"Do not try this at home."

Needless to say I received lots of comments on my weekend post about Mike Richards.  The cancel culture will actually be the recurring theme in these next few posts.  

Yes, the things Richards said in those podcast episodes were offensive.  But I have a theory I’ve yet to see mentioned anywhere else.  

People say stupid things when they try to be funny and they’re inherently not funny.  And that includes racist remarks and sexist remarks.  

They hear Howard Stern pull it off, or Don Rickles, or Richard Pryor and they think they can too.   But they can’t.  

And let’s be honest, sexist, racist jokes are easy.  Instead of displaying real wit they go after easy targets.  

We all know these people.  They’re the insufferable ones we run from at parties, usually after a few drinks (post 9:00 PM).  Women must get this a lot; nimrods trying to impress them with their dazzling sense of humor.  Inappropriate lines just spew out.  

But at least they’re not broadcasting.

When you go on a podcast you are not only broadcasting, you’re broadcasting to the entire world.  And unlike radio where you say something once and it’s gone in the ether, podcast content remains, sometimes forever.   

Same is true for posting on Facebook or Twitter or any social media site.  You may think just three of your friends are seeing your Tweet but that’s always the case.  It’s a form of broadcasting.  

Especially now, that we’re all so hyper sensitive, we all have to be careful and exhibit good judgement, and that could be a problem for unfunny people who think they’re funny because their judgement is already cloudy.   Leave the comedy to the pros. 


from By Ken Levine