Speech: Ben Edition

Ben McCarty 

AP Lang Speech Manuscript 

12-13-2015 

Logsdon, 4th 

Did you hear that one joke about the terrorist? I heard it was the bomb. To those that believe my joke to be offensive, I question your judgement-what part of my humor was it that distracted you from it's goal of jovial appeasement? Should I not joke about such a touchy subject in today's culture? If you believe so, I recommend you change your stance. Comedy is such an important part of civilization, yet so frowned upon, and even censored, when it involves certain "touchy" subjects. This isn't only wrong, but an encroachment on our basic human rights. Comedy is part of our society, all of it. You can't pick and choose what is and isn't funny; either it's all okay, or nothing is. All of comedy is essential, and should never be censured.  

Either everything is okay to joke about, or nothing is. Comedy is powerful. It can introduce us to new and dangerous ideas. It can start the conversation on the elephant in the room, much like how I started this speech. It can even heal. Joan Rivers, one of my favorite stand-up comedians, said it best: " Comedy is to make everybody laugh at everything and deal with things." This was in response to an attack on her "Helen Keller" joke by a man with a deaf son, to whom she replied with the acknowledgement of her deaf mom. So before you go on that witch hunt for that offensive joke, wishing to keep it from reaching the eyes and ears of others so they aren't offended either, confront yourself with the possibility that what you find to be offensive and harming is helpful and healing to another. Comedy is subjective, and what you find funny may not be so for someone else, as well as vice versa. But trying to keep something that is helpful to others and hurtful to you away from them is wrong.  

But comedy isn't just healing; it's downright efficient. Perhaps you remember the Tina Fey impersonation of Sarah Palin that essentially destroyed the chances of her running mate, John McCain, from reaching the White House in 2008. Almost over night after this emotive satire was Palin regarded as a joke and McCain virtually removed from the polls. I leave it up to your own political alignment if this was for better or worse, but you can't deny the sheer power this simple mimic had on the world. Comedy is powerful, and if utilized right, it can alter our very perception of certain individuals, establishments, and even constructs that we accept as facts in our day to day lives.   

It's hard to recognize the logical implications of comedy; it's hard to measure a social construct. One would usually look to statistics in this case, but I propose a more accurate and universal unit of measurement. Cold, hard, cash. In a study showcased in the article "Why offensive jokes affect more than you realize", subjects were asked to read sexist jokes and neutral jokes immediately before deciding how much money to donate to a fictional women's organization. Subjects that were rated to be highly sexist contributed almost nothing after reading sexist jokes; however, those that didn't rate as a high sexist donated more to the organization after reading sexist jokes compared to neutral jokes. So sexist jokes don't make us sexist. You either are sexist, or you aren't. Comedy won't change that; only a person's sincere choices reveal their true beliefs. That's why comedians that preach racist, sexist, and generally offensive material don't essentially hold those views. I'm not saying there aren't some out there that do hold these beliefs. I'm simply remarking that a mere joke shouldn't dictate how others view you.    

Mike Celestino agrees with me in his documentary "That's Not Funny", where he gives several insightful points on offensiveness in comedy. But my favorite is his concluding claim: "Art is where bad ideas belong." I agree with him. Much like Celestino, I would much rather prefer people put their hurtful ideas into art than to act them out and harm others. It also puts these ideas on a level playing field with other ideas, and allows the individual to decide which they agree or disagree with. "That's freedom of speech." You may exclaim that what Mr. Celestino proposes provides essentially a "recruitment" process for people that share the same bad ideas. You are correct in saying this, but recognize that people would fall behind these ideals regardless of the media it is communicated to them; thus is the trouble of human existence. That's what comedy does- It provides the choice. So it's your choice: it's all okay, or none of it is.