When Comedians Go Rogue and Tell Jokes
Jimmy Carr is the latest comedian to get into trouble
I like Jimmy Carr. I like his brand of humor. His smugness. I know what to expect with Carr and it’s never a touchy-feely joke designed to sit on the fence. He’s like a softer version of Ricky Gervais. He’s offensive if you were looking for offense. In fact, most of his routine is highly offensive.
This brings us round to the Jews and the Holocaust.
I’ve written at length about why a liberal sprinkling of Holocaust comparisons is bad. I’ve posted why people who feel they are living like Jews in Nazi Germany are offensive and stupid. I should be angry and disgusted with Carr with what he said. I’ll get to that in a moment.
Looking at the bigger picture, my main question is why now? Why has Carr’s show ‘Dark Material’ only now been recognized as offensive? Why has it taken this long for people to speak out about Carr’s jokes?
With Dave Chappelle, there was an instant backlash. People couldn’t wait to condemn Chappelle’s gags as hate speech. Writers were tripping over themselves with posts after posts of sanctimonious bullshit either defending or condemning Chappelle.
But Carr? Nothing but silence.