It wasn't really my brand of humor but I agree, he was, if anything, humanizing them rather than dehumanizing them.Lalaith wrote:No, I didn't find it offensive. He wasn't being mean about people with Down's Syndrome. If anything, he was opening people's eyes to the fact that they're not that different from any of us.Alatar wrote:Yes, but again you're defending the extreme, rather than the middle ground. For instance, what did you think of the Tommy Tiernan clip above? Offensive?
I really have to wonder if you're being genuine with that question. Point of fact, no one is protected. No. One. Comedians can still get up on stage and say and make fun of whoever and whatever they want. The audience, likewise, will decide if they want to listen to what this particular comedian has to say or not. But there is no police that is literally arresting a comedian for making certain jokes. At least, Trump hasn't managed to figure out a way to do that yet.Alatar wrote:I'm a middle class middle aged Irishman. Do I get protected because I'm from a country that was oppressed for 800 years, or do I not, cause I'm white and comfortably off?
You are confusing 'being allowed to' with 'receiving no public response against'. No matter how many people speak out against it, it still isn't against the law to be offensive. But those people are going to eventually face some kind of consequence socially for their points of view. You can be angry at society for not wanting to kick the already downtrodden, but I'm really not sure what you'd be hoping to achieve with that.
Sure, some countries do imprison people for saying the wrong things about the wrong people - and those wrong things and wrong people are almost always criticisms of those in power. It's never illegal to be cruel to the marginalized, you notice.