# Mod note in the joke thread **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 17, 2019, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637 "2019-06-17T09:55:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/21 "2019-06-17T15:44:24Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Ricky Gervais recently rebutted the trope (quite effectively IMO) that rape jokes are never funny, with a citation from his own show, the seminal masterpiece _The Office_: [https://youtu.be/I5bRUi1xdD4](https://youtu.be/I5bRUi1xdD4) The whole point of that clip is that the man making the crashingly inappropriate and ill-judged rape joke is a total dick. David Brent is making a rape joke, and it goes down like a cup of cold sick. Ricky Gervais is making a joke about how David Brent is the sort of socially inept, bruisingly insensitive dickhead who would make a rape joke. We don’t laugh at Brent’s joke. We laugh at Brent, the dickhead who made it; the horrifyingly embarrassing and awkward situation he creates by making it; and his idiotic lack of awareness of what he’s just done. And we can do that, because the mockumentary format of The Office is designed to let us distance ourselves from Brent so we can laugh at him openly. If someone did the same thing in front of us in real life it wouldn’t be funny, it’d be mortifying. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/22 "2019-06-17T15:53:07Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > That is amusing. I was going to say the same thing. > > Anyway, like I implied (), I’m not exactly losing sleep over this, just thought it odd that the stabbing a woman line did not warrant mention. But in your OP you didn’t phrase it as “stabbing a woman didn’t warrant mention”; you phrased it as “speaking of stabbing a woman is just fine”, which is a different thing entirely. It’s worth noting that rape jokes are a real thing, more common than they really ought to be on the internet and often a vehicle for barely-veiled violent misogyny. Woman-stabbing jokes aren’t really a genre (or if they are, it’s an extremely niche one, and one that has not been a previous issue here TTBOMK). In addition, the joke in question didn’t really need the stab/rape references to work as the other, milder versions were just as funny if not funnier. I find the Mod note as written to be entirely reasonable under the circumstances. I should add that my sense of humor is sufficiently macabre that there exist a few rape jokes that I find amusing. But they’re rare, and neither gratuitous nor trivializing. And no, I’m not going to repeat them here. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/23 "2019-06-17T15:58:01Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Ricky Gervais recently rebutted the trope (quite effectively IMO) that rape jokes are never funny, with a citation from his own show, the seminal masterpiece _The Office_: [https://youtu.be/I5bRUi1xdD4](https://youtu.be/I5bRUi1xdD4) I’m pretty easy-going when it comes to offensive jokes, and I’ve certainly told my share, but the day Ricky Gervais becomes the arbiter of what is good or bad taste here, I may have to leave. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/24 "2019-06-17T16:35:47Z")
Our society does not, in general, have a problem with people thinking that certain shades of stabbing are acceptable. We don’t ask what the stabbing victim was wearing, or attack them on the witness stand. Law enforcement officers do not contemptuously refuse to take a report from a stabbing victim. Nobody uses social media to shame or defame stabbing victims in order to negate their testimony. Stabbers do not - in general - get off on a technicality because the punishment might affect their future. There is no powerful minority of society who openly consider certain types of stabbing to be an acceptable assertion of masculinity. Nobody argues that stabbing is OK if both parties are a little bit drunk. Colleges do not insist that stabbing victims live in the same building with their attackers. A joke about stabbing does not contribute to an overall societal culture of victimization and minimization of a brutal crime. We are working to change this culture, and this requires a bit of vigilance on the subject. What’s your agenda? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/25 "2019-06-17T16:59:32Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Ricky Gervais recently rebutted the trope (quite effectively IMO) that rape jokes are never funny, with a citation from his own show, the seminal masterpiece _The Office_: [https://youtu.be/I5bRUi1xdD4](https://youtu.be/I5bRUi1xdD4) Gosh, now I’ve done a complete 180 on the subject. Thanks so much for weighing in. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/26 "2019-06-17T17:12:42Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Comedy these days is very raw. Jokes containing cursing, sex, and various perversions of sex abound. However, though I’ve seen numerous HBO presentations featuring stand-up comedians, I’ve heard nary a “rape joke” because rape is no joke under any circumstances. I’m wondering how in the world you can’t see this simple fact. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fwMukKqx-Os/hqdefault.jpg "George Carlin About Rape") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwMukKqx-Os) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/27 "2019-06-17T17:18:18Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwMukKqx-Os](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwMukKqx-Os) That was almost 30 years ago. Most of us got better since then. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/28 "2019-06-17T17:26:04Z")
a rape joke about a fat hairy guy and an Inuit women and no one gets upset about the whiskey drinking mick? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/29 "2019-06-17T17:41:41Z")
Note that **Emiliana** specifically asked for the moderation in question [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21700744&postcount=3). IMHO she was within her rights to do so. If you’re going to tell a joke involving rape, you have to be careful: know your audience, or at least provide some kind of context or warning. The OP of a “tell the funniest joke you know” thread did neither. As **engineer comp geek** said when modding the lawn mower thread: > [@I did a nice gesture.....we'll see if it's appreciated or not](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-did-a-nice-gesture-well-see-if-its-appreciated-or-not/835515/123): > > Apparently quite a few of you have been living under a rock for the past couple of years and haven’t heard that we are trying to make this place less squicky for our female members. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/30 "2019-06-17T17:57:11Z")
While not specified I am pretty sure that non sexual violence against women jokes are also unacceptable here. Would the op have been more content to have that spelled out in the note? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/31 "2019-06-17T19:32:58Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwMukKqx-Os](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwMukKqx-Os) So many people idolize George Carlin, and every few years I watch a little more of him to see if I was missing something. Thanks; I’m good until 2022. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/32 "2019-06-17T19:46:49Z")
> [@chela](#): > > a rape joke about a fat hairy guy and an Inuit women and no one gets upset about the whiskey drinking mick? And animal cruelty. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/33 "2019-06-17T20:16:37Z")
while any subject can be a source of humor, the more edgy the subject, the more insightful the joke needs to be and the more skilled the humorist. The tired old joke in that thread does not rise to that level and none of you are anywhere near enough to be telling edgy jokes. Find all the examples you want of professional comedians, that doesn’t change your limitations. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/34 "2019-06-17T20:25:50Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Indeed, the usual version I’ve heard is “\*\*wrestle \*\*a grizzly bear and **make love to** an [Eskimo or other ethnicity] woman”. And I think the joke works significantly better that way. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/35 "2019-06-17T20:50:17Z")
Would it work with, say, Russian women? Or does the target ethnic group have be judged as undesirable by white men? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/36 "2019-06-17T21:05:46Z")
I feel like we should be able to rule that jokes about rape or domestic violence aren’t allowed without getting into whether they’re funny or whether they exist or whether Ricky Gervais ever made one. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/37 "2019-06-17T21:07:36Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Would it work with, say, Russian women? Or does the target ethnic group have be judged as undesirable by white men? It didn’t occur to me that the woman being Inuit was because Inuits were undesirable, rather that finding and seducing one posed a challenge for the subject of the joke. The goal could have been to “make love to” a left-handed redheaded woman from Utah (if the joke is being told on or near the east coast) or from Rhode Island (if the joke is being told on or near the west coast). And adding the violent elements doesn’t improve the joke, they only distract from it, and it’s a weak enough joke as it is. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/38 "2019-06-17T21:12:07Z")
Stanislaus, if you have watched that show through to the end including the Christmas special, you know that David Brent is not treated as a villain but as an awkward but still lovable protagonist. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/39 "2019-06-17T23:33:47Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I feel like we should be able to rule that jokes about rape or domestic violence aren’t allowed without getting into whether they’re funny or whether they exist or whether Ricky Gervais ever made one. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637/40 "2019-06-17T23:45:59Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Thank you. +1. Ridiculous thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-note-in-the-joke-thread/835637.md?page=3)