NationStates Jolt Archive

I heard today the comment that it was 'unacceptable' and 'inappropriate' to make jokes about global warming, and about how, with our recent hot weather, 'if this is global warming, bring it on!' The argument was that while we might be benefiting at this point in time, there are millions around the world for whom climate change presents not bikini weather, but potentially life threatening conditions.

Climate change; Muslim cartoons; war and disease; you name it, there is a joke about it. Is this right? Is there anything that it is simply unacceptable to make a joke about, and should be off limits? Or does free speech come above all other considerations, no matter how tasteless it may be?

Climate change; Muslim cartoons; war and disease; you name it, there is a joke about it. Is this right? Is there anything that it is simply unacceptable to make a joke about, and should be off limits? Or does free speech come above all other considerations, no matter how tasteless it may be?
Allowed, yes. Polite, no. Consider the audience, that's all I'm going to say.

So Hilter, Stalin, Mao and Bush walk into a bar in Darfur...

Is any humor unacceptable? Nope. Either we're allowed to make fun of everything, or nothing. Some of it may not be appropriate or polite, but freedom of speech is a bitch, and we can't go saying it's flat out unallowed.

Acceptable and allowed are not really the same thing. There are many things I personally find unacceptable that I would still say are allowable.

For instance, I am highly offended by jokes about child molestation or "dead baby jokes". If find them to be completely unacceptable and I will tell the person so. However, people who want to make such jokes are certainly allowed to do so.

Acceptable and allowed are not really the same thing. There are many things I personally find unacceptable that I would still say are allowable.

For instance, I am highly offended by jokes about child molestation or "dead baby jokes". If find them to be completely unacceptable and I will tell the person so. However, people who want to make such jokes are certainly allowed to do so.Agreed.

So Hilter, Stalin, Mao and Bush walk into a bar in Darfur...

Is any humor unacceptable? Nope. Either we're allowed to make fun of everything, or nothing. Some of it may not be appropriate or polite, but freedom of speech is a bitch, and we can't go saying it's flat out unallowed.
I'd have to agree. It's the same thing with movies or television shows one finds objectionable: don't go, don't watch, but don't say I can't because it bothers you.

Um... global warming? I think that's fair game. It's not as if you'll hurt the greenhouse effect's feelings.

Making jokes about horrific tragedies within the past century is probably inappropriate; so is making jokes based off of bigoted stereotypes.

Beyond that, humor is great, humor is fun, and we need more of it.

Dudes, when you find out the world is terrible, you can either spend your life crying about it or laughing at it. I prefer to laugh.

So no, no Humour is Unacceptable, as long as it's good intentioned.

So no, no Humour is Unacceptable, as long as it's good intentioned.
And when it's not?

I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. ~ Voltaire.

That pretty much sums it up when it comes to tasteless jokes and free speech.

Dudes, when you find out the world is terrible, you can either spend your life crying about it or laughing at it. I prefer to laugh.

So no, no Humour is Unacceptable, as long as it's good intentioned.
And therein lies the trap. Anyone making a racist joke might claim, "Why, it was well-intentioned! It was a joke!" While I absolutely agree that life is far to important to be taken completely seriously, there are times when humor is used is the furtherance of ideas that I think do the world harm. It's part of the reason racism just never goes away, despite all the legislation and education. Once the kids get home, they'll hear those sly or not so sly jokes and figure those attitudes are okay, they make Mom and Dad laugh.

What to do is an even thornier question than the OP posed.

And when it's not?

I suppose it all depends on what you call humour. Someone telling a joke to deliberately upset someone who is unable to defend themselves wouldn't be acceptable because it's intention was to upset someone else.

I guess you've got to ask yourself if Emotional Bullying is defendable by the Right to Free Speech.

What to do is an even thornier question than the OP posed.
I object. No one is thornier than I. I am like a rose with added pointy bits.

I object. No one is thornier than I. I am like a rose with added pointy bits.
And your questions are, necessarily, of the thorniest.

And therein lies the trap. Anyone making a racist joke might claim, "Why, it was well-intentioned! It was a joke!" While I absolutely agree that life is far to important to be taken completely seriously, there are times when humor is used is the furtherance of ideas that I think do the world harm. It's part of the reason racism just never goes away, despite all the legislation and education. Once the kids get home, they'll hear those sly or not so sly jokes and figure those attitudes are okay, they make Mom and Dad laugh.

What to do is an even thornier question than the OP posed.

Hmmm.... I think we're both thinking the same sorta thing here.
And the best way to respond to bad jokes is with a good one.

Making jokes about horrific tragedies within the past century is probably inappropriate.

I disagree with you there. I think that certain events lend a bit of humour to themselves and the world would be a better place if people lightened up.

My boyfriend and I were discussing this the other night actually. I made a particularly distasteful joke (admittedly, I did it with the intent of pissing off someone who was annoying me on MSN) and my bf thought I was out of line. In this case, I probably was. However, I make many jokes about tsunamis, 9/11, the IRA, Al Qaeda, etc. I use humour to show people the absurdities of life.

I was going to end with a joke about 9/11, but I don't think I've lurked on these boards long enough to evaluate the humour of the people here...

Hmmm.... I think we're both thinking the same sorta thing here.
And the best way to respond to bad jokes is with a good one.
True, true. Probably the bad ones go so far back ... "How many Neandertals does it take to light a fire? None, they haven't discovered it yet!"

I heard today the comment that it was 'unacceptable' and 'inappropriate' to make jokes about global warming

What, is global warming going to get offended and sue? :rolleyes:

What, is global warming going to get offended and sue? :rolleyes:
a) That's a bad joke.
b) You look foolish when you made said bad joke about something mentioned just a moment later.

What, is global warming going to get offended and sue? :rolleyes:
I wish it would, then we could try for an injunction to stop it.

What, is global warming going to get offended and sue? :rolleyes:

The Globe has feelings too! You heartless monster!

Whoa, you just got triple quoted!

I heard today the comment that it was 'unacceptable' and 'inappropriate' to make jokes about global warming, and about how, with our recent hot weather, 'if this is global warming, bring it on!' The argument was that while we might be benefiting at this point in time, there are millions around the world for whom climate change presents not bikini weather, but potentially life threatening conditions.

Climate change; Muslim cartoons; war and disease; you name it, there is a joke about it. Is this right? Is there anything that it is simply unacceptable to make a joke about, and should be off limits? Or does free speech come above all other considerations, no matter how tasteless it may be?

I can make up tasteless jokes on the spot.

Q: Why did the Hezbollah cross the road?
A: Israel actually hit them.

True, true. Probably the bad ones go so far back ... "How many Neandertals does it take to light a fire? None, they haven't discovered it yet!"

Since we Trolls are sometimes mistaken for Neandertals, I find that joke very offensive!

All humor is based upon an exaggeration -- something's out of proportion or reversed or on some way not like it's usually seen. So it would seem that you can joke about anything when you:

1) Determine the exaggeration and why (or even if) it's funny.
2) Consider your audience before telling it.
3) Consider your reasons for telling it.
4) Remember that every joke contains at least a kernel of truth in it.
5) Consider what the joke says about the teller.

If bad taste or bad judgment were illegal, the jails of California alone would need to quadruple their capacity at least.

I find myself thinking about tasteless humor all the time. One of my first thoughts after 9/11 was imagining a poor schlub with a desk facing a window on the side one of the planes hit. He's maybe someone who has never had much good luck, and this is his first day at work. Things are looking up for him for the first time in many years, and as he turns his computer on to start the day, he sees the form of one of the 757s heading straight for his window.

While that's not laugh-out-loud funny, it has a kind of Douglas Adams bitter twist to it.

I also remember the Challenger astronaut jokes (how many astronauts can fit in a VW Beetle? Seven -- four in the seats and three in the ashtray), and I was in high school (1986) when it happened. I had been a NASA fan my whole cogent life, and I was personally crushed by the disaster. However, the sick little comic inside me provoked laughter when I heard that joke. I felt awful about it, but then I remembered that life goes on, and one of the things that should always continue is humor -- in all its forms.

I can't stand Jeff Foxworthy and the whole "blue collar" comedy genre, but I know lots of people laugh. So I just change the channel. More folks need to learn that skill.

[/soapbox]

a) That's a bad joke.
b) You look foolish when you made said bad joke about something mentioned just a moment later.

What's the difference between a nuke and global warming?
The nuke might actually kill you.

In my own experience a joke is only inappropriate if you get smacked by someone for telling it.

However, I have a different "set of jokes" per each situation, I don't tell some jokes at church, others I don't tell to my kids, and still others I don't tell at the dinner table, it's all about avoiding the *smack*

:)

What's the difference between a nuke and global warming?
The nuke might actually kill you.
:eek:

What horrors have I unleashed on NSG?

Oh, mighty gods of Jolt, I repent, I repent!

I find myself thinking about tasteless humor all the time. One of my first thoughts after 9/11 was imagining a poor schlub with a desk facing a window on the side one of the planes hit. He's maybe someone who has never had much good luck, and this is his first day at work. Things are looking up for him for the first time in many years, and as he turns his computer on to start the day, he sees the form of one of the 757s heading straight for his window.

I'd thought of that, only it had been his last day before retirement.

I find myself thinking about tasteless humor all the time. One of my first thoughts after 9/11 was imagining a poor schlub with a desk facing a window on the side one of the planes hit. He's maybe someone who has never had much good luck, and this is his first day at work. Things are looking up for him for the first time in many years, and as he turns his computer on to start the day, he sees the form of one of the 757s heading straight for his window.

While that's not laugh-out-loud funny, it has a kind of Douglas Adams bitter twist to it.

I also remember the Challenger astronaut jokes (how many astronauts can fit in a VW Beetle? Seven -- four in the seats and three in the ashtray), and I was in high school (1986) when it happened. I had been a NASA fan my whole cogent life, and I was personally crushed by the disaster. However, the sick little comic inside me provoked laughter when I heard that joke. I felt awful about it, but then I remembered that life goes on, and one of the things that should always continue is humor -- in all its forms.

I can't stand Jeff Foxworthy and the whole "blue collar" comedy genre, but I know lots of people laugh. So I just change the channel. More folks need to learn that skill.

[/soapbox]
I know quite a few Challenger jokes, I remember the look on my teachers' face when she overheard my friend and I joking about it, that's when I learned to avoid the *smack*

I laugh at rude an inappropriate jokes, I make them up, the more guilty you feel for laughing the better. Although I dare not tell the best of them around here.

:eek:

What horrors have I unleashed on NSG?

Oh, mighty gods of Jolt, I repent, I repent!
Yeah, and you don't get no respect, either.

In my own experience a joke is only inappropriate if you get smacked by someone for telling it.

However, I have a different "set of jokes" per each situation, I don't tell some jokes at church, others I don't tell to my kids, and still others I don't tell at the dinner table, it's all about avoiding the *smack*

:)
*Waits till Smunkee isn't looking*

*Walks up behind her*

*Smack!*

I'd thought of that, only it had been his last day before retirement.

Was he getting too old for that shit?

I heard today the comment that it was 'unacceptable' and 'inappropriate' to make jokes about global warming, and about how, with our recent hot weather, 'if this is global warming, bring it on!' The argument was that while we might be benefiting at this point in time, there are millions around the world for whom climate change presents not bikini weather, but potentially life threatening conditions.


Global warming isn't even real.

Make fun of anything and anyone you want if it breaks some rule I'm sure a Mod will come a knockin'.

Make fun of anything and anyone you want if it breaks some rule I'm sure a Mod will come a knockin'.

Can I make fun of your horrible grammar in that sentence?

Was he getting too old for that shit?

Yeah, plus he'd cracked the Bible Code and the JFK assinations that morning.

Can I make fun of your horrible grammar in that sentence?

Didn't you just did?

Can I make fun of your horrible grammar in that sentence?


You mean "May I make fun of your horrible grammar in that sentence."

Didn't you just did?

Now you're just faking it.

I heard today the comment that it was 'unacceptable' and 'inappropriate' to make jokes about global warming, and about how, with our recent hot weather, 'if this is global warming, bring it on!' The argument was that while we might be benefiting at this point in time, there are millions around the world for whom climate change presents not bikini weather, but potentially life threatening conditions.

Climate change; Muslim cartoons; war and disease; you name it, there is a joke about it. Is this right? Is there anything that it is simply unacceptable to make a joke about, and should be off limits? Or does free speech come above all other considerations, no matter how tasteless it may be?
Political correctness gone mad! Heh!

Free speech is absolute, absent a clear and present danger to life and limb. Tell whomever said that to you to STFU! :D

Is any humour unacceptable?
No. Any subject is a suitable target for humour.

Especially Muhammed.

Now you're just faking it.

So me and your girlfriend have something in common now.


:p

I also remember the Challenger astronaut jokes (how many astronauts can fit in a VW Beetle? Seven -- four in the seats and three in the ashtray), and I was in high school (1986) when it happened. I had been a NASA fan my whole cogent life, and I was personally crushed by the disaster. However, the sick little comic inside me provoked laughter when I heard that joke.
I was 11 when Challenger failed. The whole civilian angle meant we watched the launch live on TV, and the class went pretty quiet when the shuttle disintegrated.

But within 3 days I heard my first Challenger joke at school.

Q: How did NASA know Christa McAuliffe had dandruff?

A: They found her Head and Shoulders.

And I laughed, 'cause that's pretty funny when you're 11.

So me and your girlfriend have something in common now.


:p

Fight! Unless your both too SCARED!

*Gets Popcorn*

So me and your girlfriend have something in common now.


:p

Don't forget that she wears women's underwear too.

:p

I heard today the comment that it was 'unacceptable' and 'inappropriate' to make jokes about global warming, and about how, with our recent hot weather, 'if this is global warming, bring it on!' The argument was that while we might be benefiting at this point in time, there are millions around the world for whom climate change presents not bikini weather, but potentially life threatening conditions.

Climate change; Muslim cartoons; war and disease; you name it, there is a joke about it. Is this right? Is there anything that it is simply unacceptable to make a joke about, and should be off limits? Or does free speech come above all other considerations, no matter how tasteless it may be?
No. If it offends you, too bad.


But don't talk shit to a parent about their kid and expect them to laugh.
Unless they happen to agree.