Am I overreacting by being upset at this Seinfeld joke?

Ledbetterman10

Thoughts_Arrive said:

Also, found this offensive. Making fun of a distressed mother whose baby got taken and killed by a dingo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYTIGXvc88Y

Actually, just quit on Seinfeld. It's not for you. Never thought I'd say those words. But if this dingo gag offends you, then I just don't think this relationship (between you and the show) is going to work. 

mca47

:fp:

F Me In The Brain

Anyone that watched that Meryl Streep dingo shit and doesn't laugh at someone making fun of it just doesn't have the same sense of humor (at all) that I do.
Which is ok - not pretending my sense of humor isn't whacked.

Malroth

I don't know.

Malroth

I like humor that steps over the edge, but I've lived an easy life.

dudeman

Can you return it for spite?

dankind

dudeman said:

Can you return it for spite?

Thread winner!

Amongst the Ani

Yes.

Hobbes

Bristow, VA. 2010. Ed's rant.

Who Princess

Thoughts_Arrive said:

hedonist said:

You're kidding about the party scene, I hope?

No. Do you even know what it is in reference to?

I think all most Americans know about the story is the movie and the jokes about it.  I don't think we really appreciate that it was a huge, controversial story in Australia that had public attention for years.  So on the face of it, it probably seems like an absurd, isolated incident rather than something tragic that led to wrongful convictions of the parents and divided popular opinion.  I don't know if people would be making jokes about a comparable case if it happened in the U.S.

Sometimes I think Seinfeld is funny, sometimes I think it's stupid. 

mickeyrat

if memory serves, didnt the stand up part tie in with the episode in some way? wasnt that the basic format?

Thoughts_Arrive

Who Princess said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

hedonist said:

You're kidding about the party scene, I hope?

No. Do you even know what it is in reference to?

I think all most Americans know about the story is the movie and the jokes about it.  I don't think we really appreciate that it was a huge, controversial story in Australia that had public attention for years.  So on the face of it, it probably seems like an absurd, isolated incident rather than something tragic that led to wrongful convictions of the parents and divided popular opinion.  I don't know if people would be making jokes about a comparable case if it happened in the U.S.

Sometimes I think Seinfeld is funny, sometimes I think it's stupid. 

If Elaine is making fun of the way that line was said in the movie then that's cool. If it's directly mocking Lindy Chamberlaine then I'd say that's not acceptable.

Thoughts_Arrive

mickeyrat said:

if memory serves, didnt the stand up part tie in with the episode in some way? wasnt that the basic format?

Yeah, the title of the episode is ''the suicide''. 

Thoughts_Arrive

Hobbes said:

Bristow, VA. 2010. Ed's rant.

What did he say?

Thoughts_Arrive

dankind said:

dudeman said:

Can you return it for spite?

Thread winner!

Don't get the joke?

mickeyrat

Who Princess said:

I'm a pretty irreverent person and I'll joke about almost anything, but I think there's a time and a place for that kind of humor.   I also think that we all have a boundary when it comes to certain topics, based on our own beliefs and experiences.  For example, I won't tolerate jokes about rape.  Let's just say I've had enough experience with the reality that I'll never find it funny.

I do a lot of training and public speaking.  I used to train with a guy from another organization that was an expert on suicide.  He'd begin his presentations by saying that there wasn't going to be any joking about the subject while he was speaking.  He acknowledged that people may laugh about suicide in some settings and he in fact collected suicide jokes, which he'd share in other circumstances.  But there would be no laughing about it while everyone was learning.  I liked the way he handled it.

You don't have to like every joke to appreciate comedy.  I don't think you're overreacting when you've got your own feelings about it and you're entitled to them.

If you can't get past the joke to enjoy the rest of the series, I can understand that too.  Lots of people think Lily Tomlin is funny and talented.  She came to my university and did a stand up routine.  She was absolutely the rudest, most offensive (in terms of how she treated her audience) performer I've ever encountered.  That was many, many years ago and I still don't like her or anything she does.  I can't get past remembering how rude and insulting she was when I saw her live.

I think one John Mulaney did on rape landed well. it expresses empathy for women and targets culture in general and men specifically.
 

mickeyrat

am part of a very small fb group. one post is about your last binged tv show.

at the time I wsd in the middle of sons of anarchy. theres one episode that suggests a school shooting.
one guy flipped out because of the subject. matter.  him being a dad, I get it. but it was selective outrage. dead kids was bad but all the other murder, violence, rape and general degradation of women throughout the rest of the series was ok.


in their unique way comedians serve as our conscience. they push us into uncomfortable places. get us thinking about things we wouldnt otherwise willingly tackle

RogueStoner

Thoughts_Arrive said:

rgambs said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

What he pretty much is doing is making suicide survivors ashamed and mocking them. Imagine being one of those people and hearing this. Pretty much encouraging them.

Do you think Jerry Seinfeld wants people to kill themselves?

No. But imagine being in mental crisis and hearing that you're a failure for failing to kill yourself and then hearing solutions to try again. If someone was in a fragile state and heard this "joke" it'd be like kicking them when they're down.

I love Seinfeld the show but hate the guy's stand-up, personally. This bit made me chuckle a bit but to be fair, I haven't been suicidal since at least Tuesday. 

My point is that it's ok for you to be disgusted by this joke just like it should be ok for me to cope with my life with inappropriate humor. We're all in this struggle together and should use whatever tools we have to get through it and help each other along the way. 

By the way, December 1st was the 3 year anniversary of my failed attempt. That's one failure I celebrate every damn day, no matter how dark it is. 

brianlux

I think today, many of us tend to be either overly sensitive or overly jaded or both.  Which makes it difficult to take an objective view of joking about things like suicide. In 1996, I damn near killed myself (on purpose) with a lot of Xanax and alcohol.   Just by sheer luck I didn't die (long story, no need to go into all that).  Man, am I ever glad I didn't die.  God allfuckinmighty am I glad I didn't die. And because of that, even though I believe (at least in theory) that, if done right, anything can be used in humor, in practice, I can't see suicide being used in humor.  Maybe only people who survived suicide should be the ones to joke about it.  But if you  do survive, you're too busy living and being glad to be alive to take the time to figure out how the hell to joke about it in a proper manner.  That time would be better spend figuring out how to help other people so they don't do "something stupid" (as Westerberg put it) like I did.  So I say, forget it, there are plenty of other things to joke about besides suicide.

brianlux

Thoughts_Arrive said:

brianlux said:

I agree with George Carlin's concept that anything can be used in humor if done right but I haven't seen that proven with suicide.  Even Carlin's suicide routine didn't work well for me.  Seinfeld's, definitely not. 

This works better for me (starting at 0:48):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyNTxZ_gt10

Cool interview.

Isn't it!  Look how serious Slim Dunlap (to Paul's left) looks.  You know he's been through some shit as well (in fact, Slim is hanging in there but with difficulty after suffering a stroke in 2012).  Paul's words, Slims expression- those are worth more than ten thousand jokes about suicide- I don't care who says them, or how carefully they word them.  When you've been on the ledge, it just isn't a joke any more.