2
Why I’m Coming to Hate Blogging
Above: Controversy swirls on in controversial
wingnut/sandwich controversy
Since I started this whole mess, let me respond to a few points:
1.) I can see the argument against fat jokes. I have quite a few friends who are overweight, and whenever I think about making a fat joke, I ask myself, “Is this something I’d have the balls to say in front of so-and-so?” If the answer is “no,” then the joke is inappropriate. Also, fat jokes are incredibly easy and cheap and anyone can make them. I don’t speak for anyone else on this blog, but I will refrain from using someone’s weight as a criteria for bashing them in the future.
2.) That said, some people need to lighten the eff up. Specifically, I’m thinking of many of the people leaving messages on this thread. Holy mother of God. Let’s do a quick sample of the completely ridiculous and embarrassing comments posted there:
Do you remember what happened the election cycle before last? Do you remember how Al Gore’s suits became more important than George W. Bush’s incompetence? Do you remember how Al Gore was ridiculed for his his stilted speech, his wooden mannerisms, his inability to tell a joke, his wonkishness, his solemnity, his earnest concern? In other words, his nerdiness? Remember how he was turned into the loser of the election not because he was the worst potential president–because hoo boy–but because he was a big dork? Remember the utterly straight-faced arguments about how Bush deserved your vote because he’d be more fun to have a beer with? Remember how the same thing kinda happened again four years later?
These days, Al Gore gets ridiculed for being a fatass AV nerd who cares about girly crap like the environment. And we get into endless wars because we care more about whether or not the president looks cool in a bomber jacket than whether or not he can do his job. Our next candidates are already being evaluated on the most superficial criteria imaginable. Hilary’s too mean. Obama is cute. Edwards smiles too much. Way better hair than that guy with the hair, though. Civilian death tolls? Whatever. And have you seen what Nancy Pelosi is wearing? This country is being run and covered by a bunch of middle-schoolers.
Ahem. Correct me if I’m wrong, folks, but I don’t think fat jokes were responsible for the 2000 election.
Furthermore, here are some other things that fat jokes are not responsible for:
Keep this in perspective, please.
Let’s go to some other goodies:
The problem is that it’s not just about offense. It’s about power and privilege, all the way down from the very large scale to the little scale. You’ve seized on the fact that fatness is something you have the power to mock, and that’s only because fat people are at a social disadvantage. This pattern repeats itself in the previous, larger-scale fractal iteration that is society.
Fat jokes: responsible for racism, sexism and homophobia.
Next:
I argued that superficiality plays directly into the hands of the people who need us to pay attention to anything other than massive corruption and incompetence. Fat jokes are a diversion. Complacency–the kind that excuses torture and, hell, Bush v. Gore–dovetails very tidily with a focus on things like Al Gore’s waistline.
Oy. I don’t really know what to say to this.
Guys, I’m going to let you in on a little secret: shit that gets posted on this very unserious blog has precisely zero real-world ramifications.
Also: people are way the hell too sensitive to everything. You can call me a shitbag fuckrock monster cock, and I honestly don’t give a damn. In fact, I think calling me that is a damn insult to other shitbag fuckrock monster cocks. Spending such a ridiculous amount of time talking about how offended you are about everything is a bloody waste of your life. My God, one commenter on that thread said she was offended when people made fun of Ann Coulter’s Adam’s apple. Holy shit. For your own damn sake, lighten up. Life is far too short to get so offended by silly bullshit.
(And yes, this is the last time I will post on this. I didn’t want to post on it, but I told amp I would because I thought he had some good points. Then I went over to the Feministe thread, where I read about how my fat joke helped contribute to getting Bush elected, and I just wanted to die.)
toby said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:00
AMEN!
owlbear1 said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:03
That feministe thread is all about getting some attention.
Marked Hoosier said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:03
I will tell you why I am coming close to not commenting…
Spam filters and no preview button!!! ;)
Jay B. said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:03
Brad,
I say this as a friend, Bush is all your fault — and no amount of purging now will make that point any less slender.
t4toby said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:07
We are all nerds. I’m guessing that more than a couple of us don’t have enough to do at work.
BTW- The celery was hilarious.
Mandos said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:10
Woohoo! I got quoted in Sadly, No!
I’m sorry, I still love you, but this is an extremely narrow view of things. Your “perspective” is to deny that those photos are ideologically disconnected from (what you consider to be) the little things. That’s the shortsightedness or failure of imagination of the Standard American Liberal. Again, I’m sorry, but it’s turtles all the way down, you better believe it.\
I’m not highly offended by the joke. I’m more fascinated by the reaction to the criticism of the joke. It’s the standard story told to anyone who has something beyond the mainstream (well-meaning) Standard American Liberal list of complaints. “Shut up and fall behind me.”
Jillian said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:11
OMG!!!! Brad admits that he is a HATE BLOGGER!!!!
Just look at that title! Why did you decide to come to hate blogging, Brad? Why couldn’t you just stay with the funny blogging?
I love you guys. Don’t let the hysterics drive you crazy.
And I use the term “hysterics” conscious of its etymological origin, and being in full possession of a uterus myself.
It would be funnier if you photoshopped a sandwich into my uterus, though.
Mandos said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:11
*smacks forehead* Should read: “…that these photos are ideologically connected to…”
tbogg said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:16
Personally I think you should refrain from making comments about people with weight problems and concentrate on the left-handers.
Those fuckers are evil, I tell you….
Snowwy said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:16
Guys, I say this as someone who’s about fifty pounds overweight…
Keep telling whatever jokes you want. You’re really fucking funny, and that’s what matters. People crying because their thin and tender skins were bruised by the splash effect of one of your devastating humor salvos need to suck it up and soldier on.
I swear, it’s the entitlement bitch syndrome that is driving this country to ruin.
Snowwy said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:19
It would be funnier if you photoshopped a sandwich into my uterus, though.
*tweeeeeet!* Penalty! TMI! Roughing the readers! Humor value revoked, repeat the comment attempt.
Brad R. said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:19
Personally I think you should refrain from making comments about people with weight problems and concentrate on the left-handers.
I AM left-handed tBooger!!! Making fun of me is worse than torturing people!!!! I WILL BE OFFENDED AND YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME!!!!!
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:20
Then I went over to the Feministe thread, where I read about how my fat joke helped contribute to getting Bush elected, and I just wanted to die.)
you have to admit, that’s just funny as hell though. really. it’s up there with the wingnut hysteria.
random_guy said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:20
Fucking ‘ell. I cannot believe the sheer volume of words a single fat joke has generated. You’d better not post any ‘take my wife, please’ routines, or you’ll break teh internets.
Steve said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:21
This is pretty much the essence of being a liberal. Ain’t it grand?
kingubu said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:21
t would be funnier if you photoshopped a sandwich into my uterus, though.
If you use Miracle Whip, does that make it an immaculate conception?
Snowwy said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:21
What is you’re one of those secret left-handers? You know, those duplicitous individuals who do everything with their right hands until their in the necessary AND THEN! those fiends! those FIENDS USE THEIR LEFT!
mikey said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:21
Thanks B-Rocket. Seriously. My gawd, what a waste of pixels and bandwidth that whole thing was. I come to S,N, I ALWAYS want to offer my piece. In all that bullshit, I just wanted to go read other blogs. Hell, I even read Marie Jon’s’’s’s latest frantic, kool-aid dripping piece. s.z.’s been down and out. Jeezel Peezel, I just haven’t been able to have any fun on the intert00bz, and I want you guys to do something about that…
mikey
Snowwy said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:23
WE GOTTA STOP ‘EM! THEY’RE GONNA KILL US ALL!
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:24
although blog feministe makes for one dreary as hell visit, it’s ultimately superior because it has numbered comments and a preview button.
Dr Zen said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:25
Fuck me! That chick wrote about a thousand words on fat jokes. The rule has always been, and always will be, if they choose it, it’s fair game; if they were born with it or it just happened to them, it isn’t. And ab Hugh is a fat cunt, EOD.
GoatBoy said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:25
This jocularity is insensitive in the extreme to those poor poor people with a lunch in their abdomens (who I care about deeply - so deeply).
You try walking through the mall with a sandwich in your uterus some time and see how you’re treated!
agum said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:27
The WEIGHT CONTRADICTION is the fundamental contradiction of society!
Eat that, Karl Marx! You portly old Victorian fatty!
Snowwy said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:28
Um, GoatBoy?
How is it you’ve come to have a uterus? And to what uses do you put it?
I’m just askin’. I’m just askin’.
Brad R. said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:29
I’m sorry, I still love you, but this is an extremely narrow view of things. Your “perspective� is to deny that those photos are ideologically disconnected from (what you consider to be) the little things. That’s the shortsightedness or failure of imagination of the Standard American Liberal.
Counter-argument: you have to let things roll off your back every now and then.
To get a wee bit personal here: I am a chronically depressed person. I take medication for my depression. I have, in strict clinical terms, a mental illness. However, I do not get offended every time someone makes a crack about another person being “crazy” or “off their meds.” Nor do I get upset when I see a TV ad featuring a suicidal robot. I understand that such statements or advertisements are not a personal attack against me. In fact, the way I first learned to keep my depression at bay was by learning to not give a shit about what people said about me. Now, if some guy comes along and says “All depressed people should be put into camps” then I’ll start getting PO’d. But until then, life is just to short to have my antennae up for every perceived little slight. Big picture :-)
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:31
oh shit, the weighty feministe comment thread is about to move into this one…
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:31
Lovely. Not 25 comments in and we’ve already got sexism. You really bring them in, guys! Keep up the progressive work! It’s really paying off. [thumbs up, like totally]
Xanthippas said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:31
Um, some of these people just need to calm down. Seriously. Honestly if I came to Sadly,No! and didn’t see at least one fat joke every other day or so, I’d be disappointed that you guys were starting to lighten up on the wing-nuts. Anybody with half a brain understands that these people come under fire because of where they stand on the issues, not because they’re fat, and you only pick on them being fat or ugly because they’re mostly hateful little slugs who deserve it. Honestly, I don’t think anybody ought to be offended. Certainly not somebody on our “side”, who really needs to just calm down.
HTML Mencken said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:32
Yeah, yeah, TBOGG, you just wanna switch gears because you know they’re coming after you next!
Don’t think they don’t know about your ‘elastic-band Dockers’ jibes and periodic displays of Brent Baker’s fugly visage, you perpetrator of ‘looksism’, you!
FlipYrWhig said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:32
I have been finding this whole flapdoodle baffling, honestly, because I had no idea that there was a kind of activist community around fat, although, now that I know that, it doesn’t seem as illogical as I would have used to think it was. Chalk that up as a learning opportunity.
It’s also interesting that, fresh off the Edwards blogger imbroglio — which was all about humor that caused offense, or at least outcries of offense — we’ve seen this thing, in which a lot of the last round’s offensive-humor defenders have been, well, offended. I know that mocking Christians takes aim at the privileged (largely), while mocking the fat takes aim at the unprivileged, but, still.
It’s superficial to mock the appearances of Michelle Malkin, Jonah Goldberg, Dafffyyyddd Whats-his-name, sure. It’s also superficial to mock the appearances of Doug Giles, Ben Shapiro, that Confederate Yankee guy, Vox Day, Joe Lieberman, Gary Bauer, Rick Santorum, the Pope, etc. Would joking about Giuliani’s crossdressing insult crossdressers generally? I have a hard time believing that jokes — superficial ones about their funny faces and/or bodies — at their expense would induce the same ruminations on the implications of superficiality in political discourse.
kingubu said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:32
You try walking through the mall with a sandwich in your uterus some time and see how you’re treated!
Best variation yet.
Mmmmmm, saaaandwich….
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:33
Oh, and you missed where we all said you’re responsible for the Holocaust. Best put in some Einsatzgruppen pics in for maximum effect!
Jiggavegas said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:33
I love this site, and I think you guys are teh awesome, I really do.
I hereby agree to suck it up and keep my disagreement with you on this issue quiet. I would hate to contribute to any more time wasting over trivial nonsense… here. I’ll go argue with Gavin about his comment (#422, ahem) over at Feministe instead.
Back to the funny. And if I don’t laugh at the “Ann Coulter is a She-Male” bit, I won’t tell you about it. Promise.
TRex said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:34
The Feministe gang are Teh Left’s very on Bill Donohue and the Catholic League. Perpetually outraged, perpetually offended, they are just as humorless, puritanical, and rigid and ideologically blinkered as your average Freeper, and about as much fun to have a conversation with.
But really, by all means, we all should tailor our online output to meet their bottomless well of needs, complaints, and requirements. Cos you know, it’s Their Movement. If we can’t do that, then we’re Just As Bad As Republicans.
This round has been spectacularly amusing in particular, though. zuzu rushing into the breach to defend Dafydd ab Huge’s poor, sensitive feelings. Self-righteousness can make for strange bedfellows.
Brad R. said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:35
Jack- c’mon, that bit about how fat jokes helped Bush win was completely fucking ridiculous. Give me a break.
Xanthippas said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:35
Disclosure: I’m “kinda” fat, and not offended at all by fat jokes or suicidal robots or men doing manly things after they kiss each other.
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:37
Wow, we all said that? I totally missed that part…huh
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:38
how many people died today while feministes chowed into bowls of popcorn and castigated SN for photoshopped pix of a genocidal maniac.
having a whole fucking day to be outraged about a fat joke in a humour blog is a luxury some (many) people can’t afford.
Xanthippas said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:38
I’m still waiting for the day that Sadly, No! makes fun of a Native American. Then of course my opinion will have to do a 180.
Brad R. said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:39
Oh yes you did:
I argued that superficiality plays directly into the hands of the people who need us to pay attention to anything other than massive corruption and incompetence. Fat jokes are a diversion. Complacency–the kind that excuses torture and, hell, Bush v. Gore–dovetails very tidily with a focus on things like Al Gore’s waistline.
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:40
how many people died today while feministes chowed into bowls of popcorn and castigated SN for photoshopped pix of a genocidal maniac.
Really, lesley, are you going to argue that you’ve been saving huge amounts of people from slaughter today? With a straight face?
Julie O. said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:42
I AM left-handed tBooger!!!
I HAVE boogers, Brad R., and I am offended by that derogatory reference.
TRex said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:42
Really, lesley, are you going to argue that you’ve been saving huge amounts of people from slaughter today? With a straight face?
I can say with a completely clear conscience that I did not discriminate against or kill any popcorn today.
billy pilgrim said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:42
I would have thought that Giuliani’s crossdressing, which was after all for effect and publicity, would be of insult to the crossdressing community by itself. I mean, he’s not really a crossdresser, right?
christian h. said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:42
Huh? The problem with “standard liberals” is what? That they don’t see the connection between the cultural oppression exerted by a fat joke and the consequences of imperialism?? You’ve got to be fucking kidding. The problem is in fact that liberals concentrate on nothing but shit like that. While we worry about fat jokes, the ruling class chuckles. Get a damn grip, people. And read some Walter Ben Michaels, or something.
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:45
I said that? Whoa, I gotta quit drunk posting if I can’t remember what I’m posting. Also, if we’d all posted that, I think I would have been more aware of that being the general consensus.
You don’t have to think that fat-bashing is the reason Bush stole the election in order to think that fat-bashing is wrong, no matter what you’re dealing with. But I know, you gotta think about the audience. And what an audience they seem to be…
random_guy said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:48
JackGoff, can I just say I’ve never encountered anyone with a more appropriate screen-name.
Brad R. said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:48
OK, let’s calm down for a second.
1.) I said that I wouldn’t fat-bash anymore. It’s at the very top of the post.
2.) People still need to lighten up. Did you even read the points I made about being depressed, and how I could, if I so chose, get upset and anal whenever anyone made a joke about suicide or people being off their meds? I mean, I could do that, but it’d make me much more depressed. People need to stop being so damn sensitive. Jesus.
kingubu said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:48
But I know, you gotta think about the audience. And what an audience they seem to be…
Oh, here we go… Try not to get any on the drapes, guys.
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:48
good idea. let’s ramp up the lunacy and make it funnier by getting shit-faced. it’s an appropriate hour for imbibing.
I do not want to live in a world ruled by Jack Goff’s any more than I want to live in a Bush-ruled universe.
steve_e said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:49
Did you know the fatties have an extra bone in their stomachs?
But, of course, the most distinctive feature of the fatties is the shape of their feet.
Why are you wearing shoes, Brad? Do you have something to hide?
.
I avoided those posts about nuclear celery and Dafyyd ab Roller. Whatever was going on there, the descriptions I’ve read sound very lame.
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:49
Last comment directed at Brad @ 3:39
I can say with a completely clear conscience that I did not discriminate against or kill any popcorn today.
Lovely. I had a salad today, which was a vast graveyard of tomatoes, arugala, and onions. For dinner, I’m not sure yet. Either way, meh.
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:51
JackGoff, can I just say I’ve never encountered anyone with a more appropriate screen-name.
Can I just say that J*ff G*ldst*in said the same thing? You’re in…interesting…company, random.
Mr. Roarke's Brand Salad Dressing's Poops said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:52
I don’t really support this a friendship building response. And for the first time EVAR I think I disagree with Jillypants, BUT, our friendship is bigger than that. It involves puppies.
Brad R. said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:53
Jack- I am trying to engage you here, amigo. I can give up the snark and be a semi-civil debater when I want to. I’m trying to do that here.
mikey said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:54
Lookit. Here’s mikey Declaration of Independence Part IV. I will NOT allow anyone’s sensitivity to force me to pre-emptively edit my own speech. Every now and then, know what? I’m gonna put my foot in my mouth. And occasionally, I’ll chew. But I am not gonna let you guys have that kind of control over my behavior, so complain all ya want, or shove it up your ass, or both.
Completely off topic, and appropos of nothing, really, I’ve been thinking. Maybe the world would be a better place if we just rounded up a bunch of mental cases and put ‘em in camps. Whaddaya say?
What?
mikey
random_guy said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:54
well perhaps ole pasty is a better judge of character than I presumed. He’s still a flaming wingnut though.
GoatBoy said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:54
“How is it you’ve come to have a uterus? And to what uses do you put it?”
Got it at the mall. To put my sandwich in.
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:55
I mean, I could do that, but it’d make me much more depressed. People need to stop being so damn sensitive. Jesus.
You know, it’s interesting that you say that, because I too suffer from depression. If anything, it’s shown me that when people are “sensitive”, it’s for a reason. Me wanting to kill myself a few years ago could have been chalked up to me just being too damn sensitive. Lighten up already, loser!
But you know, it’s a damn good thing I had people who weren’t callous jerks around me at the time, else I would not be here.
owlbear1 said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:56
Belittling someone solely because they are Fat is Tasteless. It lacks any thought.
Belittling some Jack Ass who’s projected self-image fails to live up to even a cursory glance at a mirror, is a public service.
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:56
will brad and jack make dysfunction-free romance before the night is through? would gourmet treats help?
Brad R. said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:57
OK, now we’re having a conversation.
My argument is the same argument as Sue’s dad, who done gave that boy an awful name to make ‘im tough.
That doesn’t mean it’s good to actively try to hurt people, but it is good for people to develop a thick skin. Nobody in the world is required to be nice to you.
Marked Hoosier said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:58
I miss the vegetable puns…
xjerryx said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:59
Siding with the “I’m fat and not offended and please don’t think all of us fatties are so goddamn sensitive” camp.
Making such a big deal over a joke that my fat ass laughed at is downright embarrassing.
It’s really hard to be a liberal sometimes.
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:00
Jack- I am trying to engage you here, amigo. I can give up the snark and be a semi-civil debater when I want to. I’m trying to do that here.
Fair enough. So can I. I do not think the problem here is people being too sensitive. One could say that me being depressed is my fault, as there are theories about depression out there that say exactly that. Stupid boy, wanting to kill his idiot self. God, what a little wimp! Grow a pair! Man up! I can tell you, I’ve gotten that before, many times. It hurts. I can live through it, but imagine how much better it feels to not be judged by my mental illness but by who I am.
the_millionaire_lebowski said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:01
Satan made them do it.
Brad R. said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:01
Yeah, but xjerryx, you don’t understand that you are succumbing to the post-structuralist racihomosexiphobicism. Laughter is the first sign that you are a post-structuralist racihomosexiphobicist pig.
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:01
Lettuce rest, I’m feeling beet.
GoatBoy said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:01
Hey I’m monopolar depressive and kinda fat.
Trump, cobags!
Silly Lawyers®©³² said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:02
OK, so now we are going to have to ban poop jokes.
Because Dick Cheney’s spawn are offended.
P.S. Don’t make me sue your fat asses!
Jiggavegas said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:03
Kiwi all just get along?
Snowwy said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:03
Nobody in the world is required to be nice to you.
You know, I see sentiments like this in conversations all over the blogosphere, from the tiniest most insignificant site (like my blog) to the big boys like DU and Daily Kos.
I wonder why it has to be said. Isn’t it self-evident? To gauge by the reactions of some commenters, I guess not.
Telling you, people. It’s the entitlement syndrome. It’s gonna kill us all.
/broken record
Brad R. said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:04
One could say that me being depressed is my fault, as there are theories about depression out there that say exactly that. Stupid boy, wanting to kill his idiot self. God, what a little wimp! Grow a pair! Man up! I can tell you, I’ve gotten that before, many times. It hurts. I can live through it, but imagine how much better it feels to not be judged by my mental illness but by who I am.
The trick is to say back to the person, “You’re an asshole!” and let it go. And to be fair, you seem to be pretty good at the first part :-)
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:05
Johnny Cash notwithstanding, I do not agree that developing a “thick skin” is something that is requisite for people in a progressive society. As there isn’t really anywhere to go with this argument (wussy-boys vs. true men or whatever), I’ll jump out here.
Karatist Preacher said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:05
Altrocket,
I hope this puts our football spat into perspective…I think you are good peeps.
Marita said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:06
Personally I think you should refrain from making comments about people with weight problems and concentrate on the left-handers.
Those fuckers are evil, I tell you…..
No kidding. They’re downright… sinister.
mikey said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:06
I’m a PTSD victim drug addict convicted felon with high blood pressure. Oh, ok, I guess maybe I could stand to lose 35 pounds, but it was such trauma when I just l lost my keys, I’m kind of afraid to. But I’m sensitive as hell about my taste in clothes. So be careful of my feelings, or the republicans will win in ‘08…..
mikey
kingubu said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:07
Making such a big deal over a joke that my fat ass laughed at is downright embarrassing.
Werd.
Brad R. said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:13
As there isn’t really anywhere to go with this argument (wussy-boys vs. true men or whatever), I’ll jump out here.
My point more was that I think men AND women should have the confidence in themselves where they can simply brush off stupid things that people say.
Anyway, thanks for engaging :-)
a different brad said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:15
I don’t mean to fan the flames of this. I’ve done enough to make this an issue, but still, gotta say something more.
There’s really two kerfluffles in one, here.
First kerfluffle: revisit to old, harmless, not funny joke. kingubu’s response was, for lack of a better word, the right one. not funny, i’m fat, awwwww, whatevah, let’s move on.
(not funny not for being fat humor, but for being easy and obvious.)
Second kerfluffle: Lesley, sorry to name names but let’s not beat around the bush, is an insensitive asshole and said stuff that legitimately offended folk
feministe tried to link the old bad joke and Lesley’s tude, and that was wrong on their part
Bunch of us gave Lesley deserved crap, and then perhaps got overzealous and kept at it too long, if only speaking for myself.
Point being, the first kerfluffle was silly and Brad and Retardo have apologized mre than needed and learned whatever lesson they should or could.
That’s what’s truly “important”, and really should be permitted to die.
As should the rest of the crap, which I will try to allow to happen.
But had to get that in first.
Jillian said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:16
I still love you, PP. And your doggies.
My comment was indeed intemperate. It’s rooted in some old wounds directly related to my own experiences with feminist hypersensitivities that I really don’t like to talk about, just because the stories involved really make feminism look bad, and I still really do believe that the core principles of feminism are important.
Maybe I should be more straightforward about some of the institutionalized stupidity masquerading as feminism that led to me going mean and snarky on this topic sometimes. Maybe by not talking about it, I’m doing the same sort of thing that the Catholic church did when it refused to talk about the problems it had in its priesthood. I’m still really conflicted about the whole thing, and I don’t have an answer yet.
All I know is that I spent years working heavily in feminist movements. I don’t anymore. And I don’t even really feel like I can talk about it.
So sometimes I snark instead.
My bad. Sorry ’bout that.
FlipYrWhig said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:17
Spotted at Feministe:
While some wingnuts will go into hysterics over the threat that Islam poses to “Western values� while simultaneously supporting religiously-motivated sexist, homophobic, regressive legislation, at least bed-wetter Dinesh D’Souza is consistent
Why does Dinesh D’Souza have to be a “bed-wetter”? Shouldn’t he really get ridiculed for being wrong? Why does opposing D’Souza have to involve belittling, even treating as disgusting, a bodily function that can be a genuine health issue? This degrades the discourse, and, ultimately, is a key reason why the left loses elections.
kingubu said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:17
You’re a good egg, Bradrocket.
Now can we please have a new Post O’ Snark so this thing can die the death it deserved two days ago?
Sniper said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:19
will brad and jack make dysfunction-free romance before the night is through? would gourmet treats help?
If so, will there be pictures? And how will they be photoshopped?
billy pilgrim said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:24
Kiwis aren’t a vegetable.
Marita wins this round. LOL.
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:25
Silly Lawyers®©³² said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:02
OK, so now we are going to have to ban poop jokes.
Because Dick Cheney’s spawn are offended.
You just offended poop. Off with your head.
mikey said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:25
Jillian. You end up where you are at the end of a long series of events. You take your hits in the flesh, you win a few tactically important but strategically meaningless battles, and it all shapes what you are. You, of all people, have nothing to apologize for. You are the bearer of the light. Sometimes you not only have to rip the clowns, you need to. Because the cost is unbearable unless you can drive your stake in the ground and say:
THIS IS ME
THIS IS WHAT I THINK
AND IF YOU’RE OFFENDED, I DON’T HAVE THE CYCLES TO SPARE!!
That’s what you say…
mikey
kingubu said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:26
First kerfluffle: revisit to old, harmless, not funny joke. kingubu’s response was, for lack of a better word, the right one. not funny, i’m fat, awwwww, whatevah, let’s move on. (not funny not for being fat humor, but for being easy and obvious.)
In so far as I had anything to do with touching off this madness (the “fat suit/mall experiment” I guess) I’m deeply sorry.
etc said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:26
Man, I am not reading another long thread where people act offended at a four month old fat joke. Too much. I’ll just cut to the chase:
1. “Pork tuba” is funny as hell
2. Homer Simpson is the modern stepin fetchit
thank you
JK47 said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:27
The canard that the Dafyyd Sandwich is somehow lowering the nation’s discourse is insulting and reeks of self-importance. “Snarky humor on medium-traffic blogs allows the Republicans to win.” I mean, fuck that noise. Nobody gives a shit what Feministe thinks about anything, save for a few hundred people.
STOP PRETENDING LIKE ANY OF THIS MATTERS. You don’t like fat jokes, there are plenty of blogs out there for you.
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:27
JackGoff said,
Johnny Cash notwithstanding, I do not agree that developing a “thick skin� is something that is requisite for people in a progressive society. As there isn’t really anywhere to go with this argument (wussy-boys vs. true men or whatever), I’ll jump out here.
that’s funny. SNosians have been bellowing at me to develop a thick skin for the past two days. Thick skin is a bitch to take care of.
Jillian said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:30
I love you, mikey.
kc said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:31
Honest to Bejus, if I thought that pic of ab Hughsit with the Photoshopped sub was egregiously hurtful or over the top, I would say so. But I really didn’t think it was that bad. It would have been funny even if ab Hughsit didn’t have a little avoirdupoids.
I can’t believe it ignited such a massive flamewar. I guess we should all just be grateful the original pic didn’t come from the dude’s WEDDING.
Righteous Bubba said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:33
In so far as I had anything to do with touching off this madness (the “fat suit/mall experiment� I guess) I’m deeply sorry.
It’s a worthwhile thing to think about. Putting on the Althouse here, wasn’t there some idiotic reality show in which a desirable woman put on the fat suit to see which of her beaus was a shit? Good times.
kc said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:35
Btw, although I myself am a drunk, I do not take offense every time someone calls Hitchens a gin-soaked popinjay.
elendil said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:35
Shitbag fuckrock monster cock, I think that this and the previous post is a perfect display of the difference between this blog and the kinds of blogs it comes up against. When Malkin Thing tore a hole in the space time continuum with the “logic” behind her “destroyed” versus “damaged” post, she made no follow ups to acknowledge her error, let alone apologise for it. Instead she obfuscated some more by conveniently “misunderstanding” why it was significant that “destroyed” only appeared in the initial raw feed. When Patterico completely missed the whole point of your disagreement with him about it, he used the fact that some people called him “Pattycakes” (how mean!) to disregard the whole thing, conveniently avoiding having to acknowledge the fact that he’d fucked up. But here you’ve been blamed for and called God-knows-what, and you’ll at least acknowledge the points being made, even if you don’t agree with them all. Good for you. Nobody behaves flawlessly, but pretending you do and clapping your hands over your ears when someone shows otherwise can only work for so long.
the dryyyyyyy cracker said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:38
Brad R, I know that you’re using it to illustrate a totally different point, so your stance on this may well be identical to mine, but just in case it’s not, allow me to register my disagreement.
As a clinical depressive, I speak for all clinical depressives, and our opinion is, the problem with “off his or her meds” jokes (note gender-neutral language) is that they are TOTALLY HACK.
The Onion ran the headline “Depression Sufferer Insufferable” a few years back. THAT is funny as hell.
As for this perceived offense you’ve commited–and you really should stop doing anything that might offend someone who just liiiiiiives to be offended–what mikey said up there (any of ‘em), except less Mametian. DAMN that dude can write.
OH MY GOD I HOPE I HAVEN’T OFFENDED MEMBERS OF THE SUBPAR WORDSMITH COMMUNITY
Lawnguylander said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:42
Does anyone else look at the picture of daffy and any other picture of an out of shape wing nut and feel like they’re staring at the personification of the gaping maw of a hyper-consumerist society that is all too happy to use violence to control more of the world’s resources? Maybe a barrell of oil would have been a more germane image from this point of view but not as funny as mass amounts of luncheon meat. Inability to control one’s appetites is a human foible and foibles are funny. If someone makes fun of the fact that there are people who consume an inordinate share of the world’s kindest bud to make fun of a wingnut and his role in society, said stoners are probably not going to get too upset about it. I’m sure we’ll, I mean they’ll take one for the team.
As for Jack Goff, he came over here for a debate and some of you treated him like a wingnut troll which was too bad. Save that shit for the real wingnuts I say. And I agree with ADB that Lesley has been way out of line.
the_millionaire_lebowski said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:52
it would be funnier if you photoshopped a sandwich into my uterus, though.
If you use Miracle Whip, does that make it an immaculate conception?
…and thus the internet was born.
mikey said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:54
Mametian. I had to go to the google. Made me laugh right out loud. Salesmen!! Men selling things!! Can you not see it??
Thanks for that. I’m going to put it in the complement column, and smirk about it tomorrow when some 27 year old MBA is telling me my voice over script is just not compelling, y’know?
mikey
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:55
Political ideologues can be as nauseating as the religious-right freaks. it’s why i abandoned politics altogether from the late 70s until Bush got elected. I can’t stand the “scour your brains with soap for being incorrectâ€? bullshit.
annieangel said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:56
“My point more was that I think men AND women should have the confidence in themselves where they can simply brush off stupid things that people say.”
Brad, the thing you don’t understand is when people are made fun of because of how they look they become less confident. I mean, no one envy’s the fat person’s body shape. Any attention to the way they look would either be negative, “helpfully” rude, or downright rude, like the “Hey Koolaid” thing. And then of course, depending on how fat they are, people will stare, point and giggle. Every time they go in public.
Yeah, they should just brush it all off. Because you know, they’re just fat people, they should lighten up and be all jolly.
When you are depressed, do you cheer up because someone tells you to shake it off and just be happy??? It’s the same deal.
It seems you have offended fat people online. Online they will lecture you and be all tuff, because online they have the confidence given them by being physically unknown.
Let them yell at you but for crying out loud, enough with the placating bullshit. You made a joke. BIG DEAL. The endless crap that is going on now is the stupidest shit ever. You trying to I dunno, make everyone happy while still trying to get across that it’s a joke, and it’s not working. Give it up.
Unless you’re having fun. :D
NobodySpecial said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:59
I’m just glad we managed to miss any fruit jokes with the photoshopped vegetables.
JennaV said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:04
I had never heard of Dafydd until I saw his picture posted on this blog, and could not understand why he deserved such scornful treatment. I had to waste a half hour of my day googling this man, reading through his blog, and driving up his blog traffic. I believe this man should be judged not by his looks, but by the content of his character. Here are his words:
America should outsource torture — limited to extraordinary circumstances — for the same reason neighborhoods “outsource” animal slaughter to slaughterhouses, factories to industrial areas (or even other countries), and the holding of prisoners to established prisons.
It’s really just an example of zoning: America is not zoned for torture, so we rendite certain special captives to a country that is. We outsource polluting industries to places where the natural byproducts won’t cause us as much harm — and the same practice makes just as much sense for torture.
It may sound odd, but it’s really no different than what every city council in America does every day.
Hatched by Dafydd on this day, February 12, 2006, at the time of 9:13 PM
It is right and just to expose such words to ridicule, because these words are worthy of the utmost scorn and contempt. Focusing on Dafydd’s appearance obscures his reprehensible message. Ask yourself what you are trying to accomplish by publishing this unflattering photo. The posters at Sadly, No may be familiar with the writings of Dafydd, but this casual reader did not. Fat is not the issue. His ideas are the issue.
Leonard Pierce said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:16
If I have learned anything today, it is that victims of Othering are keenly sensitive to the jibes of non-Others. As a semi-professional comic author, it is my job to make people laugh; but as a liberal, it is my duty to not increase the marginalization of others. Therefore, I have developed a calculus that will allow me to detect when it is appropriate to comment on the minority-status attributes of my fellow man, based on my own degree of otherness. The resultant figures will be measured in positive or negative Big Sandwich Points.
I am American. -1 Big Sandwich Point.
I am also a male. -2 Big Sandwich Points.
However, I am a liberal living in a red state. +1 Big Sandwich Points.
I am heterosexual, but I don’t go out much. Draw.
I am only half-white. +1 Big Sandwich Points.
The white half is Irish. Draw.
The nonwhite half, though, is SAUDI ARABIAN! Home of most of the 9/11 terrorists! SCORE! +5 Big Sandwich Points!
Unfortunately, I am not a Muslim. -1 Big Sandwich Points.
On the other hand, I am not a Christian either. I’m an atheist. +1 Big Sandwich Points.
I am fat. +2 Big Sandwich Points!
But not really super fat. -1 Big Sandwich Points!
I’m, uh…hmmm. I like rap music! +1/2 Big Sandwich Points?
So, I dunno, let’s call it a nice round +5 Big Sandwich Points, which means I am only entitled to make fun of people slightly less white and fat than I am. Also, I can feature Photoshopped images of Daffyd ab Hugh holding a big sandwich on my website, but the big sandwich can be no longer than 6 inches.
Caveat said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:23
The celery made me laugh out loud! Don’t listen to fatheaded comments from wannabe mollycoddlers, you are hilarious!
Jillian said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:24
Also, can I just add how much I hate it when some person out there anoints themselves Grand Spokesperson for some Oppressed group that I happen to belong to myself? Especially when I don’t agree with a damn thing they’re saying?
Okay, so that’s really apropos of nothing. But then again, all of this has been that as well.
So I hereby decree that any further attempts to settle this matter must be done not by commenting directly, but by adding captions to film on this website.
This seriously looks like an awesomely silly toy. If it weren’t already three hours past my bedtime, I’d be up all night playing with it.
Alek Hidell said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:25
You know something, Brad? It’s really too bad that that first comment you quoted — about the shallowness of the political discourse (Al Gore is a nerd, Hillary is too mean, etc.) — was created in the service of such a meaningless criticism. Because taken on its own, it’s a damn fine comment.
aunt bea traven said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:32
you’ll never play the big rooms, kid
if you apologize every time a tourist gets bent at your joke.
have confidence in your material, and if a joke bites, eat it and move on.
only don rickles can call someone a hockeypuck for 85 minutes
and make it right in the last five.
and kid, you ain’t rickles.
Jerri Blank said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:38
I wanna be on the debate team!
a different brad said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:41
You’ll never be on the debate team with those thighs, Jerri. They make your arguments seem so… flabby.
Gentlewoman said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:49
I’m a PTSD victim drug addict convicted felon with high blood pressure.
Yeah, but I hear you’re fun at parties.
Like Jillian, I love you, too, mikey, but you know that.
I love Bradrocket, as well, but please don’t tell him, as it will only go to his head. And it hurts me that Brad is coming to hate blogging, because he does it so well. It would hurt me even more if he stopped blogging.
PS I’m a poor, disabled woman, who is over 50 years old, and I can say whatever the fuck I want. And you (the collective, liberal and non-liberal you) cannot bitch at me.
Not just because I trump you on Teh Suffering Scale (which is pretty much true), and you will look like assholes if you pick on me, but because I am a totally gold-plated bitch on wheels and I will kick your ass. Because I can, that’s why.
Well, that, and because it’s fun. When it stops being fun, I’ll quit.
Can we stop this now, and get back to kicking Republican ass? Because I find this internecine conflict tedious and counterproductive.
Thank you.
Love,
GW
You're Cut Too, Shooshy said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:58
Please Brad R., don’t join Malkin’s legion of one-handed readers and start coming to hate blogging. It will make you go blind.
mikey said,
March 2, 2007 at 5:59
Shooshy?
Shoelimpyâ„¢ said,
March 2, 2007 at 6:07
I don’t understand why the feminist people aren’t going crazy over the picture Amanda Marcotte put up of a man and a woman’s wedding day to make some political point. She puts up a picture of a man and a woman on their wedding day, the happiest day of their lives, and assumes that it is a tragedy because the man has been disabled. What right does she have to bash on the disabled as if once you are disabled you are no longer human? What right does she have to use him and his bride in such a way?
That is what the feminists should really be mad at. She is denying a woman the ability to truly love a man just because the man is disabled, she is denying a disabled man the chance to be happy because he is disabled. Who is she to judge them? Because she looked at one photograph out of context?
It is rather disgusting that they would make such a big deal out of a fat joke but simply ignore such vile treatment of the disabled at the hands of “fellow feminist” Marcotte. It is sickening.
I mean, you put up a picture of a man holding a big sandwich. I didn’t even realize it was photoshopped, I thought he was actually holding the sandwich. It certainly didn’t look out of place, I am sure he has eaten sandwiches twice that size as an appetizer before. The one of him holding the giant celery in his hands is what really made me laugh.
But assuming a fat man likes to eat is an entirely different thing that assuming a bride and groom are living a miserably tragic existence because of the fact the groom has become disabled. That is sick, disgusting and a spit in the face to all disabled people, especially disabled soldiers and veterans.
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 6:13
And just to answer this:
She puts up a picture of a man and a woman on their wedding day, the happiest day of their lives, and assumes that it is a tragedy because the man has been disabled.
No, she didn’t. You didn’t read her post. She said that him being sent to a pointless war in which he was wounded was the tragedy. The picture is meant to show that he, the soldier, is a human being (I know, empathy wells are drying up everywhere it seems, but maybe we can haul up another bucket or two, yeah?), and yet the wingers have treated him and his fellow soldiers like trash. You know about the travesty that is the VA and Walter Reed, correct? That was the point.
tigrismus said,
March 2, 2007 at 6:28
I’m still waiting for the day that Sadly, No! makes fun of a Native American. Then of course my opinion will have to do a 180.
Are you saying you’ll eat Crow? Or would you Sioux? I Hopi not…
Shoelimpyâ„¢ said,
March 2, 2007 at 6:31
Putting up the picture treats him like trash. How is a wedding a tragedy? It is the happiest day of their lives, it is not a tragedy to take a snapshot of to use to make your own political points. She is denying them the right to their happiness by implying that his disability must make it a tragedy. How does she know what was going through their minds that day? Other pictures have been released of the pair on their special day and they seemed happy to me, but because he was disabled in Iraq it means that it must be a tragic day for them, right?
That was exactly what Marcotte was saying.
Then she shows the picture. Which means that this pair, because he is disabled, MUST BE SUFFERING ON THEIR WEDDING DAY according to Marcotte. They are not allowed to have happiness on that day, because Amanda Marcotte says they are suffering because he is disabled. That is robbing both of them of their humanity, turning them into puppets to be used at will by bloggers like her.
RubDMC said,
March 2, 2007 at 6:36
“I don’t think fat jokes were responsible for the 2000 election.”
I’m not so sure. Is Antonin Scalia a fat joke?
The question answers itself.
Nino said,
March 2, 2007 at 6:55
Yo, RubDMC!!
atheist said,
March 2, 2007 at 6:58
Dude, I cannot fucking believe that the denizens of feministe take this shit seriously. Brad you are absolutely correct, this entire thing is just effing absurd. Its a frikkin joke for crying out loud!
annieangel said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:08
Isn’t it kinda like saying, “I hate those dirty, brown, smelly Muslim terrorists” and it being ok, because they are the enemy and they hate and kill anyone who isn’t a dirty, brown, smelly Muslim terrorist?
In that case, would it be ok to call them dirty and brown and smelly, not to mention to use Muslim as if it in itself is an offensive characteristic???
And maybe photoshop some Muslim guy fucking a camel??
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:15
Well, I don’t presume to speak for Amanda, nor do I presume to speak for the wounded vet, but what I saw was a beautiful couple, forced to cope with the consequences of a bunch of selfish, egomaniacal fools who forced that soldier to be placed in a position where his life was interrupted and his body maimed. The fact of the disability is not what is stressed, but the direct cause.
At least, that is they way the entire post and thread reads to me. We have another winger who tries to make it out that, because we lefties fucking curse too goddamn much, we are the morally defunct side of the blogosphere. Bah, it’s the same from all sides. We call you morally reprobate for mocking teh Fat, you call us torture apologists who just love a good Abu Ghraib, the Repugs call us a bunch of potty mouth bigots, and more people die and are maimed because the wankosphere is busy searching for more lube.
Very tiring. My last post on this horseshit, I swear.
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:17
more people die and are maimed because the wankosphere is busy searching for more lube
Shite, should read:
“more people die and are maimed while the wankosphere is busy searching for more lube”
GoatBoy said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:40
“It would have been funny even if ab Hughsit didn’t have a little avoirdupoids.”
Exactly. Giant sandwich? Funny!
That should have been the civil and decent end of it.
forked tongue said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:44
I have a very simple rule on this.
If jokes about personal appearance are made at the expense of people I like, they (the jokes) are douchebaggy.
If, on the other hand, they are made at the expense of despicable fucktards who are lucky JUST to be ranked on for their weight/skin/bizarrely prominent Adam’s Apple//ineluctable fugliness problems, then who gives a damn?
I believe that if we could all adopt this simple rule, we would be able to resolve many of the problems that divide us, and would find that It’s a Small World, After All.
atheist said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:47
Actually, I think the left blogosphere doesn’t make enough fat jokes.
tbogg said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:49
To get a wee bit personal here: I am a chronically depressed person. I take medication for my depression.
Oh dear. Jeff Godlstein just got an erection.
And we know that no good has ever come of that…
atheist said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:50
This whole effin’ thing is ridiculous. I never imagined how bizzarre people at feministe would act. Jeez I guess there really are people who are just total ideologoues.
turducken said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:51
“My last post on this horseshit, I swear.”
I wish I could believe that.
The poster formerly known as 'The Highest Order' said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:55
The last several days have made me think. Is obesity a disease like alcoholism or paedophilia, a lifestyle choice like homosexuality and feminism , or is second-hand fat just a problem like second-hand smoke, easily solved by government intervention? In the last 24 hours i have given this some serious thought, and, if you will indulge me, I will clarify my conclusions.
First, perhaps I should introduce myself. Since 1989 I have been wheelchair bound. My son and I innocently stumbled into the gangland robbery of a convenience store in south LA. My spine was severed by a shotgun blast and much of my intestine was lost. My son, a cheerful, curious and intelligent boy of ten caught a weird piece of shrapnel that passed behind his eyeball and sliced though his brain to the back of his skull. He spent the next two years in a semi-vegetative state before passing on. My wife, a strong woman who never had a bad word to say about anyone, couldn’t handle it, at first never leaving the house, then never leaving the bedroom. No amount of therapy helped. Six years ago this April she locked herself in the bathroom with a bottle of Tylenol and ended her suffering. I miss them both so much.
But I’ve never been a person who complains about my plight, my life has offered up its misfortunes, but i know from experience that other people have it worse. No wheelchair access? Some people can’t afford wheelchairs. I can no longer do the job I loved, but I found another job, raising funds to build and staff schools in underprivileged impoverished countries. I thought I had found peace.
But the internet works in mysterious ways, the arguments of the last several days and the counsel of an internet forum friend have made me rethink my life. For years I have used mockery and sarcasm as a crutch to hide my own pain. I have mocked people online because of their hairstyles, their taste in music, their faith. I have mocked people for their political beliefs, I have even found wicked humour in calling others ‘cobag’ even though I long for those precious quiet moments on the toilet with a magazine. I’ve disbelieved usenet posters and blog commenters when they described their medical problems, their autistic children, the sweet moment of lucidity when the acid and the napalm strike and the lack of oxygen converge.
I am sorry. I apologize. And i mean that, not like, ‘Im sorry if you were offended’, or ‘Im sorry if you didnt get the joke, it was just, after all, a joke i dont really hate Catholics or Jews or Muslims or rednecks with mullets who seek dates on Hannidate’ , I really am sorry and I pray for forgiveness.
My hope is that we can all learn from this, as i have, and continue the struggle to make ours a better world.
etc said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:56
#
JackGoff said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:17
more people die and are maimed because the wankosphere is busy searching for more lube
Shite, should read:
“more people die and are maimed while the wankosphere is busy searching for more lube�
No Jack, you were right the first time.
Bloggofacist said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:59
Dude… tell the fat jokes. If they are funny. You can never possibly avoid offending people who make Offensitivity a lifestyle. Your joke was awesome. If you drive off every single person who can’t deal with a fat joke … small loss (insert fat joke here).
Robert Green said,
March 2, 2007 at 8:12
i had some point to make, but…fucking….whatever. just whatever.
fat jokes are funny. holocaust jokes are funny. jokes about how white people and black people are different are funny.
holocaust denial isn’t funny. 600 pound americans who can’t get out of their house without a forklift aren’t funny. using the term “nigger” if you are an angry white guy isn’t funny. richard pryor says it and it’s funny.
comedy is complicated. i deal with it for a living. in my opinion, that fuckwit genocidal apologist needs to be ridiculed, and weight was an excellent choice. a rich vein of comedy. and sorry, fat people of the world, but the level of plight (if indeed one accepts there is any at all) simply doesn’t measure up to the comedy.
oh, jokes about irish people and liquor, funny. jews killing jesus jokes–almost always funny. and fuck any religious asshole who doesn’t like it.
comedy. it’s fucking comedy.
there’s a real bottom line here–comedy that attacks the powerful and supports the powerless is always better for you in a cod liver oil kind of way, but isn’t always funnier. and dafydd represents, is a synedoche for, power. the right runs our country. people whose beliefs are very close to that of dafydd run our country. so fuck them if they can’t take a joke.
Glen Tomkins said,
March 2, 2007 at 8:13
The nuns won
On the face of it, you might not think so, because I’m one of those fanatical atheists that only a Catholic grade school education can produce. But they really did win, because my gold standard ethical discriminator is whether a given action will make the Baby Jesus cry. Yes, fat jokes don’t make the Baby Jesus cry nearly as much as genocide, but you didn’t need any fancy ethical testing apparatus to know that genocide is wrong. And the bad that we do, like the food that we eat, all goes to the same place, so even the small stuff adds up.
So, lay off the fat jokes.
And please don’t tell me to lay off the Catholic jokes. The Baby Jesus smiles a special smile when you fuck with the Pope.
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 8:24
First, perhaps I should introduce myself. Since 1989 I have been wheelchair bound. My son and I innocently stumbled into the gangland robbery of a convenience store in south LA. My spine was severed by a shotgun blast and much of my intestine was lost. My son, a cheerful, curious and intelligent boy of ten caught a weird piece of shrapnel that passed behind his eyeball and sliced though his brain to the back of his skull. He spent the next two years in a semi-vegetative state before passing on. My wife, a strong woman who never had a bad word to say about anyone, couldn’t handle it, at first never leaving the house, then never leaving the bedroom. No amount of therapy helped. Six years ago this April she locked herself in the bathroom with a bottle of Tylenol and ended her suffering. I miss them both so much.
if this were true i’d be weeping and sending his paypal my hard-earned cash. it’s not and I laughed my ass off.
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 8:32
i also find this lou and andy sketch funny, which must mean i’m insensitive to people in wheelchairs who are bald, fat and can’t read.
RubDMC said,
March 2, 2007 at 8:34
All these many comments later, and no one has mentioned Marshall Mcluhan who famously said: “Every joke has an underlying grievance.”
Meaning - there’s something seriously unfunny at the core of everything that makes us laugh. Otherwise, why would we laugh?
That explains everything for me, and I hope it does for you, too.
Now, where is that pitcher full of Bloody Mary’s?
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 8:36
600 pound americans who can’t get out of their house without a forklift aren’t funny
um…i’m sorry but i do find this statement amusing. which makes me sick, i know.
Some Guy said,
March 2, 2007 at 8:43
http://emuse.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/14770
Fat jokes?
star said,
March 2, 2007 at 8:51
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kingubu said,
March 2, 2007 at 9:07
http://emuse.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/14770
You know, the whole stupid thing has been worth it, just because of that video.
a different brad said,
March 2, 2007 at 9:21
Oh wow, yeah.
That’s effing amazing, Some Guy.
Almost makes me glad my mother has performed in professional gilbert and sullivan productions all my life, meaning i was forced to be around it a lot as a kid, cause made that damn near cathartic.
Almost.
a different brad said,
March 2, 2007 at 9:25
*cause it….
see what fat jokes do?
they make the preview button feel bad and hide and cry
and don’t tell me the dates are all messed up
advanced beings like preview buttons don’t adhere to our primitive notions of temporal flow
why do you think it’s called the preview button?
Johnny Pi said,
March 2, 2007 at 9:35
Crap, this is my last chance to offer up nothing constructive whatsoever. Since I’m too lazy to read through all fifty million comments here, there, and everywhere, I may be saying something that’s already been said.
Re: The fat joke . . .
How many of those fine progressives that complained do you think are going to lead the charge against Al Franken for writing that very offensive book ‘Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot?’
My guess? Zero.
If it’s worth anything, my take on the Daffyd pic was that you were poking fun at him for being fat, not poking fun at him for being fat.
The poster formerly known as 'The Highest Order' said,
March 2, 2007 at 9:40
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 8:24
if this were true i’d be weeping and sending his paypal my hard-earned cash. it’s not and I laughed my ass off.
I wish you luck with your affliction, Lesley, be you girl or boy. But fear not, many have survived with less. And, although you may not speak the funny, you do often have a point. I too fear for American’s health, altho they notice not their expanding girth, much as the student does not recognize his growing knowledge or the hippy does not recognize his growing beard, it is for us, rare travelers in that unusual land, to point out how similar they are in appearance to that scene in that King Kong movie when the brontosorouses tumble over each other, for they do not see it in themselves.
But let us mock no longer, for we must not goof upon the chubby or the thin, the feminist with her douchbag, the homosexual with his television show, the heterosexual with his majority. Mock yee neither the brown of skin or the slightly tan, the re-arming Japanese and/or the scary fundamendalist Islam fellas. Give the poor guy with the colostomy bag a break, help a cripple up some stairs and drop a nickel into the beggars cup, you know you can spare it.
The poster formerly known as 'The Highest Order' said,
March 2, 2007 at 9:44
Much must we weep the loss of the preview button, for without its chubby little grey bit we often cannot prevail and thus look stupideth.
Humpty Hump said,
March 2, 2007 at 9:47
Yeah I called you fat. Look at me, I’m skinny!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2-jVU5Lqxx0
Innocent Bystander said,
March 2, 2007 at 9:48
#
FlipYrWhig said,
March 2, 2007 at 4:17
Spotted at Feministe:
While some wingnuts will go into hysterics over the threat that Islam poses to “Western values� while simultaneously supporting religiously-motivated sexist, homophobic, regressive legislation, at least bed-wetter Dinesh D’Souza is consistent
Why does Dinesh D’Souza have to be a “bed-wetter�? Shouldn’t he really get ridiculed for being wrong? Why does opposing D’Souza have to involve belittling, even treating as disgusting, a bodily function that can be a genuine health issue? This degrades the discourse, and, ultimately, is a key reason why the left loses elections.
——————————————
Now, I’m not saying Brad and HTML should build an entire post over their angst that such a mean spirited comment could be made by the folks at Feministe…but I would certainly understand their need to draw attention to this flagrant attack against all bedwetters and point out how this takes away focus from the legitimate arguments with our RW ideologues.
Anyone have a spare petard?
CS Lewis Jr. said,
March 2, 2007 at 9:51
Does no one want to talk about Art Frahm?
Happenstance said,
March 2, 2007 at 10:07
Meh. Fat jokes don’t offend me. Morons who belt out the ol’ “you wouldn’t BE fat if you’d just stop gorging yourself and exercised JUST A LITTLE BIT” line with such certainty and authority offend me.
As I think I amply explained in my one post in “that” thread, individuals like Lesley wouldn’t BE stupid if they’d just stop regurgitating what they hear from stand-up comics and read up on the subject JUST A LITTLE BIT. (Oh God, please don’t let the irony escape them when they read this.)
Anyway–I seriously think Brad and HTML should come down off their cross, dab their sniffles with a hankie, and suck it up. I don’t think anyone involved has done half as much defensive bawling as you guys. (Not that I’m about to go look again, mind you…)
The poster formerly known as 'The Highest Order' said,
March 2, 2007 at 10:30
CS Lewis Jr. said,
March 2, 2007 at 9:51
Does no one want to talk about Art Frahm?
Peace be with you friend. A simple reading of the comments would show that no one actually reads the comments. Hey, it just the way things work, no one cares about your nostalgic version of upskirt Norman Rockwellesque America. People have long since moved on to their double deep dish triple cheese pan fried pizza.
Lesley said,
March 2, 2007 at 10:42
hey i’m not the only one who advocates fewer calories and exercise for the genuinely gluttonous. but i am the only one getting absolute shit for it.
still not apologizing.
Danny Guam said,
March 2, 2007 at 11:05
Michele Malkin is a duck.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/148/405439181_bc0ccd60c5.jpg
Anne Laurie said,
March 2, 2007 at 11:22
I laughed so hard at the original Daffy ap Hugh picture, it made my belly fat jiggle. Only joined the pigwrestling in the postings when someone tried the “All fat people are lazy, greedy, and ignorant! Time for our ten-minute hate!” routine, because there’s a difference between personal invective and lazy stereotyping — especially lazy stereotyping disguised as Correct Thought. My dad (survivor of many a bar fight) referred to it as the ‘You People’ Barrier: it’s okay to call some third party a fat pig, you might even get away with pointing out that your new drinking buddy is a fat pig, but if you find yourself starting a sentence like “What is it with you fat people… ?” or “The trouble with all you fat people is… ” you have crossed the YP Barrier. And crossing the YPB leads to fistfights, scarring, and running up a tab for breakages that could better be spent on more beer (or drugs, or calories, or hookers — whatever your preferred indulgence).
Of course, most of what passes for political blogging consists of crossing the YPB, but one wants to use enough forethought to ensure that most of one’s barbs are aimed at the enemy, not one’s fellow combatants on the side of Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Although since progressives have a lot in common with cats, any gathering of either species, no matter how well-fed and sun-drowsy, will be punctuated with the occasional 30-second bout of cacophony and ninja moves contingent upon some territorial violation invisible to the casual observer. The worst result of such spats is usually nothing more than a furious bout of displacement self-grooming, anyway…
Ampersand said,
March 2, 2007 at 11:31
Hey, that’s what I tried to do. I made a brief, snarky comment, and then I didn’t expect to ever think about it again. Next thing I know, there’s three threads going on over here and a 500+ post thread on Feministe. :-P
HTML Mencken said,
March 2, 2007 at 11:31
Love ya, Anne Laurie.
Twisted_Colour said,
March 2, 2007 at 11:46
Bad grammar will destroy us! !!!!!!!!!!
I think my arse is bleeding again………….
Ivan Awfulcat said,
March 2, 2007 at 11:48
This whole mess reminds me of the Bloom County strip wherein Otis, Opus, and random strangers are at a bus stop, yelling about being offended by one another’s being offended.
For the record, being a fat boycat, I’m only offended by the fact that you people don’t spend enough time on topics of interest to your feline readership, whatever their weight. *Disdainful sniff*
Some Guy said,
March 2, 2007 at 12:01
Hehe. Glad you guys liked it. That was pretty much the effect I was hoping for.
Bloom County FTW. Though I don’t remember an “Otis”…. was he one of the crazy Old Persons?
Monkey C. Monkeydew said,
March 2, 2007 at 12:03
As a fat, left-handed, clinically depressed person (really!–also I’m bald and short) I really can’t understand the pov of those who are offended by fat jokes. If a fat joke (or depression joke, or baldy joke, or short joke) offends you then it must mean you feel some shame at being fat (or etc). I’m not ashamed at being fat. I’ll tell you the fat jokes myself.
I’m so fat that when a beeper goes off people think I’m backing up!
And if others think I should be ashamed to be fat–well they should just be ashamed to be judgemental assholes. Maybe we just need more judgemental asshole jokes.
kingubu said,
March 2, 2007 at 12:35
Maybe we just need more judgmental asshole jokes.
The sad irony is that you are saying this at Sadly, No!, the General Motors of judgmental asshole joke manufacturing.
Herr Doktor Bimler