Okay, first of all-- I'm gonna be talking about rape in comedy here. Fair warning. I don't tend to lj-cut these things unless they get explicit-- but if you feel like I should cut this, please let me know, and I will comply.

So, you guys know about the Daniel Tosh thing? There are, right now, two accounts. One is the blogger's-- linked to there. The other is the club owner's, who didn't hear Tosh specifically call for the woman's rape (but he admits he didn't hear Tosh's comment clearly), but says very specifically it occurred during a bit where audience participation was being courted and encouraged.

Anyway, what I find extremely fucking disheartening is just how many fucking people are using the "he's a comedian! What did you expect? Don't go see comedy! It's your fault if you're offended!" reasoning that's often espoused by people who can barely figure out how opposable thumbs work.

1. Comedians are not doing God's work. They are not completely untouchable by virtue of being comedians. If they say things that are fucked up, they deserve to get called on it.

2. If you think that a comedian can't do his job without intentionally being offensive, you're lazy and wrong. I mean, of course, most comedians are going to be offensive at some point-- because most people are offensive at some point. The difference is a) intent and b) how they react, the caliber of their response to criticism. Intent isn't magic, no, but let's be clear-- Tosh wasn't unintentionally offensive here. Joking about how rape is just totally hilarious is part of his schtick.

3. The focus on "was her response heckling?" is suuuuuuch misogynist, minimizing bullshit. No matter which account you look at, "rape hurts people" or "rape is not funny," said during a pointedly audience participation-centered bit is not heckling. I mean, that's sooooo tame. And his response was to say she should get raped. Any commentary that places any onus whatsoever on the blogger is missing the fucking point.

This whole Tosh thing is particularly bugging the fuck out of me today because I have started actively blocking and banning people defending his behavior. Earlier today on Twitter, a local artist who, up until now I liked and respected, went off, calling criticism of Tosh "persecution" (WHAT THE FUCK) got way the hell under my skin. She called people "too sensitive" for reacting this way to Tosh's suggestion that his audience member be raped. But guys! It's okay! Because other people agree with her! (Including, by their recent tweets, Louis CK and Patton Oswalt.)

Let me just tell you this right now: this is not an area where I agree to disagree. I will banhammer you faster than Thor can call lightning with MeuMeu.

Can rape be a topic in comedy? In my view: yes. Hal Sparks, Wanda Sykes, and (omg, I cannot believe I am saying this) Dane Cook have all had routines that talked about rape, and were actually funny. You know why they were funny? It's because they took aim at rape culture, and squarely portrayed rape as evil and not something to be minimized. Tosh, on the other hand, and many comedians of his ilk, instead talk about how just the act of rape is hilarious, at the expense of survivors. They are PART of the rape culture, not using humor to dismantle it.

And if you think that's okay-- if you think I'm being too sensitive or "persecuting" poor poor Daniel Tosh with my criticism, you need to fuck right off right the fuck now. I would rather have fewer people to interact with than interact with shitty human beings. I don't care who you are or how long we've been acquainted. Fuck off with your rape culture supporting bullshit.