It’s something I struggle with. Some bad news comes out about some public persona doing something shitty and they get cancelled. But sometimes I really struggle with giving up the things they’ve made because I like them. There are also occasions where the person has been accused of something and it doesn’t seem true to me, or I think they’re genuinely sorry and have been punished enough, and the context isn’t being considered.
What do you think? Who do you feel conflicted about enjoying?
I agree with you. I don’t think he’s anti-trans. I think he’s incredibly insensitive.
What I truly believe here is that his perspective is that it’s progressive to make jokes about groups that are historically off limits because doing so breaks a social barrier. That’s what I think he believes and I think he’s getting it wrong.
I don’t think social mores factor into it all for him. When he said he finds the position of trans people genuinely funny, I think he was being honest. I do think he went too far with his jokes about them, simply in terms of sheer number; it was a social faux pas that strained the credulity of his stated position, but I personally believe him when he says he just finds the whole situation very funny.
I think he doesn’t care what other people think of his comedy at this point, and I don’t really have an opinion on that. I suppose I sort of respect it, but I also think he’s definitely passed into the realm of bad taste at this point. I don’t think he means anything bad by it though. Maybe he is insensitive, but comedians aren’t known for their sensitivity. I understand the criticism against him for it and think it’s valid.
I’m not defending the offensiveness of his jokes, just stating that I think they’re just jokes to him, and he doesn’t actually mean them in a mean-spirited light. If I were to talk to him about it, I would probably ask him how he feels about White comedians that make jokes about Black people, who also claim they’re not advocating anti-Black views, and just find the humor in their situations. I imagine he might reveal himself to be quite the hypocrite under that line of questioning. Most of us are hypocrites.