On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 11:42 PM, pedegars<[email protected]> wrote: > > The problem with telling jokes about the people you mention is that > they are all public figures---largely by choice. There is a big > difference between them and someone's child---even when that child is > the progeny of a public figure (cf, Chelsea Clinton).
Too young to remember the jokes about President Carter's daughter resembling a dog? Again, there is a difference between merely being "the progeny of a public figure" versus a public figure pushing his or her progeny into the public arena, thus making the progeny a public figure as well. > Let's assume that, instead of going to a London pub for fish & chips > this week, Michelle Obama and her daughters went to a Yankees game > instead. Imagine hearing Letterman saying the following: > "You know, the First Lady took Sasha and Malia to a Yankees game this > week...[audience cheers, applauds]...uh huh...that's really great > because now that school's out, they can do stuff like that in the > middle of a weekday. But they'd better be careful hanging around the > Yankees---they're liable to get a summer school lesson in sex ed, with > A-Rod on the team---he could give them another meaning to "home run!" > Equally unfunny, but it also drags in innocent individuals as well as > makes implications about their character. The firestorm would be swift > and immediate, and rightly so. Why is it rightly so? As with Letterman's jokes referencing Palin's daughter, the jokes were actually about men. The men were being made fun of. The governor's daughter (and in your scenario, the president's daughters) was (were) the setup to the jokes, not the punchline. > There's also another issue, which NOW is being mocked for. None of > the male figures you mention is generally mocked for a generally male > trait. (The possible exception to that is erectile dysfunction & Bob > Dole, which he alone is responsible for bringing to the forefront of > the general public.) Kennedy was said to have screwed anything with a vagina. Richard Nixon had the jowels of a bulldog who was told he lost the presidency to Kennedy because he was ugly and uncharismatic. Gerald Ford was a clumsy man who spoke like someone with a learning disability. President Carter's goofy grin was mocked everywhere from SNL to MAD Magazine. Reagan's absentmindedness was the subject of jokes even after it was determined to be a symptom of a serious illness. Bush (41) was called a wimp. Clinton was an Arkansas redneck who was said to have screwed anything with a vagina. And I don't need to make up jokes about these men, because others (including Letterman) beat me to the punch. I'm sorry if, aside from Kennedy and Clinton, there aren't a lot of jokes about their respective penis sizes, but it would seem none of them were free from mockery or crass humor (though it could be argued that Kennedy and Clinton were both male sluts). > ... the outrage would also be well-placed, > since an 'ample derrière' is almost exclusively ascribed to women. This reminds me of a poignant moment during the OJ Simpson trial when Johnnie Cochran accused Marcia Clark of acting hysterical, and Clark immediately accused Cochran of being sexist because, in her eyes, the word hysterical applies only to women. I've got a fat ass. You don't think that I, as a man, get teased because of it? > It's obvious that Dave L. doesn't care for Governor Palin... > The vast majority of the studio audience here is well versed on most > of the "-isms" in popular use today, except when it comes to sexism, > to which I've noticed a distinct tone deafness. Was Letterman being a sexist, or was this a personal attack on the Palin family? Or, in your opinion, was Dave able to get a two-for-one deal? Is there possibly a third thing? Maybe he doesn't like Alaskans? Perhaps he has a bias against former sports reporters (he did start out as a weatherman, after all, and there does tend to be a rivalry between the two camps)? If it seems like I am making light of your point-of-view, it is because, so far, I'm having trouble taking it seriously. At best, your perspective is based on a series of faulty reasoning or a lack of supporting evidence. At worst, it is your bias for the governor that is clouding your view of a series of jokes. Conservatively speaking, Letterman has told six monologue jokes a night every weeknight since the early 1980s. That's over 44,000 jokes, just in the monologues. But these three jokes are, to you and others, where he's crossed the line? I humbly submit that you examine what, inside of you, makes you feel that way, and don't worry so much about David Letterman's motives or intentions. For the record, I don't see myself or anyone else on this message board as a defender of David Letterman. I see him as not needing a defense at all. I see those who believe otherwise as needing to defend their rationale. -- 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
