Edinburgh Festival Rape Apologists

[shrodingerscat]

AIBU to ask anyone attending the festival not to put money in the pockets of these sick fucks:

Rape Jokes at Edinburgh Festival

I don't know, but I'd call the jokes described in the article general jokes about rape. The target of the joke as any rape victim rather than the target being a specific person like Princess Diana. Just as a joke about David Cameron leaving his daughter at the pub is a joke about DC, not about child neglect.

I don't think rape should be treated as some sort of unique crime

Really?

I am at the Fringe and went to see a free show by an American lady called Tanika

Halfway through her act she explained that she was going to talk about a difficult subject.

She had been raped. She used humour to explain how she 'came back' to being a strong woman.
She talked about forgiveness and how she would forgive him.

If
She could do him up the ass with a Christmas tree
With lights
And a big old star
And candles.

The view from the other side.
It took guts to do that and it was a bit close to the bone at times but she owned it and said she would never let him win

I admired her for that.

I think it's totally different for a victim of rape/racism/homophibia to take hold and make a joke. The same way some Asians have take back the word 'paki' it is their perogative.

Aargh posted too soon homophobia

Jokes are set within a social context. Years ago, people laughed at "Paki jokes". Now very few comedians would tell such jokes and very few if the audience would laugh, even at the same joke that might have got a big laugh in the past.

I'm glad you posted this link, I certainly won't be going to see anyone mentioned in it at the festival.
Kind of depressed though to have started my weekend with this reminder of how shit the world still is.

YANBU shrodingerscat.

Fed up with rape and VAW being treated as a subject for LOLz.

What I don't understand is why the Russell Brand incident wasn't widely reported when almost everything else he does is.

Tell you what though, here's a good way of testing whether you should take someone's opinion seriously.

Q: Do you agree that political correctness has gone too far?

A 1: No (or any variation thereof) = yes, someone who may be worth listening to.

A 2: Yes (or any variation thereof) = no, you can safely dismiss anything they say as twaddle.

Probably some kind of gagging order yada yada yada pear

Because if it is true conference it's not the kind of thing male newspaper executives would get worked up about.

They probably see it as one of the perks of being Russell Brand, but not something that was suitable for a family newspaper.

Notice how they got all up in the air about him upsetting Andrew Sachs when the real offence was Brand and Ross commenting on his granddaughter as if she was a sperm receptacle.

Because obviously she's not a grown woman who made a poor decision to fuck someone who obviously hates women and giggles over his experiences with a fellow mysognist creep.

No, she's the property of her grandfather.

I didn't like what they did to Sachs btw. But it's interesting that the biggest insult they can make to a man is by taunting him about his granddaughter's sex life.

Someone should try it aobut Ross's daughters one day and see how he likes it.

A joke (in this context) involves a set up and a punchline - the step from one to the other involves a twist of internal logic within the joke, which causes a surprise or shock - something different happens to what is expected.

The joke mechanism (again, in this context) is separate from the material; the material is the set up for the joke but not the joke itself, the double meaning is the joke.

As someone earlier quoted an example from the article, "coming round" has more than one meaning which you makes you assume one situation for the set up. When the punchline comes, you suddenly have to review your assumption of the situation.

The same joke would have worked with, "I was waiting for my mate to come round..." The surprise and shock is increased by using a situation of domestic violence. Same with rape: it's an extremely serious subject, so ramps up the shock factor. You might even say, the indignation of which this thread is an example, is actually what fuels these jokes.

Another example from the article:
"Some audiences say they don't like rape jokes. They say that, but I know what they mean."

The butt of the joke here is the rapist and their stupidity, it's ridiculing the defense of rape sometimes used and it's a social commentary on the justice system that allows it.

I don't like all jokes about rape and domestic violence but Tanya Gold is not nimble-minded enough to distinguish between the one-liners by Turner and Revill and the disturbed rantings of Kossew.

She's nearly there, bless her heart, because she did get the rape joke by Sarah Silverman.

I read that Russell brand story in the sun. It sounds like total bollocks to be honest. And hardly relevant to the issue of inappropriate jokes is it? Lazy journalism.

It's relevant to the issue of how some male comedians view women, though.

You're right amateurish and the tone was that Brand was a cheeky lad and that Connelly was a bit of an old woman to object.

Because that's how many male newspaper executives view the bullying of attractive young female subordinates while not doing it themselves.

I went to a comedy night in a local club a couple of months back. Out of 3 comedians and the compère, only one of them didn't do a paedophile joke.

They weren't boundary pushing - or even slightly funny - like say Chris Morris. They were simply unnecessary and offensive.

I can honestly say I've never heard a comic at the comedy club I used to go to (that was in London) do an paedophile or rape joke, so I was shocked. Although it's fair to say it's years since i used to go to the club in London, so maybe the difference is that times have changed?

The one in my current town was a small place and the comedians mingled with the crowd afterwards.

I did get a chance to speak to one of them - I said I'd really enjoyed his act - until he'd totally ruined by the unnecessary paedophile joke, and asked him why he'd included it.

I can't remember his answer now. But I really hope he thinks twice in the future.

I thought some of you were being extra sensitive until I read the article. The Sarah Silverman 'joke' is the only mildly amusing (and tragically accurate) joke there. The rest turned my stomach and made me think how much some men hate women and how little respect there is. Arse f*cking someone you're meant to be friends with and then slitting her throat. Hilarious..Where do they get these excuses for human beings from? How is that ever funny?

As usual a sly link to drive traffic to the guardian website.

I don't believe the Russell Brand thing for a minute, sounds like complete crap.

The calling the police live on stage, was years ago and he faced criticism at the time and spent a good 25 minutes on his radio show explaining the context and what actually happened. I'm not sure it was funny, but I think his intention at least was to mock the perpetrator and not the victim.

I reckon it's entirely believable. He's a creepy woman hating misogynist but hey that's ok cos he's a bit clever and good looking and cares about some things.

The good looks being entirely subjective, of course.