On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 10:39 PM, pedegars<[email protected]> wrote:
> But, with rare exception, they don't tell them in polite company--or > on a network television program. Further, tell a "pollack" joke in > some places in Michigan and Wisconsin and see what type of warm & > fuzzy reception you get. Take that "it's just a joke!" analogy a bit > farther, and then jokes about Mexicans, gays, "three Jews and a > cripple", etc, can only follow. Ever catch Don Rickles live? Ever watch a roast on Comedy Central? Ever watch "The Aristocrats"? There are jokes and words I choose not to use, but that does not mean I cannot find humor in the strangest of places, or that others cannot find humor in places so strange I haven't even heard of them. If I dont find a joke funny, I don't complain about it... I simply don't laugh. > The reason it's okay (to a point) to tell jokes about Madonna and > various sports figures, et al, is because they are public figures who > presumably have a choice about their profession, not members of > groups. Now Governor Palin is also a public figure---but her children > are not. (Wasn't this all explained by Bill & Hillary Clinton circa > 1993?!) Now if I have to explain this any further to an educational > professional, we've got bigger problems than what a late night teevee > host said about someone. I am a teacher, not an educational professional (not even sure what that would entail... almost certainly a sweater vest). As a teacher of middle school students, I get ripped on countless times each day... it goes with the territory. And I have to tell you, there is a teenage girl from Ocean Beach who does a dynamite impersonation of me with my lazy-eye and mannerisms... it has to be seen to be believed. It is, of course, exagerated, unrealistic, and utterly tasteless... all of which makes it extremely funny. Back to the issue at hand: The governor chose to make her children public figures, and once she did, the media was all-too-happy to accommodate her. The RNC bought clothes for the governor's daughter and her baby's father so they could be held up as a shining example of teenage parenting at the convention. They gave interviews. Most recently, after having had a baby, the governor's daughter (in that two-faced way that can only be found in a family where one parent wants to break away from the union while the other parent wants to become vice-president of it) began to champion the cause of abstinence-only education for teens. In other words, the governor's family became (and continue to be) very public figures. By choice. Bill & Hillary faced the same ridicule during the recent campaign when they used their daughter to attempt to win over targeted democrats. Chelsea would meet them for meals and other social occasions, and when a conservative pundit said they were pimping her out, that pundit was criticized... and I rose to his defense, because even if it wasn't true, it was funny. The late Tom Snyder pointed out that he never showed a picture of his children on any of his television appearances. And only once, near the very end of his career, did he show a picture of his grandkids. He knew what I know: the moment you bring them into the picture, you've changed their lives forever. And every public figure has to make that choice, and Sarah Palin chose poorly. There is a reason you rarely see a picture of Harry Letterman, and there is a reason you rarely hear about Dave's wife. Because Dave learned from Tom Snyder, too. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... Smart (TV) People on Ice! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
