I am often at clubs,
colleges, coffee shops and many other venues outfitted with a mic and a stool
frequented by tons of comedians and wanna-be comics who at any given moment
will jump on stage and spew from their mouths what ever leaps from their head to
their tongue quickest, often without giving it a fraction of thought.
Thoughtless verbiage passed off as comedy should not be defended.
People are quick to use
the 1st Amendment to defend what should have been a 5th Amendment situation.
The 1st Amendment gives you freedom of speech while the 5th Amendment gives you
the opportunity to shut the hell up!
A little judgment
exercised goes a long way.
I was just talking about
this on my radio show today. Freedom of speech is a tough topic for comedians
because we are supposed to be the last bastion of truth. We are supposed to say
what you think and feel without repercussions. The fine line is crossed when we
say what WE think and feel and that ‘aint what everybody else is feeling.
It’s a good thing when
society speaks up and says, “Hey man, that wasn’t funny, it was crude and
demeaning.” What would the world be without checks and balances?
How did we feel when
Michael Richards went on his “N” word rant at the Laugh Factory? We weren’t
laughing. Because it wasn’t funny, and the world let him know it.
As I write this, it’s almost 3am and my eyelids are heavy, so I hope I
made sense here. If not, I’m sure the world will let me know. Call in to my
radio show anytime and let me know; STEVIE MACK RADIO airs Monday - Thursday at
6pm (PST) ...call in and let’s swap knowledge.
