Ricky Gervais Daily Beast article

[McDuffy]

Could see this posted, about people taking offence to jokes and asking for the privilege of being exempt from humour about them.

www.thedailybeast.com/ricky-gervais-doesnt-care-if-you-think-hes-transphobic

Final quote:
“It’s all got a bit serious,” Lenny says finally. “No one just dresses up as a bird for a laugh anymore.”
“Good,” Gervais’ Tony replies. “It was never that funny.”

It is true what he says. You've got to be able to joke about everything. Transgender people don't get to be exempt. He does a lot of really close to the bone jokes about everything some of which I find uncomfortable sometimes but you can't have exemption if you laugh at all the other stuff.

Basically people should not be shut down. Everything has to be discussed.

I saw this earlier. It's a good article. This quote really rang true for me (my bold):

"And I want to go, that’s asking for privilege, that’s not asking for equality. If you joke about everything, you joke about everything. Dogma used to be confined to religion and other cults, but now it’s come into identity politics. They want to shut you down"

It really sums up so much of the issue for me. It's not about asking for equality, it's about demanding privilege.

From the article:
When people “put ‘phobic’ on the end of a word,” as many have done, labeling him “transphobic,” Gervais says, “What that means is, ‘Shut up! Shut up!’ That’s all that means. Just because someone accuses you of something, it doesn’t mean that it’s true. I see it all the time.”

~He goes on to compare it to people shouting “racist” or “sexist” at someone with no basis. “They think that it means something,” he says. “And what it means is they want you to shut up.”

Spot on.

He totally gets it, doesn't he?

This strikes me as particularly true:

'“No one’s furious!” he exclaims. “They wouldn’t even have heard about it if you hadn't printed it. So it’s bullshit. It’s fake outrage. No one’s outraged. No one’s annoyed. No one cares.”'

Much outrage is stoked up on Twitter and elsewhere by people posting obscure stuff - articles, other tweets, blogposts - and saying "Isn't this terrible?" And then people who would never have read the original article, or the original tweet or blogpost become really angry about the view expressed in it. And it's nuts, because always in the world there is someone expressing a view you don't agree with or find offensive. Spending all your time being angry because an obscure person said something you don't like is such a waste of energy.

He deserves a lot of credit. He could easily sod off with his millions and coast on adulation for past works. Not many of his peers (he's 58) producing work that challenges and cuts through the bullshit so clearly.

He totally gets it, doesn't he?

Take the question mark away - then yes

Why should he? He's never cared about whether he's offending anyone else.

Yep. He gets it.

When I saw that episode I did wonder why he isn't getting much abuse as jk rowling is getting loads for saying a lot less.

There must be something about them that makes a difference...

I think Ricky equates having the surgery to changing sex though.

There are a group of people who think making a joke about something means it's not a serious topic. They tend to like Reader's Digest jokes and that sort of thing.

There are also people who realise that humour can be pretty incisive social commentary and want that shut right down.

It is true what he says. You've got to be able to joke about everything.

Everything? Gas chambers? Female genital mutilation? Black slavery?

Basically people should not be shut down. Everything has to be discussed.

This I agree with.

Everything? Gas chambers? Female genital mutilation? Black slavery?

Theoretically, I'd say yes.

In reality it's very difficult to do this well. Unless it's really sharp and on point, people don't find it funny. And when jokes about such things fall flat, it's pretty bad.

But there is a difference between that, and people on principle saying, we cannot have humour about those things, therefor if you do it you be be treated as if you have done something taboo.

he doubles down instead, grotesquely and inaccurately describing the practice of male-to-female sex reassignment surgery as having ‘your cock and balls ripped off and a hole gouged out.’ By the time Gervais has got it

Ricky's description is actually more accurate. The surgery does not reassign sex.

I think you can joke about anything if you are prepared to deal with the response, Ricky clearly is.

I think you can joke about anything if you are prepared to deal with the response, Ricky clearly is

I’m encouraged by RG and glad he is prepared to accept the response - like JR.

But - they both don’t receive the same response as JK etc

But then - we know sex matters when it’s about who to throw vitriol at.