Free speech, for or against?

[Saphire]

Example...
Jimmy Carr has been criticised for a joke he made in his most recent Netflix comedy special about travellers.

In a widely shared clip of the stand-up show His Dark Material – which arrived on Netflix on Christmas Day – the comedian tells the audience: “Strap in everyone, you ready?”
He goes on.....

“When people talk about the Holocaust, they talk about the tragedy and horror of six million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine. But they never mention the thousands of gypsies that were killed by the Nazis.
No one ever talks about that because no one wants to talk about the positives."

A group called 'The Travellers Movement' have said... “This is truly disturbing and goes way beyond humour. We need all your support in calling this out.”
The group has also asked Netflix to remove the special from its platform.

A statement has also been issued by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust criticising Carrs 'abhorrent jokes'.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

Against!
I must admit, I thought the days of minorities being the butt of jokes were long gone. Bringing the Holocaust into it is only adding fuel to the fire...

 

[Saphire]

People who watch Jimmy Carr’s stuff do so BECAUSE he tries to shock, not despite it. He’s done Holocaust jokes before, as well as stuff about child abuse and Princess Di. If people get offended by comedy the answer is simple… didn’t watch/listen. This cancel culture BS needs to stop.

The fact is Carr has probably done the Traveller community more good than harm in raising this as an issue, but hey, let’s ignore that and have a tantrum.

No one is having a tantrum. But if people are deeply offended by the context of his material, they are entitled to say so.

How far free speech can be taken is very hard to actually pinpoint. We have libel laws, using offensive language, inciting violence with words, all against the law.
The difficulty is deciding what meets that criteria, what goes from a bad taste 'joke' to an offence?
Some people are offended by everything....some have never felt that emotion.

 

[Saphire]

Against!
I must admit, I thought the days of minorities being the butt of jokes were long gone. Bringing the Holocaust into it is only adding fuel to the fire...

I think, in today's society, it actually depends on which minorities you are taking the p out of.

 

[Saphire]

Of course people were deeply offended, it was the worst event in history, and of course they have the right to say they are offended. But being offended should not automatically mean that causing offence is illegal. The Woke lot and PC mob offend me deeply but I accept their right to be stupid. (That’s a joke, in case anyone is offended by being called stupid)

The PC permanently offended mob get on my nerves too, but sometimes, when people can't monitor themselves properly, they have a place.
You can argue that if you go and see a performer, click onto a Netflix offering, log into a controversial site, you are seeking out to be offended.
National front sites, suicide forums, anti gay forums, no one has to click on them.

What about the vulnerable and the easily led?

 

[Saphire]

Well the law is decided by government, they have to be discussed and passed by the Commons, the lords and the Queen. Laws are made for the good of the society we live in, which is why they change over time.

Personally, I think, whilst some laws have changed for the better over recent decades, people are still managing to be crueller to each other than they ever were.

 

[Saphire]

I don't trust this or any government at the moment, so it would be interesting to see exactly which laws they are trying to reform in connection to human rights.

 

[BronzeSquirrel]

He's not even that funny. I don't find him or Frankie Boyle or the ghastly Chubby Brown funny either. I do think there should be free speech. But not hate speech.

 

[BronzeSquirrel]

The PC permanently offended mob get on my nerves too, but sometimes, when people can't monitor themselves properly, they have a place.
You can argue that if you go and see a performer, click onto a Netflix offering, log into a controversial site, you are seeking out to be offended.
National front sites, suicide forums, anti gay forums, no one has to click on them.

What about the vulnerable and the easily led?

The irony being that it's OK to let kids play ultra violent computer games, watch violence on TV and free access to the full gamut of horrors available on the internet. Perhaps, instead of hobbling adults, they need to crack down on what young people put into their impressionable heads.

 

[Saphire]

The irony being that it's OK to let kids play ultra violent computer games, watch violence on TV and free access to the full gamut of horrors available on the internet. Perhaps, instead of hobbling adults, they need to crack down on what young people put into their impressionable heads.

I agree with that too.

 

[Saphire]

He's not even that funny. I don't find him or Frankie Boyle or the ghastly Chubby Brown funny either. I do think there should be free speech. But not hate speech.

I can't stand either of the above either.
But then I think Billy Connelly was/is hilarious, and I quite like Ricky Gervais's humour.
Some people find them offensive....humour is very subjective.

 

[BronzeSquirrel]

I can't stand either of the above either.
But then I think Billy Connelly was/is hilarious, and I quite like Ricky Gervais's humour.
Some people find them offensive....humour is very subjective.

Yes, it's subjective for sure. I was watching some Charlie Chaplin the other day and it was so funny and still relevant all these years later. But Laurel and Hardy leave me cold. I'm not a fan of slap stick. Blackadder is a favourite of mine. Billy Connolly who can take the piss without being offensive. Ricky Gervais for his scathing sarcasm. Jo DeVito, who's hilarious. Chris Rock is another one I like.

 

[Saphire]

Yes, it's subjective for sure. I was watching some Charlie Chaplin the other day and it was so funny and still relevant all these years later. But Laurel and Hardy leave me cold. I'm not a fan of slap stick. Blackadder is a favourite of mine. Billy Connolly who can take the piss without being offensive. Ricky Gervais for his scathing sarcasm. Jo DeVito, who's hilarious. Chris Rock is another one I like.

Charlie Chaplin was a genius, his whimsical humour still makes kids giggle.
I agree about Laurel and Hardy...just not funny to me either.
Modern day unfunnies...Russel Brand can be lumped in with them.