Speaking Truth to Power: Stand-up Comedy in Trump's America

[Hollywood Shabat Goy Yaro]

Louis CK can always ride with my gang when the Road War starts. 

[Dog-O-Tron 5000v4.1]

Louis CK can always ride with my gang when the Road War starts.

Would you mind if he just, you know, kinda jerked off while you were riding?

[a torrent of piss]

Louis CK can always ride with my gang when the Road War starts.

Would you mind if he just, you know, kinda jerked off while you were riding?

Tie him to the front of the car Mad Max style.

[J Dog]

http://archive.ph/KLcFG

A new controversy over cultural appropriation has arisen in Montreal, resulting this time in a white comedian being barred from two comedy shows because he has dreadlocks, a hairstyle associated with black culture.

The Coop les Récoltes is a bar but also a solidarity co-operative created by the Université du Québec à Montréal’s Groupe de recherches d’intérêt public, a collective that deals with social and environmental issues.

The establishment confirmed its decision to exclude comedian Zach Poitras in a message posted on its Facebook page.
Poitras was barred from performing at the Snowflake Comedy Club and the Soirée d’humour engagée. He refused to comment on the decision.

In its online explanation, the co-operative defended its mission to be “a safe space, free from any link to oppression,” and described cultural appropriation as a form of violence.

“We will not tolerate any discrimination or harassment within our spaces,” they wrote. The group argues that cultural appropriation is when “a person from a dominant culture appropriates the symbols, clothing or even the hairstyles of persons from a historically dominated culture.”

The group contends that white people can wear dreadlocks because of their privilege, while a black person “would see themselves refused access to job opportunities or to spaces (housing, schools contests, sporting events, etc.).”

The posting says the co-op understands that Poitras’s intention isn’t racist, but adds the hairstyle “conveys racism,” adding that “cultural appropriation is not a debate or an opinion,” but rather “a form of passive oppression, a deconstructive privilege and, above all, a manifestation of ordinary racism.”

Greg Robinson, a UQAM professor specializing in black history, compared the situation to a larger interpretation of the concept of “black face,” which saw white performers darken their faces to portray black people.

“White people would dress as black people to mock them,” he said. But Robinson added that even when the intention wasn’t to mock but rather embrace or immerse one’s self in a culture, it’s still necessary to be careful.

“It’s like the N-word — black people can use it in their community, but when someone from outside uses it, even if they want to be like black people, there still remains an aspect that is rooted in history.”

The Coop Les Récoltes did not reply to requests for an interview.

[Aran]

The establishment confirmed its decision to exclude comedian Zach Poitras in a message posted on its Facebook page.



The group contends that white people can wear dreadlocks because of their privilege, while a black person “would see themselves refused access to job opportunities or to spaces (housing, schools contests, sporting events, etc.).”

Hmmmmmmm

[Dr. Hatchet-Wound]

There's a newish bagel place here called "old school bagel" run by white (possibly "white") guys and redditors love it. I should start some anonymous schmear campaign that they're appropriating the term old school from negroes and they should promptly get fucked in the back-hole with a pc-dick.

[Backpfeifengesicht]

According to the Snowflake Comedy Club website and some outside event listings they chose the name deliberately and know what it means: https://thepointofsale.com/tickets/snowflake2
Run it through Google Translate. They're going for FUCK YOU, DAD PÈRE.

Though I wonder if the club is run by a certain Jean Pierre Duboisblatt.

[MY FURSONOUNS]

http://archive.ph/KLcFG

A new controversy over cultural appropriation has arisen in Montreal, resulting this time in a white comedian being barred from two comedy shows because he has dreadlocks, a hairstyle associated with black culture.

The Coop les Récoltes is a bar but also a solidarity co-operative created by the Université du Québec à Montréal’s Groupe de recherches d’intérêt public, a collective that deals with social and environmental issues.

The establishment confirmed its decision to exclude comedian Zach Poitras in a message posted on its Facebook page.
Poitras was barred from performing at the Snowflake Comedy Club and the Soirée d’humour engagée. He refused to comment on the decision.

In its online explanation, the co-operative defended its mission to be “a safe space, free from any link to oppression,” and described cultural appropriation as a form of violence.

“We will not tolerate any discrimination or harassment within our spaces,” they wrote. The group argues that cultural appropriation is when “a person from a dominant culture appropriates the symbols, clothing or even the hairstyles of persons from a historically dominated culture.”

The group contends that white people can wear dreadlocks because of their privilege, while a black person “would see themselves refused access to job opportunities or to spaces (housing, schools contests, sporting events, etc.).”

The posting says the co-op understands that Poitras’s intention isn’t racist, but adds the hairstyle “conveys racism,” adding that “cultural appropriation is not a debate or an opinion,” but rather “a form of passive oppression, a deconstructive privilege and, above all, a manifestation of ordinary racism.”

Greg Robinson, a UQAM professor specializing in black history, compared the situation to a larger interpretation of the concept of “black face,” which saw white performers darken their faces to portray black people.

“White people would dress as black people to mock them,” he said. But Robinson added that even when the intention wasn’t to mock but rather embrace or immerse one’s self in a culture, it’s still necessary to be careful.

“It’s like the N-word — black people can use it in their community, but when someone from outside uses it, even if they want to be like black people, there still remains an aspect that is rooted in history.”

The Coop Les Récoltes did not reply to requests for an interview.

just lol at "we will not tolerate any discrimination"

[MY FURSONOUNS]

oh, and exhibit 75F in the ever-diminishing definition of "violence"

accidentally wearing something someone doesn't like is the same thing as poking them in the eye with malice aforethought, which is tantamount to war crimes

[a torrent of piss]

Greeks were the first to invent dreadlocks.

[Dr. Hatchet-Wound]

Greeks were the first to invent dreadlocks.

They also invented homos
https://youtu.be/Sh_sTbO79wU?t=26

[A dumb faggot monkey]

I'm all for white people with dreads being shamed and denied income tbh

[J Dog]

"Comedian" Judd Apatow talks about Louis CK with Jim Norton.

https://youtu.be/2NS4WM6pBcM?t=419

(note: these are not complete transcripts)

NORTON: I have nothing against people who were offended by it, who thought that it stunk. It's all fair. But as comics, to look at a comic working a bit out and act like you don't know what they're doing. This is not a finished piece he put out--

APATOW: --You're not thinking about the other part of it. Maybe because you're not tuned into it. I've done these benefits with shooting victims, right? I've sat with a parent and she's like 'my kid is dead' and she tells me this story about her kid got shot for trying to save his girlfriend. And I've met a lot of people who got over being shot in Vegas and all these places. I've looked into their eyes. So it's not abstract. You're talking comedy theory. There are people -- this isn't like some vague joke. He [Louis] is talking about people whose names we know: we know Cameron and David and Emma, we know who they are, so give them a fucking a break. At some point I choose to be a human being over, like, comedy theory. And maybe tomorrow the bit will get better -- that's fine, but those kids are reading all about this guy they probably looked up to shitting on them--

NORTON: Okay, but that's not his responsibility. . . .of course it was a real tragedy, nobody's denying it was horrible or that it was disgusting what happened. But I know people who've put guns in their own mouths. So should I not make fun of suicide?

APATOW: But what would be your point of making fun of suicide? If you came at it from an angle of 'you're being weak,' yeah it might be fucked up and a terrible joke so why can't someone tell you it's a terrible joke?

NORTON: They can say it's a terrible joke, but it's the idea that 'well this is a real tragedy, so he shouldn't be working it out...' Maybe that's not the final angle he will settle on--

APATOW:--But those kids don't know that. It's out there, right?

NORTON: So when you do a joke, you're only worried about the people who might be affected by the joke? That narrows our corridor a lot.

APATOW: No, but should I tweet: 'Hey guys, I think Louis is going to adjust his angle so don't worry that you got shot at and killed'?

APATOW: We all looked up to him. He inspired us, he pushed us to work harder, to think deeper. He represented something to people. So when you come back from hurting people, and what you talk about on stage just hurts other people, we're allowed to say publicly 'this is kind of fucked up'. He doesn't have a right not to be criticized. It's not like he's in a bubble and we're supposed to be secretive about his act. He's on a public stage, he's getting paid, so the opposite could be that you [Louis] go 'well I'm just not gonna say anything'. But somewhere out there -- and I know this is something a lot of comedians don't care about -- somewhere out there are kids whose friends are dead, and they're trying to get over it, and this guy they probably used to really look up to is shitting on them saying 'you're not interesting'. It's helpful to them for someone to go 'fuck that, I don't agree with what he's saying'. There's nothing wrong with saying that. And Louis should keep working on his act. But that crowd is kissing his ass so hard, and so much of that material is so weak and from such a demented point of view that why shouldn't he hear from certain people 'Hey Louis, you're out of tune right now' -- maybe it helps Louis if someone other than that kiss-ass crowd--

NORTON--Wait, why are they a kiss ass crowd if they were just laughing? Look, he took the angle of being obnoxious. Louis is an absurdist. The real point the guy is making is 'these people were in this tragedy, why does that qualify them to speak for us?' That's a point of view that people have, whether it's nice or not. He takes it to whatever degree and is vicious about it and takes the mean angle. He's always said stuff like that. He's talked about diarrheaing in your mother's mouth. He talked about shitting in Sarah Palin's mouth, talking about her retarded kid, everyone knows that's how his mind works -- he takes it to an obnoxious, brutal point of view.

APATOW: But aren't we allowed to debate the value of that?

NORTON: But why are people all of a sudden?

APATOW: Because when you find out Michael Jackson molests children, 'Pretty Young Thing' means something different.

APATOW: On some level, and I get it, we all have that in our lives: we're adjusting to something. So I guess Louis's doing the 'it's hard to adjust to a woke country' type of thing. But also there are people who are like 'I'm getting murdered, my friends are all committing suicide, maybe it's not the moment to call me a jackass because I want respect.'

JIM NORTON. No I don't believe that. If life was that literal, then sure. . . . but as artists, as comedians, the only way we can address something without being virtue-signalling idiots is to try to be funny with it, no matter how we see fit. So I like barbarism in comedy. I like horrible comedy. So Louis being horrible about Parkland won't make me feel one ounce less empathy for those people that that happened to.

APATOW: But those are real people who have real feelings about that.

NORTON: I'm not even disagreeing with that. But I talk about 9/11. So where's the line? Should we not talk about cancer?

APATOW: Maybe you haven't been exposed to this, but when you meet people whose friends have died, when maybe you've been shot at and they're fucked up for life, and you have a real empathy, and you have kids and your kids are doing active shooter drills and they're terrified and it's ruined their entire childhoods, and the really believe that any day they can get murdered -- that if somebody does a joke, and say it's even in process, it's fine to say, hey that was kind of fuck-up -- yeah I hope he punches up the bit, expands the bit, and Bill Burr-style comes at it from every angle, where it's meaningful -- but in the moment when he hurts those kids, I care more about those kids knowing that people care about you, then I care about protecting Louis's bubble of comedy writing.

NORTON: It's not about Louis's bubble. It's not about Louie or his bubble. That's not what my issue was. It was not about Louis -- Louis's still worth more money than I'll ever make in my career. It was about the idea of a comic working out a bit and other comedians acting like they don't know what that process is. And to answer your question, no I haven't met a lot of shooting victims. But I know a lot of people who've committed suicide. I know a lot of people who've died of AIDS and I know a lot of people who've died of cancer, and ALL of those are subjects I will address, so the whole personalization of it -- it's, with all due respect, slightly manipulative. Because we all have a hand in the tragedy that we talk about, we all have an attachment to the tragedy we talk about. I know women who've been raped, and there's no subject that wouldn't be on the table for me to talk about. . . .all of a sudden the outrage. That outrage was not there when he was talking about Sarah Palin and about shitting in people's mother's mouths.

APATOW: But who else is having a hard time because of this political correctness? I want to know: who's really taking a 'hit'? What comedians are having a hard time?

NORTON: Norm Macdonald almost lost his Netflix show for not apologizing the right way. Chris Rock said one thing, people are going back and grabbing audio from 2011 -- 'he said the N word!' Kevin Hart just lost the Oscars. So do you understand? Everyone is taking a hit.

<Apatow Changes subject>

APATOW: Let me ask you a question. So if Louis, he's punching down at Trans--

NORTON:--I don't like saying 'punching down.' I don't like using that. Comedians, our goal is not to punch in any direction. It's to be funny, and it's to punch however we feel like punching in that moment.

APATOW: So Louis is picking subjects, he's making jokes about a lot of people who are struggling or are victims, and he does those jokes. And I know everyone is gonna write about it, I know all these kids are gonna read it -- they are real people, this didn't happen all that long ago. What's the alternative? Is the alternative for the whole world to go 'let's not say anything because Louis might make it [his set, eventually] better'? Are we supposed to be completely silent on those ideas?

NORTON: No. The alternative is to go: this is a stand-up comedy performance and the goal is to make people laugh. And comedians come from whatever angle they want to come from in the moment. And it's not important whatever angle he's coming from. Whether he's being nice or mean, who gives a shit, it doesn't change anything. He's just trying to make people laugh. That's how I look at it with jokes: the higher motive doesn't mean anything to me. I don't look at that joke then look at one that has a 'very positive' spin to it and think either one has any more merit in the grand scheme of things. A good joke is a good joke. Patrice said it: good jokes and bad jokes come from the same place. They're born from the same place -- a vicious joke that bombs and a brilliant smart joke, clean, that kills, they both come from the same place.

APATOW: Honestly, no one's a bigger fan of comedy than me, and I like all the darkest stuff. But on some level, on a human level that has nothing to with all the comedy rules, I just feel like it's important to say to those kids and to Trans people: 'You're suffering, and I care more about you than this'.

[Jim Acostas Impotent Rage]

What a complete and utter faggot

[Slacktivist]

"No one's a bigger fan of comedy than me and here's why we need to start self censoring our comedy."

Bitch nigga.

[A dumb faggot monkey]

What a complete and utter jew

[Small Weinered Goon]

You just know Apatow has more than a few skeletons in his closet.  Nobody acts this kikey without some deep, dark shit going on.

[Obese Ninja]

You just know Apatow has more than a few skeletons in his closet.  Nobody acts this kikey without some deep, dark shit going on.

The Rape Foundation honored Judd Apatow at their annual brunch Sunday at Green Acres, the home of Ron Burkle. The brunch raises money for the Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, which provides care for rape victims and sexually abused children, as well as prevention education programs.

Rape Foundation board member David Schwimmer hosted the brunch at Green Acres, kicking off the event with a few jokes, mentioning Donald Trump and the shuttle service guests had to use to get to Green Acres. The “Friends” star was visibly choked up while describing the number of cases the Rape Treatment Center sees per day.

 

[Hitlorr The Obniggerator]

Rape Foundation board member David Schwimmer

That's a fun phrase

[Hitlorr The Obniggerator]

Ugggghhh another damn Saturday board meeting at the Rape Foundation. I keep telling them I don't want to work on the weekends, but it's like they just won't take "No" for an answer!

[Jim Acostas Impotent Rage]

Another hours-long session at the Rape Foundation Board Meeting going back and forth over how much insurance our employees need.

Like seriously, the premiums are high enough, so we DON'T need our insurance to cover scratches and hearing loss. 

[a torrent of piss]

Rape is very important, here's how you properly analyze to see if your Rape is good or not.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Axuu0F3pY" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Axuu0F3pY</a>

[Rocket]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cob5t_0G_8I" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cob5t_0G_8I</a>

[J Dog]

Club owner with four paying customers shuts down a comedy night after comedian tells a bad uber joke.

https://www.universalhub.com/2019/misogynist-comedians-can-stay-out-roslindale

Misogynist comedians can stay out of Roslindale

The owner of a comedy spot in Roslindale shut down a series of stand-up sets last night after, she says, she'd had enough of a string of racist, sexist jokes.

Courtney Pong, who owns the Rozzie Square Theater on Basile Street, where she runs improv and lets another group put on stand-up shows, said this morning that the comedian emceeing the 10 p.m. event got off to a bad start by trying to crack a joke about his "segregated" audience - there were two black men in the small crowd of about 17 people, all men.

Then, over the next 40 minutes or so, she said she cringe listened to a number of "this bitch" jokes and finally had enough when one guy told a joke about how he couldn't understand why Uber fired him for making women customers ride in the trunk.

That, she said, is when she realized, "wait a minute, I own this place." Sitting at the sound table at the back of the theater, she hit a button that rang a loud bell, walked to the front and announced the night was over and that she would give refunds to the four paying customers - the other 13 people in the room were friends of the performers.

"It's not OK, and it's not who we are," she told the audience.

"Is this a joke or is this part of the act?" one man asked.

Pong said she chose Roslindale very deliberately as a site for her 49-seat theater to get away from stuff like this, even though she knows she could have made a lot more money someplace like downtown.

She said that she wants a space that is inclusive, not just for audience members, but for comedians, in a business traditionally dominated by men. Pong said there's a place for subversive humor, but male comedians punching down with "old and tired" domestic-violence jokes are not what she wants in her theater.

"No woman [comedian] in the world would have wanted to stand in that room last night," she said.

She said that after she shut things down, most of the people went across the street to the Napper Tandy's bar. She said that after she and the one other woman in the place, working the front desk, closed up, she followed them over and talked to the paying customers to explain why she felt she had to close down the performances. She said one of the paying customers was a BC student and that "it broke my heart" to think he might think that punch-down humor like going after women was OK.

"The comedians never acknowledged me," she said.

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2019/11/18/rozzie-square-theater-sexist-jokes/

“I’m creating a space for customers to enjoy a show,” Pong says. “It was a business decision in the moment. We didn’t tell them they couldn’t do it ever. This just isn’t the space.”


It’s frustrating, Pong says. “We spend more time arguing for the right to say sexist things than fighting for the rights of people.”

After the Saturday show, Pong and the box office attendant—the only other woman in the room Saturday night—cleaned up and closed up. Pong headed across the street to Napper Tandy’s bar, where almost everyone from the venue had gone after she shut down the show. The comics were there, but did not acknowledge her. Two of the white male audience members did, however, approach Pong, curious to hear why she did what she did. She explained: That someone needed to show that “It’s not okay to punch down at women.” That any woman watching that set would have felt threatened. That there isn’t enough progress being made when it comes to including marginalized people in comedy, onstage or in the audience.

They seemed to understand, Pong says, which was what she set out to accomplish in closing down the show in the first place. A dialogue was always the goal. And, even as she stares down an army of trolls, Pong’s belief that everyone deserves a comedy venue where they feel safe is unwavering.

“In order to create a more diverse and inclusive environment,” Pong says, “We need to try harder.”

[Rocket]

She chased them across the street? Did I read that right?