Jokes about murder.

Mike Sales
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Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm

Jokes about murder.

Post by Mike Sales »

I see that the police are investigating Jo Brand's line about throwing battery acid not milkshakes at politicians.
Matthew Parris claimed likewise to be joking about stringing wires across the road to garotte cyclists.
Is there a difference? I will watch the results of the investigation with interest.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
pwa
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Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by pwa »

I'd say both were unwise and in poor taste. Both MP and JB are usually people who take a rational, non-violent approach to things, so I'm a bit disappointed in both of them. I expect JB in particular will be wishing she could reel that one back in and do a bit of editing. Joking about violence is difficult to do well. To embed in the joke the idea that the teller disapproves of the violence requires careful crafting, so trying to do that sort of joke off-the-cuff is dangerous.
kwackers
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Location: Warrington

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by kwackers »

I heard the actual broadcast, it was fairly obvious it was a joke.
She's a comedian, the program is a comedy and the way she said it meant nothing else.

Was it in poor taste? Probably but so is a lot of comedy.

Is Mathew Paris a comedian? What was the context?
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by thirdcrank »

What's wrong with lighthearted bantz?

Both the Sniveller and JB could answer that question, showing their working out on the answer paper. Humbug.


=========================================================================
The Sniveller was writing in the Times, playing to the gallery with a nasty piece about cyclists, suggesting that barbed-wire stretched across their routes would be a good thing. ie, in print, not off-the-cuff. Faced with the uproar, he apologised. Shortly after the @@@@@@ @@@@@@ (only joking :wink: ) who was the readers' editor(or whatever they call it in that rag bleated - and don't ask me how a cow can bleat - that's just bantz - that the self-righteous cycling lobby were all feigning indignation and what a jolly good chap he was. Sometime later, there was a stretched barbed-wire incident. More recently, I've seen something on the telly where he was snivelling about being the target of nasty hatred from cyclists.
Last edited by thirdcrank on 14 Jun 2019, 10:40am, edited 1 time in total.
Mike Sales
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Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by Mike Sales »

kwackers wrote:Is Mathew Paris a comedian? What was the context?


He wrote about cyclists more than once in his Times column.
Judge for yourself whether it was in a humorous context, or meant as a joke.

https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/cyclists-attack-parris-over-decapitation-joke

http://ipayroadtax.com/fairies/matthew-parris-cyclists-pay-no-road-tax/
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
pwa
Posts: 17371
Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by pwa »

At a time when we are all concerned that politicians cannot walk the streets and meet the people without risk, JB's joke was a bit naff to say the least. It implied, jokingly, that throwing battery acid at Farage might be okay. Not seriously. But JB believes in equality between the sexes, so would she have been as flippant about chucking battery acid at a female politician? Or a politician she approves of? Having seen the results of acid attacks I would find it difficult to laugh at any joke with that concept in it. I forgive her because I don't think she is a nasty person and I think she just let out an ill-considered remark without the necessary self-editing.
kwackers
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Location: Warrington

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by kwackers »

Mike Sales wrote:He wrote about cyclists more than once in his Times column.
Judge for yourself whether it was in a humorous context, or meant as a joke.

https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/cyclists-attack-parris-over-decapitation-joke

http://ipayroadtax.com/fairies/matthew-parris-cyclists-pay-no-road-tax/

He probably did less damage than Johnson did with the 'jokes' in his column. ;)

Paris's 'joke' falls somewhat more flat than Brand's, she very obviously set it up for the punchline, his is more of a statement.
I'm always wary of a "joke" that's delivered as a statement without any sort of setup...
Mike Sales
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Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by Mike Sales »

pwa wrote: Having seen the results of acid attacks I would find it difficult to laugh at any joke with that concept in it.


Cyclists have been victims of wire traps.

Did the police look into Parris's joke"?
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Tangled Metal
Posts: 9505
Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by Tangled Metal »

I heard that one of Jo Brand's jokes was as follows:

"The way to a man's heart is through his hankie pocket with a knife!"

I'm sure I've heard jokes about violence from JB in the past too. She's not adverse to risky jokes. It's part of her style.
pwa
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Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by pwa »

Mike Sales wrote:
pwa wrote: Having seen the results of acid attacks I would find it difficult to laugh at any joke with that concept in it.


Cyclists have been victims of wire traps.

Did the police look into Parris's joke"?

No idea, but I don't find that joke any funnier. For me to laugh enthusiastically at a joke with the concept of violence in it, the joke has to be an attack on violence and those who perpetrate it.
hemo
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Location: West Sussex

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by hemo »

Problem is some loony tune will likely act on such stupid remarks whether in jest or not, someone will look up to these as a role model :shock: .
mattheus
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Location: Western Europe

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by mattheus »

pwa wrote:I'd say both were unwise and in poor taste. Both MP and JB are usually people who take a rational, non-violent approach to things, so I'm a bit disappointed in both of them.

Agreed.

in general you shouldn't try direct comparisons of these things - it's like comparing prison sentences for two offenders. like a good judge, we should judge each case on it's merits.

But I have to say I'm still angry with Parris about that garrotting article! It was so deliberate. "playing to the gallery" as someone posted here is dead right. Although the PCC got hundreds of complaints, I have yet to find that he received any punishment.

I don't ever think it's right to use "only joking" as a defence for bullying. Where is the actual joke? I don't have to actually laugh to see a joke - I just want to see that it was INTENDED as funny. There are plenty of bad jokes out there, that's fine; but being spiteful (or inciting violence) isn't a joke in itself just because you later claim to be "only joking".


Meanwhile, on Ms Brand:
Tangled Metal wrote:I heard that one of Jo Brand's jokes was as follows:

"The way to a man's heart is through his hankie pocket with a knife!"

I'm sure I've heard jokes about violence from JB in the past too. She's not adverse to risky jokes. It's part of her style.


I've been thinking about why I feel Jo Brand's comments are (in the main) on the "right side"; she started off doing lots of jokes like the above, about men. We have to bear in mind the context - feminism was just getting off the ground. Violence to women (by men) was not getting the treatment it deserved, and Jo was frequently the butt of nasty invenctive from men. So I'd say she had the right to make those sort of jokes.

I can't remember the exact wording of her Farrage joke, so I'll delay comment.
softlips
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Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by softlips »

kwackers wrote:She's a comedian,


:shock: :?
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by thirdcrank »

JB's attempt at humour is also an own goal in that it allows Farage to present himself as a victim. He milked the milkshake incident enough.
kwackers
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Location: Warrington

Re: Jokes about murder.

Post by kwackers »

softlips wrote:
kwackers wrote:She's a comedian,


:shock: :?

I'm sure there's meaning there but I'm not getting it...
She's not a comedian? You don't like her style of humour?

She should have kept the joke back for her stage show. Now she's a joke down because everyone has heard that one...
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