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[Humour] Is any subject taboo when it comes to jokes?



m@goo

New member
Feb 20, 2020
1,056
Katy Bourne the Crime Commissioner has started a campaign to ban some valentine's cards because the subject of them is stalking and she's been a victim of stalking.

I think it's important we stand up for freedom of speech in comedy and as Ricky Gervais once said which I agree with: and I paraphrase, no subject should be taboo when it comes to the basis of a joke. It depends on the content and context of the joke. Just because a joke is about the thing that has affected you doesn't mean it can't be the basis of a joke. These particular cards in my view aren't aimed at the victims of stalking. The sender is the butt of the joke. The worst thing these cards can be accused of is being tiresome imo.

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19076746.valentines-day-card-banned-thortful-complaint/

A lot of people agree with her on her twitter...

https://twitter.com/KatyBourne/status/1359104480424456193
 

Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
There are jokes I’ll tell to mates that are totally un pc, I wouldn’t dream of posting some of them on NSC though. It’s a case of being circumspect depending on company isn’t it? It’s like using the C word in front of women for me, I make a conscious effort not to but I’ll use it with male mates freely, and often do, especially when talking about refs at Albion games! :shrug:
 

Thunder Bolt

Ordinary Supporter
Man sees stalking as a joke. Woman is terrified as a result of a crime.

Try thinking about your wife, or sister, or daughter, and then stand up for freedom of comedy.
 

beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,239
with Gervais, but its a fine line if something is funny or not, and context matters a lot. is stalking amusing in context of valentines, probably not. but then theres something a little stalky about valentines isnt there?
 

schmunk

"Members"
Jan 19, 2018
9,388
Mid mid mid Sussex
I think any subject is acceptable as the basis of a joke, except for a light and fruity liqueur created with the flavours of peach and tropical fruit juices combined in a blend with white wine and vodka.



That's Taboo.
 


m@goo

New member
Feb 20, 2020
1,056
Man sees stalking as a joke. Woman is terrified as a result of a crime.

Try thinking about your wife, or sister, or daughter, and then stand up for freedom of comedy.

I get what you're saying but are you telling me you've never laughed at a controversial joke where the subject of the joke hasn't affected you personally? Many of us have if you've watched Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle, Ricky Gervais etc. They've all made jokes about sensitive subjects but the important thing is the victim is never the butt of the joke. Jokes should never be aimed at someone about a thing they can't help.
 

blue-shifted

Banned
Feb 20, 2004
7,645
a galaxy far far away
I don't think any subject is taboo.

However I think there are some subjects (the worst ones, I probably don't have to name them) where it's impossible to make a joke where a right minded person would find it funny
 

Tim Over Whelmed

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Jul 24, 2007
10,160
Arundel
We are heading towards a very sterile vanilla society where you'll only communicate with those you know for fear of offending someone or worse. What a society we're blindly traipsing towards.
 


Questions

Habitual User
Oct 18, 2006
24,652
Worthing
There are jokes I’ll tell to mates that are totally un pc, I wouldn’t dream of posting some of them on NSC though. It’s a case of being circumspect depending on company isn’t it? It’s like using the C word in front of women for me, I make a conscious effort not to but I’ll use it with male mates freely, and often do, especially when talking about refs at Albion games! :shrug:


‘It’s a case of being circumspect’ ?



Bit harsh over a tasteless gag.
 

Questions

Habitual User
Oct 18, 2006
24,652
Worthing
I actually did a rape gag many years ago on site and forgot that one of the guys daughters had been attacked a few years earlier... He never said anything but it still haunts me to this day.
 
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Thunder Bolt

Ordinary Supporter
I get what you're saying but are you telling me you've never laughed at a controversial joke where the subject of the joke hasn't affected you personally? Many of us have if you've watched Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle, Ricky Gervais etc. They've all made jokes about sensitive subjects but the important thing is the victim is never the butt of the joke. Jokes should never be aimed at someone about a thing they can't help.

I haven’t watched those comedians because I don’t find their humour funny. My humour extends as far as the Two Ronnie, Morecambe & Wise and Tommy Cooper.

The issue you’ve raised is that a woman has asked for a card to be taken off sale because it can be used to intimidate a victim. Your last sentence says so.
 


Thunder Bolt

Ordinary Supporter
We are heading towards a very sterile vanilla society where you'll only communicate with those you know for fear of offending someone or worse. What a society we're blindly traipsing towards.

No, we aren’t. That’s trying to make out that you’re a victim.
 

Napper

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2003
23,853
Sussex
There are jokes I’ll tell to mates that are totally un pc, I wouldn’t dream of posting some of them on NSC though. It’s a case of being circumspect depending on company isn’t it? It’s like using the C word in front of women for me, I make a conscious effort not to but I’ll use it with male mates freely, and often do, especially when talking about refs at Albion games! :shrug:

Pretty much this.

Luckily , my friends and family live in the real world where jokes and banter still flow freely without people breaking down about it.

Have to be aware of copany more these days though , worklaces a particular tricky area where its best to say nothing if in doubt someone will take offence
 


Questions

Habitual User
Oct 18, 2006
24,652
Worthing
I’ve joked about cancer quite a lot this year. Or rather my wife has. I’ve cried about it a lot as well.
So know your audience.
 
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dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Mar 27, 2013
51,895
Burgess Hill
Pretty much this.

Luckily , my friends and family live in the real world where jokes and banter still flow freely without people breaking down about it.

Have to be aware of copany more these days though , worklaces a particular tricky area where its best to say nothing if in doubt someone will take offence

Agreed.......it’s quite a fine line to tread though........remember a new guy who started work in our office who loved to tell jokes, but he’d been recruited from a very different environment into our very PC office and it was genuinely quite shocking to hear his first couple of attempts in that setting as it was so unusual. Had to quickly warn him that he was heading for an HR case if he carried on.
 

m@goo

New member
Feb 20, 2020
1,056
The issue you’ve raised is that a woman has asked for a card to be taken off sale because it can be used to intimidate a victim. Your last sentence says so.

Not really. A stalker won't stop stalking on valentine's day because he doesn't have the appropriate card to send. They'll still do it.
 

Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Oct 8, 2003
49,061
Faversham
There are jokes I’ll tell to mates that are totally un pc, I wouldn’t dream of posting some of them on NSC though. It’s a case of being circumspect depending on company isn’t it? It’s like using the C word in front of women for me, I make a conscious effort not to but I’ll use it with male mates freely, and often do, especially when talking about refs at Albion games! :shrug:

Mrs T is a fine practitioner of the use of the 'C' word.

But I agree about context.

For me, in daily life the rule is don't deliberately seek to offend those who are not in a position to avoid being offended (i.e., don't tell a joke with the 'c' word to you mate, loudly, while sitting in a busy public space). In professional comedy, the line stops for me when it comes to deliberately mocking people for their frailties or differences (and I don't include in that 'characters' being outrageous so we can laugh at them rather than with them). That said, the line does shift about over time. I laughed some years ago at a cartoon in Private Eye of some women in niqabs, chatting, and one of them is saying 'Does my bomb look big in this?'. Today....mmmmmm....no.
 


Lyndhurst 14

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2008
5,109
I remember seeing Joan Rivers (who I wouldn't normally find that funny) on a TV show making what some people would call really bad taste jokes about Jewish people (including ones about the Holocaust) but which were really funny. As she said she is Jewish herself and it was not her intention to be offensive - but if something is funny it's funny. Also if you watch one of my shows you know what to expect.

It was the same with Mel Brooks, another Jew, who had no problem telling bad taste jokes about Jewish people. He just saw humour as a way of deflating serious issues.
 

Birdie Boy

Well-known member
Jun 17, 2011
4,096
I'm up for most jokes but I really don't think that the You card is funny. Why would you send someone that? If that person has been stalked before it's disgusting, if they haven't, are you saying that you are stalking her or that someone is? Don't get it and quite happy for it to be removed from shelves.
 

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