Friday, October 5, 2012

[Deadline Detroit] Why Can't Detroit Take A Joke?

Detroit, if you can take a dick, you can take a joke.

Comedian Tracy Morgan famously angered various activist groups when he said, “If you can take a dick, you can take a joke,” implying that gay people are too sensitive. Crass; yes. It’s comedy.

Recently I conducted interviews with long-time stand-up comedians Scott Thompson (“Kids in the Hall”) and Gilbert Gottfried. Both echoed the same sentiment: audiences are so serious, so easily offended now.

When discussing his comedy tour with fellow KITH alum Kevin McDonald, Thompson said: “It makes liberal white people so angry. They can’t handle it. They’re the worst. When it’s all white hipsters in the audience it’s the worst … I call them Left-necks!”

Gottfried, when discussing how the public reacts to off-color comedy, said: “Now this time period is so insane; it’s kind of like lynch mobs have evolved into the computer age. Now you can have a lynching without actually leaving your house. It makes it so convenient!”

Yes, now every time a person feels slighted they take to the Internet for an airing of grievances. Don’t like something? Tell the Internet! Better yet, start a Facebook page.

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