The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #58415   Message #924985
Posted By: Seamus Kennedy
02-Apr-03 - 11:25 PM
Thread Name: BS: Culture of Offendedness
Subject: RE: BS: Culture of Offendedness
I don't wish to be repetitive, but I posted this over on the Eric Bogle "I Hate Wogs" thread, and I 'd just like to add his.
Stop and think for a moment before re-acting. Is someone TRYING to be offensive? Are they seriously trying to be hurtful?

I still do a lot of satire and irony in both my comedy patter and songs, and I get a raft of shit from people who obviously were not taught irony and satire in high-school English classes. It's no wonder Tom Lehrer is not performing any longer.
Sometimes I get written complaints or e-mails, and I always respond to them asking if the writer had read any Dean Swift. Invariably they don't know who Swift was.
The one song that I get dragged over the coals for regularly is Old McDonald's Deformed Farm in which I speculate about animals having human handicaps complete with "symptoms' and "effects,' stuttering, lisp, Tourette's Syndrome et al.
I checked with several friends of mine who have the handicaps mentioned in the songs, and asked if they were offended or hurt. To a man they said no. But they're adults, and I can see where the mocking of a handicap might have an adverse effect on a child. So I don't do it when kids are in the audience.
I figure that thinking adults can discern the difference.
But, often I'm wrong.
There are people in this world whose sole function is to go around being "offended" so they can get a little bit of attention.
And frankly, I wish they'd turn all their attention on Catspaw.*BG*

Seamus