In Defense of Popular Internet Comedy Guy
So you probably know about the recent Popular Internet Comedy Guy controversy. It's only all over the Internet. In case you've been living under a rock, Popular Internet Comedy Guy made a joke, on a public forum, that upset Minority Group. Then, Minority Group started a bullying campaign targeted at Popular Internet Comedy Guy, with the unspoken goal of censoring his joke. Disgustingly, Popular Internet Comedy Guy then compromised his artistic vision, forever staining the purity of his work, by sort-of apologizing for a single offensive line of dialogue amidst his usual fart jokes.
I'm shaking my head. Really, Popular Internet Comedy Guy? You used to be so edgy! You never gave any fucks but always gave the middle finger to The Man, and I laughed, because hey, I also totally hate The Man. Never one to play favorites, sometimes you even pointed your satire cannon in my general direction, and it stung, but in the end I still laughed, because I realized that you and I were just the same, that you weren't serious, and that it was all in good fun.
But you've changed. You're giving in to people without a discernable sense of humor, the kind who'd never get your groundbreaking social satire. Hey, Minority Group, what gives? Why can't you see Popular Internet Comedy Guy's work for what it is and find it funny, but instead find it offensive? I mean, I find it funny, and not at all offensive. Heck, I'm going to go check it again, just to prove my point... Yep, didn't strike a nerve or anything, still funny, still not offended. I even have a friend who's part of Minority Group, and I'll ask for a second opinion. ...Yeah, my one Minority Group friend confirms that, in their opinion, this thing is "not all that bad". So, again, what gives, Minority Group? Why can't you just relax like me and my friend? You're being oversensitive, and taking all of this way too seriously. I mean, it's just jokes, not groundbreaking social satire.
I mean, okay. Admitting that you COULD conceivably find what Popular Internet Comedy Guy did objectionable, so what? It's not like he's ever pulled punches before. Why should he suddenly start trying to please everybody? You can't make edgy humor without the risk of offending someone, and it just so happened that this time, the joke was at the expense of Minority Group who commited the crime of existing. What makes them so special? When it comes to art, you can't please everybody, let alone a tiny, marginalized minority group. We've got to draw the line somewhere, don't we? And that's why I, personally, draw the line at the exact point where my gut feeling tells me my moral code has always been flawless, and I was right all along.
Hell, it's such a tiny thing, too. Why would Minority Group throw such a huge hissyfit over one tiny joke? One joke isn't going to change the world, even if it's told to literal thousands of people. Why can't Minority Group concentrate its efforts on an actual problem, like... shit, I don't know, THEY'RE the ones dealing with problems, I don't need to look it up. In fact, come to think, maybe they don't have actual problems! I mean, people can only be angry about one thing at a time, and Minority Group chose to get angry about Popular Internet Comedy Guy, who at the very worst totally got away with saying something ignorant and hurtful to thousands of people about a widely misunderstood group, further contributing to that misunderstanding. Talk about first world problems.
Besides, it's not like Popular Internet Comedy Guy INTENDED anything he said to offend anyone. Abraham Lincoln once said the only bigotry worth condemning is the kind that's intentional. Thus, one shouldn't apologize for causing someone grief without intending to. I apply that principle to everyday life, myself. Say I walk into someone and spill a drink on them, and they get mad at me for it? I explain myself, I tell them I didn't see them coming, that I had just filled my cup so an accident like this was bound to happen anyway, and that maybe THEY'RE the one who walked into me and spilled my drink when you really think about it. They may get mad, rail at me, call me names... But I don't apologize. That goes against my principles.
And then, besides all that, there's the issue of free speech. Oh, how I weep for our constitutional rights! Doing the sort of thing Popular Internet Comedy Guy does would just not be possible in Other Country, where they imprison and even kill people for speaking out in support of the government-oppressed Minority Group. I believe, from the bottom of my heart, in freedom of speech. But as criticism is also a form of censorship, freedom of speech is also freedom from criticism. This is why I believe not only that Popular Internet Comedy Guy should be allowed to say whatever he wants however he wants, but that it is noble of him to do so, always, without a filter or consideration for his fellow human being. If they don't like it, Minority Group should not speak up, because that would infringe on his fundamental human right.
Meanwhile, the social justice PC brigade says I've never suffered a day of prejudice in my life, and that the perspective I'm offering on this matter might be biased, possibly not even relevant. Wait, what? Sure, I've totally suffered prejudice. It was back in high school. People back then made my life miserable for being a huge fan of Nerdy Thing. And now? I've learned my lesson from the experience, and grown open-minded for it. It doesn't matter who you are, if you're a bona fide fellow fan of Nerdy Thing, you're always okay in my book. Take it from me: so long as you like the same things I do, I will never, ever ostracize you for being who you are, be you a condescending asshole, an outspoken bigot, a sexual predator or an absolute turd of a human being in general. Lately, members of Minority Group have tried to pose as fans of Nerdy Thing or even Popular Internet Comedy Guy in order to get into my good graces, but I saw through them and sent them on their way. It's the least I can do for our wonderful, inclusive community.
I'm getting sidetracked, though, so I'll just cut this short: I guess what I'm saying is, I like Popular Internet Comedy Guy. I see myself in Popular Internet Comedy Guy. I do not consider myself a bad person, and only bad people are ever prejudiced. Ergo, I, and Popular Internet Comedy Guy, cannot be prejudiced. I don't like it when Minority Group tells me they don't like Popular Internet Comedy Guy for being prejudiced, because Minority Group is wrong. They should stop trying to make me feel bad.
Perhaps it is actually Minority Group that should feel bad...?
I'm shaking my head. Really, Popular Internet Comedy Guy? You used to be so edgy! You never gave any fucks but always gave the middle finger to The Man, and I laughed, because hey, I also totally hate The Man. Never one to play favorites, sometimes you even pointed your satire cannon in my general direction, and it stung, but in the end I still laughed, because I realized that you and I were just the same, that you weren't serious, and that it was all in good fun.
But you've changed. You're giving in to people without a discernable sense of humor, the kind who'd never get your groundbreaking social satire. Hey, Minority Group, what gives? Why can't you see Popular Internet Comedy Guy's work for what it is and find it funny, but instead find it offensive? I mean, I find it funny, and not at all offensive. Heck, I'm going to go check it again, just to prove my point... Yep, didn't strike a nerve or anything, still funny, still not offended. I even have a friend who's part of Minority Group, and I'll ask for a second opinion. ...Yeah, my one Minority Group friend confirms that, in their opinion, this thing is "not all that bad". So, again, what gives, Minority Group? Why can't you just relax like me and my friend? You're being oversensitive, and taking all of this way too seriously. I mean, it's just jokes, not groundbreaking social satire.
I mean, okay. Admitting that you COULD conceivably find what Popular Internet Comedy Guy did objectionable, so what? It's not like he's ever pulled punches before. Why should he suddenly start trying to please everybody? You can't make edgy humor without the risk of offending someone, and it just so happened that this time, the joke was at the expense of Minority Group who commited the crime of existing. What makes them so special? When it comes to art, you can't please everybody, let alone a tiny, marginalized minority group. We've got to draw the line somewhere, don't we? And that's why I, personally, draw the line at the exact point where my gut feeling tells me my moral code has always been flawless, and I was right all along.
Hell, it's such a tiny thing, too. Why would Minority Group throw such a huge hissyfit over one tiny joke? One joke isn't going to change the world, even if it's told to literal thousands of people. Why can't Minority Group concentrate its efforts on an actual problem, like... shit, I don't know, THEY'RE the ones dealing with problems, I don't need to look it up. In fact, come to think, maybe they don't have actual problems! I mean, people can only be angry about one thing at a time, and Minority Group chose to get angry about Popular Internet Comedy Guy, who at the very worst totally got away with saying something ignorant and hurtful to thousands of people about a widely misunderstood group, further contributing to that misunderstanding. Talk about first world problems.
Besides, it's not like Popular Internet Comedy Guy INTENDED anything he said to offend anyone. Abraham Lincoln once said the only bigotry worth condemning is the kind that's intentional. Thus, one shouldn't apologize for causing someone grief without intending to. I apply that principle to everyday life, myself. Say I walk into someone and spill a drink on them, and they get mad at me for it? I explain myself, I tell them I didn't see them coming, that I had just filled my cup so an accident like this was bound to happen anyway, and that maybe THEY'RE the one who walked into me and spilled my drink when you really think about it. They may get mad, rail at me, call me names... But I don't apologize. That goes against my principles.
And then, besides all that, there's the issue of free speech. Oh, how I weep for our constitutional rights! Doing the sort of thing Popular Internet Comedy Guy does would just not be possible in Other Country, where they imprison and even kill people for speaking out in support of the government-oppressed Minority Group. I believe, from the bottom of my heart, in freedom of speech. But as criticism is also a form of censorship, freedom of speech is also freedom from criticism. This is why I believe not only that Popular Internet Comedy Guy should be allowed to say whatever he wants however he wants, but that it is noble of him to do so, always, without a filter or consideration for his fellow human being. If they don't like it, Minority Group should not speak up, because that would infringe on his fundamental human right.
Meanwhile, the social justice PC brigade says I've never suffered a day of prejudice in my life, and that the perspective I'm offering on this matter might be biased, possibly not even relevant. Wait, what? Sure, I've totally suffered prejudice. It was back in high school. People back then made my life miserable for being a huge fan of Nerdy Thing. And now? I've learned my lesson from the experience, and grown open-minded for it. It doesn't matter who you are, if you're a bona fide fellow fan of Nerdy Thing, you're always okay in my book. Take it from me: so long as you like the same things I do, I will never, ever ostracize you for being who you are, be you a condescending asshole, an outspoken bigot, a sexual predator or an absolute turd of a human being in general. Lately, members of Minority Group have tried to pose as fans of Nerdy Thing or even Popular Internet Comedy Guy in order to get into my good graces, but I saw through them and sent them on their way. It's the least I can do for our wonderful, inclusive community.
I'm getting sidetracked, though, so I'll just cut this short: I guess what I'm saying is, I like Popular Internet Comedy Guy. I see myself in Popular Internet Comedy Guy. I do not consider myself a bad person, and only bad people are ever prejudiced. Ergo, I, and Popular Internet Comedy Guy, cannot be prejudiced. I don't like it when Minority Group tells me they don't like Popular Internet Comedy Guy for being prejudiced, because Minority Group is wrong. They should stop trying to make me feel bad.
Perhaps it is actually Minority Group that should feel bad...?