More on the Gervais Controversy

I watched Ricky Gervais on Piers Morgan's new show last night, and he was offensive in the worst possible way.  He declared himself an atheist, refused to apologize for anything he said at the Golden Globes, stated he did nothing wrong, defended himself, questioned why religion has the monopoly on being "good," stated (like I had earlier) that nobody had a right not to be offended, and did not repent.

Obviously, I'm being sarcastic when I say he was offensive.  He defended himself the absolute best way I've ever seen a celebrity do so under the same kind of fire.  I applauded him.  Here was a guy who knew who he was, knew that comedy was an art and was able to articulate why, refused to admit that the religious were the only people who could be good (and he had the best answer to that age-old question geared to atheists I've ever heard in the mass media).  He was, as Girl put it, "open and honest."  And it was damn refreshing.

He continually stated he did nothing wrong and nothing was sacred.  He was centered and self-actualized.  He knew what worked in his comedy, and stated he didn't care what people thought of him.  That wasn't his problem.  He also stated that when he did his comedy the only person he cared about making laugh was himself.  It sent chills down my broken spine.  This is exactly how the arts should be.  As soon as you start caring about what the public or even your audience thinks, and then start tailoring your work to that, you are doomed.

I know that some of you reading this are artists.  If you are worth anything at your craft, you know this to be true.  I also know some of you are pure entertainers (I'm not making a judgment call this time, Bryan), and you may not even care about the artistic side of things.  All good.  Some of you may have no idea what I'm prattling on about, and that's okay, too.  (I'm being super diplomatic this time, perhaps because I'm in pain and have already resigned today into the dustbin as I have a training to look forward to.)  You don't need to get it, but you do need the artists you admire to get it.  That is absolutely essential.

I'm glad Gervais refused to apologize.  I'm glad he made people uncomfortable.  I'm glad Morgan didn't let up on him, demanding through sane, pleasantly asked questions, that he justify himself.  Why?  Not because I wanted to see Gervais squirm (he didn't).  Because I knew Gervais could do it, and you rarely hear it done.  Too many people apologize for what they have said and done, blame it on one such thing or another, and act contrite.  Not many people buy it.  Gervais, on the other hand, stated flatly that he has nothing to apologize for and won't. 

Thank you, Ricky Gervais.  You get your art.  You get what it means.  You speak your mind and remain true to yourself, and by doing so you make it so that nobody can really hold anything over you.  If more artists spoke out with the same candor, we may have a society that actually reaches my expectations of what we can be.  Instead, we have a culture of self-entitled, self-important, hypocritical, happy-to-be-victims, offended-at-the-drop-of-a-hat, apologetic folks who wouldn't know truth if it slowly chewed open their necks.

Cheers, mate.

Safety in Boredom

I checked my e-mail this morning and found a missive defending the outrage over Ricky Gervais' hosting of the Golden Globes.  The letter writer does not read my blog, and nor is he a Facebook "friend."  I have refused to friend him simply because I know he would read what I write and be offended by it, and then I would get e-mails like the one that showed up in my inbox this morning.  I'm not going to reprint the entire thing here, as it would bore you.  However, you should note that Mr. X was under the impression that I watched the Golden Globes and that I would think the controversy over Gervais was ridiculous.  He was right about the latter.  My comments to his observations appear in brackets.

Mr. X thought Gervais went "way over the line" with "jokes about Jews and people's sexuality."  [I think drunks who insult Jews and then don't expect to get called on it go over the line.]  It was "uncalled for, unprofessional, and unfunny."  [It was definitely not unprofessional.  Gervais is a comedian.  That is what he is paid to do.]  An awards show, according to Mr. X, is "no place for comedy."  [Then why do they hire comedians?  Are the organizers of these award shows unaware of the hosts' daytime gigs?]  If a comedian "has to be used," they should go with "someone safe like Tim Allen or Hugh Grant."  [By 'safe' you mean 'boring.']  Otherwise, he states, they need to "stick to the professionals" and "not hire 'funny men.'"  [Professional award show hosts?  Who are these people?  Who would want to watch them?]

Mr. X was pretty certain I'd be upset over the fact that people were offended by "what were offensive jokes."  He suggested I "take a chill pill and realize that when you throw a bomb into the room you have to deal with the fallout."  [I have a problem with people equating words with bombs.  There's a term I hate.  'F Bomb.'  It's what people use when they don't want to say "fuck," because it will give cause their tongue to burst into flames or something.  If you are one of these people, here's what I want you to do.  Gather your loved ones in a room.  Stay at the door and yell, "Fuck!"  Wait five minutes.  Chances are your loved ones will still be in one piece.  Now take a grenade and throw it into the same room.  Wait five minutes.  The outcome is probably a bit different.  That's the difference between bombs and words.  See, you learned today!]

Mr. X pretty much epitomizes what my prior post was talking about.  He's the blissfully ignorant person who wonders through life with a smile and an expectation that nothing should ever offend him.  He just doesn't get it.

Speaking of not getting it, CNN jut reported that Regis Philbin is leaving his show.  This was reported as "just in" news.  I imagine that when this is what passes as news, it makes sense that you have a populace that becomes offended by people who poke fun at celebrities.

If you have anymore comments on this, please either comment here or on my Facebook page.  Otherwise I may run the e-mail with your name, e-mail address and all the misspellings intact.

If Thine Eye Offend Thee ...

Lesbianism is always offensive!

The "controversy" over a comedian (the always great Ricky Gervais) cracking jokes at the Golden Globes proves a theory I've had for years: the more easily offended you are, the lower your IQ score.  The epitome of this is when commentators actually expressed sympathy for Mel Gibson because of the jokes Gervais made.  Keep in mind that Gibson is a drunk, sexist, Anti-Semite.  People are saying Gervais was too hard on him, and Charlie Sheen, and Tom Cruise, and so on and so on.

Boo-fucking-hoo.  Gervais is a comedian doing what comedians do.  Comedy is sometimes brutal.  If you want safe comedy, hire Larry the Cable Guy.

He's just like you!

Americans have grown soft.  The general public, in its infinite wisdom, gets offended by anything that makes it think and anything that smacks of being true.  Jokes offend people.  Body parts offend people.  Songs offend people.  Books offend people.  Words offend people.  About the only thing that doesn't offend people is the one thing that really offends me: utter stupidity.

He's a drunk who hates women and Jews, but you loved him in "Attack Force Z."

People seem to think that if something offends them they have to listen to it, read it or watch it.  They seem to lose the ability to switch the channel or turn off the radio, or avert their eyes.  And before you say those people at the Golden Globes couldn't leave Gervais' "verbal assault," I call bullshit.  They were perfectly capable of leaving or issuing catcalls, heckling, whatever.  Would it be uncouth?  Yes, but if they were really offended, shouldn't they address that at the time instead of crying about it afterward?

Nobody has the right not to be offended.  They do have the right to speak out against what offends them, though they often risk looking like a fool (such as with the Gervais controversy -- where those celebrities as offended by Gibson's tirades?).  They also have the right to ignore that which offends them.  To believe that you will make it through life without being offended ... well, that's like believing in the Tooth Fairy when you're 25.  You'd have to be a drooling idiot.

Pills.  Pints.  Porn stars.  Punchline.

"Gervais was mean-spirited."  "Gervais went too far."  "Gervais went over the edge."  Let's put this all in perspective, though.  Gervais is a comedian.  Gervais said things people were already thinking (he's not the first to point out that Charlie Sheen has a problem).  And Gervais said he was going to push things.  He said it weeks before hosting.  The only problem that I see is that he didn't go far enough.

Words never gave anyone cancer.  They never blew the legs off a young soldier stepping out of a Humvee.  They never caused a worldwide economic meltdown.  They never let the healthcare industry get out of control.  Do people get offended about these things, though?  Hell no!  They continue to fight against environmental regulations.  They support war.  They still invest in Wall Street.  They urge their representatives to end healthcare reform (which really wasn't much reform in the first place).  But throw a few jokes in their face and suddenly they are indignant.

This guy should offend you, but you don't know who he is or why.

If you were one of the people offended by Gervais, I urge you to really take a look around at the things that should offend you yet don't.  Is it because you don't understand them?  Is it because being offended by those blatantly offensive things calls into question your role in them?  Is it that you are just so blind to reality that you don't see them?  Jokes are easy to get upset about.  It requires very little thought.  Any joke can offend anyone.  The joke that doesn't offend you could very easily offend your neighbor.  If it's that easy to get offended, why even bother?  Save your anger for something that counts, like families being thrown out into the street because their homes were illegally foreclosed upon.

This man offended you.

If you were offended by Gervais, you don't have enough problems in your life, and you probably needed to be offended.  I do feel a bit sorry for you, however.  Real life must fill you with a lot of fear and rage.  It's got to be scary and frustrating knowing that every time you look at, read, or listen to something you run the risk of getting all sorts of bent out of shape.

I do want to thank you, too.  As someone whose writing has offended everyone from teachers to screenwriters to Keanu Reeves fans, I want to take this moment to let you know I appreciate the business.  You not only make it easy, you make it fun.  What kind of crazy shit is going to set you off next? 

Red Nails

That last post, the one about Spring, came from a truly horrible day filled with much hurt and anger,mixed with a healthy dose of exhaustion and massive back pain. It was stream of consciousness nonsense that just sort of came out.

I realize some of that may sound crazy, but I write horror stories (some are available for purchase on this very blog). It's a form of therapy. Some people pay others to listen to them. Some self-medicate. I write. It's a healthy alternative for all involved.

If anyone was offended ... fuck you. I believe that people's offensive level is equal to their Every once in a while you need to offend people in order to wake them up. It's crude, but effective. If it offended you, you needed it.

Happy Friday, everyone. Enjoy your day. Do some coke. Pick up a hooker. Masturbate in Hot Topic. Send a scary, random text message. Go to a restaurant and hit on staff members of the same sex in an obvious, uncomfortable way. Create as much chaos as possible and take great joy in it. You deserve it.