Tosh, Rape, and Why A Shitload of People Are Missing the Point Entirely
Okay, so there's been some controversy going around on the blogosphere lately about whether or not rape jokes can be/are funny, and this is in response to an incident where Daniel Tosh was making some rape jokes at a comedy club. I want to start right out by addressing the most important issue, which most people tend to skip in favor of jumping right to the discussion of whether rape jokes are OK. The problem is not merely one of Daniel Tosh using rape jokes or "shock humor" as some may minimalize it as. No, the problem is that when someone in the audience was shocked by the shock humor, Tosh's reaction was to say "WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT IF YOU AUDIENCE FOLKS STARTED GANG-RAPING THIS WOMAN RIGHT NOW?"
That's not a joke, that's not anything permissible by societal standards. That is a direct endorsement of an immediate situation where a woman could be raped. Daniel Tosh supports rape. Daniel Tosh supports rape. This is what is important in this discussion. Daniel Tosh supports rape. This is what most people are glossing over. Daniel Tosh supports rape. Daniel Tosh supports rape. Regardless of any standpoint one might take on dark humor, shock humor, even specifically rape humor, this is what must not be forgotten: DANIEL TOSH SUPPORTS RAPE.
Now then. Since it's a hot topic right now, let's talk about rape jokes. This is a touchy subject and I am willing to be argued against here, because there are very real possibilities for endorsing harm either advertently or inadvertently. That's my point number one: If you absolutely must make a joke that in any way involves rape, be prepared to include a number of statements enforcing the fact that rape is a terrible crime, and it should never be done by anyone. Also, be prepared to apologize for offending people.
Second, rape should never be a punchline. This is for two reasons, one is because it cheapens the crime of rape and makes it seem more acceptable to an audience that may well include rapists, and it's also just bad comedy. It's lazy and it's been done to death.
However, in my opinion there may be situations wherein a setup involving rape may be permissible; particularly if the punchline furthers the statement that rape is a terrible crime. I have two examples of such jokes. The first is one that was a source of great controversy, the infamous Penny Arcade dickwolves comic. The SETUP involved slaves who were being exploited for labor, and further tortured through beatings and rape. The PUNCHLINE, however, is that the so-called "hero" sent to save them is only obligated to rescue a limited number of these slaves, and decides to stop as soon as he is not being further rewarded. It's actually less of a joke and more of a commentary on a flaw in MMO gaming design, but it's constructed in the same way as a joke.
The second example is George Carlin's less-famous joke involving rape. Every time the subject of rape jokes is broached, people come out of the woodwork to mention the stupid, lazy joke with Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig. That's not even a joke, it's just a reference to Rule 34. There's no set-up OR punchline. I never found that joke funny, and it's a crying shame that a joke he made that uses rape as a set-up and self-deprecatory humor as a punchline is virtually unknown. So, along with correcting people on what the point of this Tosh thing is, and about how rape can be used in jokes if ever, I will now also right a much-lesser-but-still-notable wrong by introducing people to this joke.
"There's a rape every six minutes in this country. And boy is my dick sore! I'm tellin' ya, every day, house to house. There's no let-up. It's a fuckin' hassle."
This also references his other bit where he mentions that every joke needs an exaggeration, and this is true, because that's what keeps it from being real. Along with the disclaimers that rape is a terrible crime and should never be committed by anyone in any situation, Carlin includes in his joke (and actually weaves the joke out of) the idea that it's just this one guy committing all the rapes. And I can tell you that's an acceptable punchline, because people made the same joke about Avatar: The Legend of Korra in that maybe it was just one firebender running around killing everybody's loved ones, and nobody batted an eye at it then.
But in that, we also see the problem with Tosh's actions. Whereas the closest a rape joke can get to being acceptable involves distancing it as far as possible from reality, Tosh made it as real as it gets. He suggested that an actual, real-live and in-person woman in the audience, should be gang-raped by other actual, real-live members right there in the audience. And knowing the fanaticism of the cult-like fanbases that even marginally popular celebrities such as Tosh accumulate, I'm surprised that the woman wasn't raped right then and there. The fact that she left right then is likely what saved her, because all the rapists waiting to jump her outside the venue stayed until the end of the show.
And that is FUCKING TERRIFYING.
That's not a joke, that's not anything permissible by societal standards. That is a direct endorsement of an immediate situation where a woman could be raped. Daniel Tosh supports rape. Daniel Tosh supports rape. This is what is important in this discussion. Daniel Tosh supports rape. This is what most people are glossing over. Daniel Tosh supports rape. Daniel Tosh supports rape. Regardless of any standpoint one might take on dark humor, shock humor, even specifically rape humor, this is what must not be forgotten: DANIEL TOSH SUPPORTS RAPE.
Now then. Since it's a hot topic right now, let's talk about rape jokes. This is a touchy subject and I am willing to be argued against here, because there are very real possibilities for endorsing harm either advertently or inadvertently. That's my point number one: If you absolutely must make a joke that in any way involves rape, be prepared to include a number of statements enforcing the fact that rape is a terrible crime, and it should never be done by anyone. Also, be prepared to apologize for offending people.
Second, rape should never be a punchline. This is for two reasons, one is because it cheapens the crime of rape and makes it seem more acceptable to an audience that may well include rapists, and it's also just bad comedy. It's lazy and it's been done to death.
However, in my opinion there may be situations wherein a setup involving rape may be permissible; particularly if the punchline furthers the statement that rape is a terrible crime. I have two examples of such jokes. The first is one that was a source of great controversy, the infamous Penny Arcade dickwolves comic. The SETUP involved slaves who were being exploited for labor, and further tortured through beatings and rape. The PUNCHLINE, however, is that the so-called "hero" sent to save them is only obligated to rescue a limited number of these slaves, and decides to stop as soon as he is not being further rewarded. It's actually less of a joke and more of a commentary on a flaw in MMO gaming design, but it's constructed in the same way as a joke.
The second example is George Carlin's less-famous joke involving rape. Every time the subject of rape jokes is broached, people come out of the woodwork to mention the stupid, lazy joke with Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig. That's not even a joke, it's just a reference to Rule 34. There's no set-up OR punchline. I never found that joke funny, and it's a crying shame that a joke he made that uses rape as a set-up and self-deprecatory humor as a punchline is virtually unknown. So, along with correcting people on what the point of this Tosh thing is, and about how rape can be used in jokes if ever, I will now also right a much-lesser-but-still-notable wrong by introducing people to this joke.
"There's a rape every six minutes in this country. And boy is my dick sore! I'm tellin' ya, every day, house to house. There's no let-up. It's a fuckin' hassle."
This also references his other bit where he mentions that every joke needs an exaggeration, and this is true, because that's what keeps it from being real. Along with the disclaimers that rape is a terrible crime and should never be committed by anyone in any situation, Carlin includes in his joke (and actually weaves the joke out of) the idea that it's just this one guy committing all the rapes. And I can tell you that's an acceptable punchline, because people made the same joke about Avatar: The Legend of Korra in that maybe it was just one firebender running around killing everybody's loved ones, and nobody batted an eye at it then.
But in that, we also see the problem with Tosh's actions. Whereas the closest a rape joke can get to being acceptable involves distancing it as far as possible from reality, Tosh made it as real as it gets. He suggested that an actual, real-live and in-person woman in the audience, should be gang-raped by other actual, real-live members right there in the audience. And knowing the fanaticism of the cult-like fanbases that even marginally popular celebrities such as Tosh accumulate, I'm surprised that the woman wasn't raped right then and there. The fact that she left right then is likely what saved her, because all the rapists waiting to jump her outside the venue stayed until the end of the show.
And that is FUCKING TERRIFYING.