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8 March 2024 (sh.itjust.works)
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[-] okamiueru@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I get what you're saying. But I also don't think it is as clear cut as what you're making it out to be. There has been cultural acceptance for things that shouldn't be acceptable at. That's still the case now. The nuances for jokes in this role, I'm sure are subject for more than one doctoral dissertation.

I also stand a little bit corrected, because I don't mean that all jokes are OK. I think however that all subjects, are. When the premise of the punchline depends on the controversial subject being OK, it fails at doing so, and I would agree with you.

For example, there is a huge difference between a joke that is funny because it predicates and reinforces a stereotype that "black people are X", vs a joke that makes fun of the stereotype itself that "black people are X". The latter is OK. Doesn't mean everyone should find it funny. But it can certainly serve to ridicule the stereotype itself.

Which brings me to this:

No rape joke is funny, and harms rape victims by making light of their suffering.

Why do you think all of them "makes light of their suffering"? I would argue that it depends entirely on the joke, the context, and the punchline itself. The joke in question in the comic here, does no such thing. The joke is the classic "set up a expectation => subvert it", and what it does, if anything, is bring attention to "rape happens", and "rapists exist". Awareness of that, is a good thing, no? Isn't it more harmful to make rape tabu, almost as if pretending it doesn't happen, and that rapists don't exist?

Which is why I'd like to argue the exact opposite of what you suggest. And this to say that comedy is an extremely important mechanism, if used right, to bring attention to problems that should be talked about. Especially uncomfortable subjects. It can educate, bring awareness, and challenge stereotypes or established societal constructs. All subjects are therefore OK. It doesn't mean all jokes are funny.

Tl;dr: context matters.

[-] mods_are_assholes@lemmy.world -4 points 8 months ago

Why do you think all of them “makes light of their suffering”?

Because that is what rape victims have told me when they are forced to be exposed to rape 'jokes'.

[-] okamiueru@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

Did... you simply just downvote my comment, not address anything in it, and answer the hypothetical question? Did you even read it? No one is "forcing" anyone here. If you don't understand a basic concept of human language and interaction... you won't be able to identify what the actual problems are, which undermines efforts to improve the situation. Your complaints would be rightfully ignored.

It's the same type of argument that suggests "Uncle Tom's Cabin" should be banned, because it "forces" people who experience systemic racism to be exposed to it in a literary work. Again. Context fucking matters. People who don't get that and complain, are either virtue signalling or attention seeking (or both), in either case, ignored to the benefit of all.

this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
439 points (94.2% liked)

Cyanide and Happiness

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Hello fellow Cyanide and Happiness fans!

About this community and how I post the comics… Many moons ago, I would ask my Dad to save the newspaper for me everyday so I could read my favorite comic strips. Of course these days you can read your favorite comics online instead of a newspaper, but I love the nostalgia of reading the daily comics. Anyway, one of my favorite current comics is Cyanide and Happiness and I will be posting the daily release from their website (https://explosm.net) and a an extra or two randoms.

Cyanide & Happiness (C&H) is a webcomic created by Rob DenBleyker, Kris Wilson, Dave McElfatrick and Matt Melvin. The comic has been running since 2005 and is published on the website explosm.net along with animated shorts in the same style. Matt Melvin left C&H in 2014, and several other people have contributed to the comic and to the animated shorts… Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanide_%26_Happiness

Hope you enjoy and feel free to contribute to the community with art, media, cool stuff about the authors, tattoos, toys and anything else, as long it’s Cyanide and Happiness related!

Ps. Sub to all my comic strip communities…

Bloom County !bloomcounty@lemm.ee https://lemm.ee/c/bloomcounty

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Cyanide and Happiness !cyanideandhappiness https://lemm.ee/c/cyanideandhappiness

Garfield !garfield@lemmy.world https://lemmy.world/c/garfield

The Far Side !thefarside@sh.itjust.works https://lemmy.world/c/thefarside@sh.itjust.works

Fine print: All comics I post are freely available online. In no way am I claiming ownership, copyright or anything else. This is a not for profit community, we just want to enjoy our comics, thank you.

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