokes' be funny?

[mynameisbob84]

So, that Daniel Tosh guy recently sent Twitter into a giant shitfit when he "joked" that it would be funny if a heckler (female) were gang raped by the five guys next to her.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainmen...h-rape-joke-displays-lack-of-talent-1.3830423

A lot of comedians are defending him and a lot of other folk are pretty certain he's the devil.

What are folk's thoughts?

 

[JickyJuly]

He's free to say what he wants of course, but rape isn't funny. It's pretty much a shameful, misogynist epidemic around the world. Those jokes will not get him comedy groupies of the female persuasion, and no one who cares one bit about any woman in his life should crack a smile over some rapey "humor". If the other comics are defending his freedom of speech, that's cool. People are free to fly their stupidity flags high and bright.

 

[Shaun__]

I never liked things like rape jokes, and doubt someone like Tosh could change my mind. I have always changed the channel if he comes on.

 

[Mirra]

I get what you're saying Jicky...

Those jokes will not get him comedy groupies of the female persuasion

but I don't think this bothers Daniel Tosh even a little bit. Just saying.

I don't know. One part of me thinks there are definitely jokes that are in poor taste and perhaps shouldn't be said but I wouldn't say that makes them any less humorous. I know I've made some terrible jokes before and laughed at some too. It happens. He obviously either didn't think it through much or didn't give a fuck when he made the comment so publicly. Of course I'm also someone who cannot take life seriously because if I did I would be angry or depressed constantly. Due to this inclination of mine, I feel most people need to lighten up and not have a cow over what other people say. If you don't like what a person tends to say, avoid listening to said person.

 

[Anonymous]

So, that Daniel Tosh guy recently sent Twitter into a giant shitfit when he "joked" that it would be funny if a heckler (female) were gang raped by the five guys next to her.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainmen...h-rape-joke-displays-lack-of-talent-1.3830423

A lot of comedians are defending him and a lot of other folk are pretty certain he's the devil.

What are folk's thoughts?

Michael Richards goes off and starts calling people the 'n' word.....Daniel Tosh makes jokes about a female heckler getting raped.....lovely.

Let these dudes keep putting their foot in their mouth and then making half-assed, constipated-looking t.v. apologies...lol. When time passes, people are gonna hear their names and be like "Oh yeah...that comedian who called audience members 'n!**er$'."

Was it really worth it, Mr. Funny Man?

 

[mynameisbob84]

I would certainly agree rape is never funny. Rape jokes? Ehh... I dunno.
I think there are problems with Tosh's joke and the outrage is justified. I can understand being annoyed with a heckler and wanting to shut them up but what he said was just ugly and doesn't even register as a joke (not just because it wasn't funny, but because there was no wit involved, no punchline, no humourous implication).
But the problems are bigger than that. While I'm of the opinion that any subject can be funny (including rape), as a comedian, I think you have to be weary of the fact that you're walking a thin line and that you have a certain responsibility when making a rape joke to be... well, responsible.
We live in a society where rape victims already face an uphill battle to get the justice they deserve (and that's to say nothing of the physical/emotional distress or the general trivialisation of their plight); when public figures make jokes that place the victim at the butt of the joke, they're being incredibly irresponsible. People are impressionable and stupid and it's not hard to imagine a person of lesser intellect hearing Tosh's joke and thinking it's funny or thinking it's edgy or biting or even clever. And then you're just a small step away from rape being dismissed as a trivial matter to be laughed at.
A responsible comedian would frame a rape joke so as to make explicitly clear that rape is not a trivial matter, that the ones to be targeted by the joke and laughed at are the rapists and the pockets of society that have come to regard rape victms as a source of amusement.
George Carlin, Louis CK, Dave Chappelle et al. have all joked about rape and made it funny whilst being responsible about it. But I don't think Tosh is that smart :twocents-02cents:

 

[Anonymous]

Due to this inclination of mine, I feel most people need to lighten up and not have a cow over what other people say. If you don't like what a person tends to say, avoid listening to said person.

He didn't say "I think Obama is a shitty president." He made a joke about a female being raped, so I think it's okay for peope to "have a cow."

 

[sweetiebatman]

He's probably the least funny "comedian" i have ever seen

I am of the opinion that most subjects, however taboo can be made to be funny, if in an way that makes you think and mocks societies perceptions. What Daniel Tosh did was not funny at all, not clever just said for the shock value, as if it is inherently funny that a woman get raped. 'It would be funny if you were gang-raped right now' is not even a joke. It's just mocking abuse.

He is however, quite tame by UK standards, I was talking about this today and Frankie Boyle wipes the floor with him for controversial material

 

[sweetiebatman]

Due to this inclination of mine, I feel most people need to lighten up and not have a cow over what other people say. If you don't like what a person tends to say, avoid listening to said person.

He didn't say "I think Obama is a shitty president." He made a joke about a female being raped, so I think it's okay for peope to "have a cow."

Whist I kind of agree with what Mirra said its the nature of how he said it and the context that made it offensive. Hes clearly not gifted enough to make a subtle joke

 

[Sevrin]

I get what you're saying Jicky...

Those jokes will not get him comedy groupies of the female persuasion

but I don't think this bothers Daniel Tosh even a little bit. Just saying.

I don't know. One part of me thinks there are definitely jokes that are in poor taste and perhaps shouldn't be said but I wouldn't say that makes them any less humorous. I know I've made some terrible jokes before and laughed at some too. It happens. He obviously either didn't think it through much or didn't give a fuck when he made the comment so publicly. Of course I'm also someone who cannot take life seriously because if I did I would be angry or depressed constantly. Due to this inclination of mine, I feel most people need to lighten up and not have a cow over what other people say. If you don't like what a person tends to say, avoid listening to said person.

Oops. Talk about thanking by mistake.

Not have a cow over what people say? How far would you take that? What if the 5 guys had followed his suggestion? Remember that he's not just talking shit about some fantasy person. He is talking about someone a few yards away. What if he had suggested that those 5 guys kill her? Wouldn't that be worth having a cow over? Or would that be just talk? What if we were talking about an 9-year-old girl? Where is the line where inciting others to commit violence toward a third party is unacceptable to you?

 

[Bocefish]

Only time rape jokes are funny is when they're about dropping the soap in front of Bubba in the big iron bar motel.
:twocents-02cents:

 

[Anonymous]

Only time rape jokes are funny is when they're about dropping the soap in front of Bubba in the big iron bar motel.
:twocents-02cents:

YES! I was actually about to say something about 'Bubba'...haha!

 

[sweetiebatman]

Now THIS is funny, and mentions rape..and penguins..and Morgan Freeman :lol:

et you gonna watch it now :thumbleft:

 

[Mirra]

Not have a cow over what people say? How far would you take that? What if the 5 guys had followed his suggestion? Remember that he's not just talking shit about some fantasy person. He is talking about someone a few yards away. What if he had suggested that those 5 guys kill her? Wouldn't that be worth having a cow over? Or would that be just talk? What if we were talking about an 9-year-old girl? Where is the line where inciting others to commit violence toward a third party is unacceptable to you?

First of all this kind of reminds me of the drama with Nancy Grace making comments recently. In that situation, I blame the mother who killed her baby while drunk and the people who harassed her after hearing about it from scathing comments by Grace more than Grace herself. In this situation, I blame the heckler for her attention seeking behavior and would have blamed the guys if they had acted on his suggestion more than Daniel Tosh. She was seeking attention. He gave it to her though in a manner that was in poor taste.

I understand why "inciting others to commit violence towards a third party" is not something that should be ignored but at the same time this whole "He made me do it" shit people try to pull when they hear something suggestive annoys me. The person was likely inclined towards such an act anyhow if nothing more than words can incite such actions.

 

[JickyJuly]

I feel most people need to lighten up and not have a cow over what other people say. If you don't like what a person tends to say, avoid listening to said person.

I will totally admit that womens' issues are one of the few things that turns me from a laid back gal to an angry monster, but I really feel more women should be angry over more things. I'm not saying everyone with a vagina should go tar and feather the guy, but it should affect his audience numbers and income in my opinion. Were I in the audience, the 1st thing I would do is check to make sure my husband (a 45 year old man with a mother, a wife, a daughter and a 2nd daughter on the way) wasn't cracking a smile. Secondly, I would pity any woman giggling at said joke as I peaceably waddled out of the joint. If he had said something bizarre like "I hope you crash land in Antartica and get raped by a gang of rabid polar bears", that would be one thing. BUT rape and sexual assaults are so common that it isn't funny. It's sad, infuriating, frightening but not funny. I'm not sure what the statistics say (and not all women come forward after assaults), but I do know that most women I've been close enough to to discuss such things have in varying degrees been sexually victimized. Rape doesn't need to be normalized any more than it already is.

 

[sweetiebatman]

Not have a cow over what people say? How far would you take that? What if the 5 guys had followed his suggestion? Remember that he's not just talking shit about some fantasy person. He is talking about someone a few yards away. What if he had suggested that those 5 guys kill her? Wouldn't that be worth having a cow over? Or would that be just talk? What if we were talking about an 9-year-old girl? Where is the line where inciting others to commit violence toward a third party is unacceptable to you?

First of all this kind of reminds me of the drama with Nancy Grace making comments recently. In that situation, I blame the mother who killed her baby while drunk and the people who harassed her after hearing about it from scathing comments by Grace more than Grace herself. In this situation, I blame the heckler for her attention seeking behavior and would have blamed the guys if they had acted on his suggestion more than Daniel Tosh. She was seeking attention. He gave it to her though in a manner that was in poor taste.

I understand why "inciting others to commit violence towards a third party" is not something that should be ignored but at the same time this whole "He made me do it" shit people try to pull when they hear something suggestive annoys me. The person was likely inclined towards such an act anyhow if nothing more than words can incite such actions.

Woah, theres ways to put down a heckler and that was not it, It was disgusting, and in no way comedy as I know it..

 

[Anonymous]

Absolutely not. Rape is not something to joke about.

 

[sweetiebatman]

Absolutely not. Rape is not something to joke about.

I disagree, I don't think there are any limits to good comedy, good comedy is about making you think, pushing boundaries and testing what's socially acceptable. Im not for a minute saying that what this joke of a comedian said was right. 9/10 comedians will not believe what they say they will do it to provoke a reaction and its that reaction that is the acid test

 

[Anonymous]

THIS is funny... :mrgreen:

Uh...is this supposed to be a trick question? :?

I pick D) if it's the cheap kind they have at the dollar store.

 

[Anonymous]

Absolutely not. Rape is not something to joke about.

I disagree, I don't think there are any limits to good comedy, good comedy is about making you think, pushing boundaries and testing what's socially acceptable. Im not for a minute saying that what this joke of a comedian said was right. 9/10 comedians will not believe what they say they will do it to provoke a reaction and its that reaction that is the acid test

You have your opinion and I have mine. I think it was in very poor taste, and I would most definitely be extremely offending and leave immediately. Rape isn't funny.

 

[sweetiebatman]

Absolutely not. Rape is not something to joke about.

I disagree, I don't think there are any limits to good comedy, good comedy is about making you think, pushing boundaries and testing what's socially acceptable. Im not for a minute saying that what this joke of a comedian said was right. 9/10 comedians will not believe what they say they will do it to provoke a reaction and its that reaction that is the acid test

You have your opinion and I have mine. I think it was in very poor taste, and I would most definitely be extremely offending and leave immediately. Rape isn't funny.

Woah there! I said GOOD Comedy, I also stated that what this comedian said was not right

 

[Mirra]

Woah, theres ways to put down a heckler and that was not it, It was disgusting, and in no way comedy as I know it..

I never implied he chose a good way to "put down a heckler." I said his statement was poor taste. I am not even referring to it as a joke because I don't believe it to be very funny. What I said is she was seeking attention. She got it.

I will totally admit that womens' issues are one of the few things that turns me from a laid back gal to an angry monster, but I really feel more women should be angry over more things. I'm not saying everyone with a vagina should go tar and feather the guy, but it should affect his audience numbers and income in my opinion.

Like I said... you don't like what he had to say, avoid listening to it. When selling tickets/advertisements for people spending time listening to you speak, having people avoid you will hurt your bottom line and could ruin your career. I feel anyone who didn't like his statement is completely justified in boycotting his show. This shit storm of animosity doesn't do anything for me though.

 

[Nordling]

Woah, theres ways to put down a heckler and that was not it, It was disgusting, and in no way comedy as I know it..

I never implied he chose a good way to "put down a heckler." I said his statement was poor taste. I am not even referring to it as a joke because I don't believe it to be very funny. What I said is she was seeking attention. She got it.

I will totally admit that womens' issues are one of the few things that turns me from a laid back gal to an angry monster, but I really feel more women should be angry over more things. I'm not saying everyone with a vagina should go tar and feather the guy, but it should affect his audience numbers and income in my opinion.

Like I said... you don't like what he had to say, avoid listening to it. When selling tickets/advertisements for people spending time listening to you speak, having people avoid you will hurt your bottom line and could ruin your career. I feel anyone who didn't like his statement is completely justified in boycotting his show. This shit storm of animosity doesn't do anything for me though.

I guess I don't understand how speaking up and protesting distasteful jokes is a bad idea. Yeah, sure, vote with your feet, don't hang out in places where assholes are talking; but I don't see calling them out for what they are is in any way a bad idea. Spread the WORD! *Rape is not suitable material for comedy.

*yeah, you may have an exception, but I can't even imagine what that'd be.

 

[mynameisbob84]

I'd argue that the role of a (good) comedian is to address societal ills and poke fun at them.

Making fun of the holocaust: bad
Making fun of nazis and a society that deemed their operation acceptable: acceptable

Making fun of a particular race: bad
Making fun of racists and a society that accepts racism : acceptable

Making fun of rape victims: bad
Making fun of rapists and a society that accepts rape: acceptable

:twocents-02cents:

 

[JoleneBrody]

Only time rape jokes are funny is when they're about dropping the soap in front of Bubba in the big iron bar motel.
:twocents-02cents:

YES! I was actually about to say something about 'Bubba'...haha!

OK I know I'm about to likely start a shit storm but why is THIS OK?
I'm sure it's just as traumatizing, and possibly more so (who knows) for a man to be raped in the shower and it happens often. If we are going to pick battles we can't pick and choose pieces to defend.

Sorry, it being publicly and widely acceptable to treat men like soul-less morons is a sensitive subject for me.

 

[Nordling]

I'd argue that the role of a (good) comedian is to address societal ills and poke fun at them.

Making fun of the holocaust: bad
Making fun of nazis and a society that deemed their operation acceptable: acceptable

Making fun of a particular race: bad
Making fun of racists and a society that accepts racism : acceptable

Making fun of rape victims: bad
Making fun of rapists and a society that accepts rape: acceptable

:twocents-02cents:

Very well stated. And I'd add that making fun of rapists or other assailants does not count as a "rape joke." It's about shitty people, not a shitty deed.

 

[JickyJuly]

I will totally admit that womens' issues are one of the few things that turns me from a laid back gal to an angry monster, but I really feel more women should be angry over more things. I'm not saying everyone with a vagina should go tar and feather the guy, but it should affect his audience numbers and income in my opinion.

I feel anyone who didn't like his statement is completely justified in boycotting his show. This shit storm of animosity doesn't do anything for me though.

I hear you. I'm just saying, as part of the female population, it makes me happy to hear people be outraged instead of letting a bad joke (rape aside, it didn't even have a punchline) on a painful subject slide by like it's nothing. The more women are offended by things like this and can look to men for support, the better in my opinion.

 

[Nordling]

Only time rape jokes are funny is when they're about dropping the soap in front of Bubba in the big iron bar motel.
:twocents-02cents:

YES! I was actually about to say something about 'Bubba'...haha!

OK I know I'm about to likely start a shit storm but why is THIS OK?
I'm sure it's just as traumatizing, and possibly more so (who knows) for a man to be raped in the shower and it happens often. If we are going to pick battles we can't pick and choose pieces to defend.

Sorry, it being publicly and widely acceptable to treat men like soul-less morons is a sensitive subject for me.

I have to agree. Though we feel a need for revenge of some kind for our worst examples of humanity, this is a knee jerk response--one I've been guilty of myself. The purpose of prison should be to reform, not for revenge. The worst offenders--1st degree murderers and serial rapists are there to prevent them from continuing their filthy activities--but still revenge is a bad idea.

 

[SatanJonez]

He could have handled it better, but as a cam model I get heckled every time I get on cam, the only difference is the name: trollin'. I have said FAR worse things to a troll before banning them, comedians don't have a ban button so far as I know so he probably said with the first thing that came to his mind to piss her off and get her to leave. He could have easily just insulted how she looked or something similar, but he took the lazy way out and made a pretty fucked up joke towards her. He's an idiot, he's getting the wrath of lots of pissed off internet people, but I don't think he needs to be nailed up because of it.

For the record, I don't find the kid funny at all. I don't really find him offensive either. He reminds me of a less spastic Dane Cook.

Also, The Onion knows how to handle these things.

 

[sweetiebatman]

Spastic? honestly?

:snooty: