Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

Ehh, he'll be fine, most people are anti-semetic. Jews are the one group you can hate on and survive.

Apparently you didn't read thru to the end. It continues to get worse and worse.

We can debate whether someone can get away with jokes that are bigoted, misogynist, insulting to broad swaths of people, etc. We can even debate whether someone who is being offered a stage as big as the Daily Show has become can get away with it. But here, there isn't a debate to be had, because the jokes are Just Not Funny. God, they are awful. Childish, un-funny, just goddamn bad jokes.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

Apparently you didn't read thru to the end. It continues to get worse and worse.

We can debate whether someone can get away with jokes that are bigoted, misogynist, insulting to broad swaths of people, etc. We can even debate whether someone who is being offered a stage as big as the Daily Show has become can get away with it. But here, there isn't a debate to be had, because the jokes are Just Not Funny. God, they are awful. Childish, un-funny, just goddamn bad jokes.

I don't think anyone posting jokes to twitter completely avoids Not Funny, but it's important in which way they are Not Funny, and the level of misogyny seems to be the most troubling part.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by Adder

I don't think anyone posting jokes to twitter completely avoids Not Funny, but it's important in which way they are Not Funny, and the level of misogyny seems to be the most troubling part.

I'm sure the vast majority of people posting jokes to twitter make a lot of Not Funny ones. Maybe virtually all of them.

But virtually all people posting jokes to twitter do not get selected to host a national comedy show. So, he's exceptional on this point, but not on the above point, and that's sad.

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

But virtually all people posting jokes to twitter do not get selected to host a national comedy show. So, he's exceptional on this point, but not on the above point, and that's sad.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Are you saying he was chosen because of his twitter career? Or are you saying that comedians (in positions to get talk shows) don't post jokes on twitter? I'm hoping it's something else because neither of those things makes a lick of sense.

TM

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Are you saying he was chosen because of his twitter career? Or are you saying that comedians (in positions to get talk shows) don't post jokes on twitter? I'm hoping it's something else because neither of those things makes a lick of sense.

TM

I'm saying that I acknowledge having only a small sample size, but that small sample size is a bunch of consistently awful jokes. Not awful because they are offensive, but because they aren't funny and are stupid.

He could be a fantastically good comedian. The selection here could be horribly unfair, a completely unrepresentative .0001% of the jokes he's told. But it's the sample that I'm looking at and I don't just write it off as irrelevant just because "lots of people tell bad jokes on twitter." So what? Lots of people tell bad jokes everywhere. The vast majority of people would also suck ass in a stand-up routine, and if Noah also sucked ass at stand-up you wouldn't say "it's okay, most people would do badly there."

What you're saying -- essentially, "yes, these jokes suck, but his stand-up is good and that's more relevant to the job he'll have, especially since he probably won't be writing his own material" -- is a different and sensible response. I don't agree or disagree with it, because I haven't seen his stand-up. But it's a qualitatively different response than saying "it's okay, lots of people come across as unfunny or bigoted on twitter."

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Are you saying he was chosen because of his twitter career? Or are you saying that comedians (in positions to get talk shows) don't post jokes on twitter? I'm hoping it's something else because neither of those things makes a lick of sense.

TM

Already gave a longer response, but in essence I'm saying that, if comedians post jokes on Twitter, I hope they are generally a lot funnier than these or I'm not particularly interested in those comedians.

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

I'm saying that I acknowledge having only a small sample size, but that small sample size is a bunch of consistently awful jokes. Not awful because they are offensive, but because they aren't funny and are stupid.

He could be a fantastically good comedian. The selection here could be horribly unfair, a completely unrepresentative .0001% of the jokes he's told. But it's the sample that I'm looking at and I don't just write it off as irrelevant just because "lots of people tell bad jokes on twitter." So what? Lots of people tell bad jokes everywhere. The vast majority of people would also suck ass in a stand-up routine, and if Noah also sucked ass at stand-up you wouldn't say "it's okay, most people would do badly there."

What you're saying -- essentially, "yes, these jokes suck, but his stand-up is good and that's more relevant to the job he'll have, especially since he probably won't be writing his own material" -- is a different and sensible response. I don't agree or disagree with it, because I haven't seen his stand-up. But it's a qualitatively different response than saying "it's okay, lots of people come across as unfunny or bigoted on twitter."

I'm sorry. I'm truly having trouble with this conversation. And it's even more troubling that all of you, who pride yourselves on being knowledgeable and who usually spend more than 10 seconds researching a topic before drawing conclusions, have so quickly determined the guy isn't funny and might be offensive based on the 6 jokes out of nine fucking thousand from 5 years ago that aren't funny. And I don't know where you got that last quote in the last paragraph, but it sure seems like you're pulling it out of your ass.

I don't have to argue that we should look at his larger body of work and not just the handful of jokes people dug up from his twitter feed to decide whether he should have the job because that is so obvious that it's completely pointless to say. If your argument is going to continue to be, "But I looked at those jokes," I'm going to have to give up on this conversation. Hey! Remember those 6 missed shots Jordan took in the Finals against the Lakers? He probably fucking sucks.

Stewart brought him to the show and loves the guy. That alone should be enough for you to give him the benefit of the doubt, or at least a fucking shot.

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

Already gave a longer response, but in essence I'm saying that, if comedians post jokes on Twitter, I hope they are generally a lot funnier than these or I'm not particularly interested in those comedians.

Whatever.

I am truly floored by all of your reactions to this. This is absolutely ridiculous.

Patton's take: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...nd-trevor-noah

TM

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

I'm sorry. I'm truly having trouble with this conversation. And it's even more troubling that all of you, who pride yourselves on being knowledgeable and who usually spend more than 10 seconds researching a topic before drawing conclusions, have so quickly determined the guy isn't funny and might be offensive based on the 6 jokes out of nine fucking thousand from 5 years ago that aren't funny.

Huh? These are things I said in the post that you responded to:

"I acknowledge having only a small sample size..."
"He could be a fantastically good comedian."
"The selection here could be horribly unfair, a completely unrepresentative .0001% of the jokes he's told."



The only "conclusion" I reached is that the small sample size I'm looking at is a bunch of shitty jokes. They are shitty enough that I wonder if he's especially funny or a good writer of his own material, but that called a "question," not a "conclusion." To the extent that I am interested in answering the question and reaching a conclusion, I'll watch the show. Not really willing to do more "research" than that, as this isn't all that important to me beyond being a sort of interesting discussion. Though if you linked a clip you think is good, I'd watch it.

Stewart brought him to the show and loves the guy. That alone should be enough for you to give him the benefit of the doubt, or at least a fucking shot.

Again, huh? Who said I'm not giving him a fucking shot? But if it makes you feel better, I promise not to utilize the enormous power that I have over Comedy Central to get the guy fired. And I will likely watch the show as much as I watch Stewart (which is every once in awhile, when there is a guest or topic I'm really interested in or when I see a clip posted somewhere that looks interesting).

I am truly floored by all of your reactions to this. This is absolutely ridiculous.

Once again, huh? My reaction is that the jokes he told on twitter suck, and I don't write that off as irrelevant because supposedly all comedians tell shitty jokes on twitter. If you read that as me saying Noah is fatally un-funny, shouldn't been hired, etc., that's your reading, and it's way off.


As for the rest -- I thought I was reasonably paraphrasing what you said, but apparently not. I'll drop this topic. You are way more invested in this than I am.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

Already gave a longer response, but in essence I'm saying that, if comedians post jokes on Twitter, I hope they are generally a lot funnier than these or I'm not particularly interested in those comedians.

A lot of comedians use Twitter to try out material. They can generally get an idea if the material works or not.

[taxwonk]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

I'm sure the vast majority of people posting jokes to twitter make a lot of Not Funny ones. Maybe virtually all of them.

But virtually all people posting jokes to twitter do not get selected to host a national comedy show. So, he's exceptional on this point, but not on the above point, and that's sad.

My twitter jokes are all HI-larious. And I wouldn't want to host a nationally popular tv show. Why didn't they call me?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

Apparently you didn't read thru to the end. It continues to get worse and worse.

We can debate whether someone can get away with jokes that are bigoted, misogynist, insulting to broad swaths of people, etc. We can even debate whether someone who is being offered a stage as big as the Daily Show has become can get away with it. But here, there isn't a debate to be had, because the jokes are Just Not Funny. God, they are awful. Childish, un-funny, just goddamn bad jokes.

lots of people made a mistake when they got to Twitter- they no longer filtered their "jokes" and there was unlimited "stage time." The result was tons of bad stuff, and some reputations ruined/downgraded Howard Stern, who is always on, was horrible on twitter; for me it was hurting how I heard the radio show, even though that was still fine. But he eventually got the medium and exercised as much filtering as on the show.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

lots of people made a mistake when they got to Twitter- they no longer filtered their "jokes" and there was unlimited "stage time." The result was tons of bad stuff, and some reputations ruined/downgraded Howard Stern, who is always on, was horrible on twitter; for me it was hurting how I heard the radio show, even though that was still fine. But he eventually got the medium and exercised as much filtering as on the show.

Translation: I don't care about misogynistic* jokes.


* yeah, I know, I haven't listened to Stern in more than a decade and it's supposed to be better than it used to be.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Adder

Translation: I don't care about misogynistic* jokes.


* yeah, I know, I haven't listened to Stern in more than a decade and it's supposed to be better than it used to be.

You think saying fat girls get hit on by drunk guys is hate? It's a very stupid "joke" but hardly worth mentioning or being bothered by. I don't know who Adele is, so I don't get that one. I suppose the punching one is bad. But you need to reread the Jew hate ones- I dont know how you see one as being about Nazis.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

You think saying fat girls get hit on by drunk guys is hate?

That "fat girls" are only attractive to drunk people, yes.

I don't know who Adele is, so I don't get that one.

She's a singer. The "joke" is that the fat lady has sung.

But you need to reread the Jew hate ones- I dont know how you see one as being about Nazis.

The tweet reads: "And lower Jew tolerance RT @UnrealFacts: Blue-eyed people have a higher alcohol tolerance"

The joke is that blue-eyed people dislike Jews. Who is known having (or preferring) blue-eyes and disliking Jews?

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

You think saying fat girls get hit on by drunk guys is hate?

That joke is mocking the fat girls for imagining that they could be seen as attractive -- it's awful.

And Adele is large, so that joke turned on it being over when the fat lady sings -- hardly better, but not quite as cruel.