Summary

The author argues that the rise of cancel culture is leading to an intolerance of humor, particularly jokes about minorities, and suggests that this intolerance is paralleled by extreme reactions such as school shootings.

Abstract

The article "Cancel Culture is Making School Shootings Okay" discusses the potential harmful effects of cancel culture on society, particularly in relation to humor and the distinction between jokes and bullying. The author reflects on their own experience with bullying, which they believe helped build character and resilience, and contrasts this with the current environment where perceived offenses can lead to severe retaliation, including violence. The piece criticizes the idea of imposing limits on comedians' material, emphasizing that humor is subjective and should not be policed according to individual sensitivities. The author advocates for a return to a more robust sense of humor and self-awareness, suggesting that those who are overly sensitive to jokes should avoid comedic content.

Opinions

The author believes that cancel culture is creating an environment where any joke about minorities is met with extreme backlash, which is problematic.
They posit that the inability to take a joke is connected to more severe societal issues, such as school shootings, where individuals use perceived bullying as an excuse for violent behavior.
The article suggests that experiencing bullying can contribute positively to personal growth and self-confidence.
It emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between jokes, which are meant to be funny, and bullying, which is aggressive and intended to harm.
The author defends comedians and their role in society to tell jokes without being constrained by boundaries set by those with particular sensitivities.
They argue that everyone has a different sense of humor and that it is not reasonable to expect everyone to conform to one standard of what is considered funny.
The piece promotes the idea of self-deprecating humor and roasting as ways to develop a thicker skin and resilience against offense.
It criticizes the current state of cancel culture and calls for its end, suggesting that individuals who are sensitive to certain types of humor should avoid exposing themselves to such content rather than seeking to censor it.

Cancel Culture is Making School Shootings Okay

You can’t force everyone to abide by your sense of humor

Welcome to a world where it’s okay to go up on stage and slap someone for making a joke.

And that’s not all.

If you even think about making jokes about minorities, you’ll be in the dumpster fire of cancel culture until they decide to let you out of the dog house.

We’re heading down a dangerous road — one that could lead to death.

Let me explain.

We’ve all been bullied in school.

I got called 4-eyes, bucktooth, fatass, etc. People would record videos making fun of me (social media was coming around at this point). Heck, there’s probably some 10-year-old video on YouTube of me making a fool out of myself (please don’t look it up).

But I took it all on the chin.

I learned from those experiences. I gained tons of self-confidence later on. Lord knows how long it would take me to grow a thicker skin if I didn’t get bullied.

I’m not saying bullying is okay, but it did toughen me up at a young age.

Instead of kids taking the bullying on the chin nowadays, you see them grabbing guns from their parents and shooting up the damn place.

Granted, most often those kids aren’t bullied, they only say that as an excuse for what they did.

But what would be the difference between that and Will Smith slapping Chris Rock? Does everyone get a pass to physically assault and maybe even kill someone because of a joke they made?

Even if you feel bullied by the joke (and you’re allowed to feel that way), should you retaliate with violence?

Hell no.

At this point, we need to reiterate the difference between a joke and bullying. People have it confused big time.

A joke is something funny that people say to cause laughter.

Bullying is aggressive behavior in which people use their power over someone else to deliberately abuse and intimidate them.

It’s a comedian’s job to tell jokes — jokes. I have no idea why people think comedians intentionally bully others. When I go to a Chris Tucker show, I expect to get made fun of. That’s the point.

Now, we’re trying to assign boundaries to comedians. Minorities are off-limits.

People have been clowning minorities for YEARS.

I can’t tell you how many black people jokes I heard in school from other black kids, and it made me fall out of my chair.

Other people may not find it funny and that’s fine. Everyone has a different sense of humor.

But you can’t force everyone to abide by your sense of humor because you don’t like it.

I have a morbid sense of humor. If someone makes a crazy joke about suicide, I’m sorry, I’m laughing.

People need to roast themselves or get off social media.

I’ve roasted myself countless times and that has helped me gain a thicker skin too. My family also cracks jokes on me and vice versa.

If you’re not used to getting clowned on, you should stay off social media.

I understand that we’re in a different time now. Certain jokes aren’t as hip to current times. But that doesn’t mean we should throw this specific type of humor out the door because some people don’t like it.

Comedians shouldn’t be canceled for doing their jobs either.

It’s time to cancel cancel culture.

And if you’re too sensitive to these kinds of jokes, stay away from comedians.

Get my free writing guide that can teach you how to build a writing habit in 90 days or less here.