# Things that seemed funny at the time but you couldn't get away with them now **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [September 25, 2020, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472 "2020-09-25T04:50:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/141 "2020-11-12T15:28:23Z")
I’ve heard comedians say that, as long as you poke fun at everyone, you can poke fun at almost anyone. In all honesty, hurting the feelings of terrorists ranks pretty low on my “do not do” list. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/142 "2020-11-12T16:02:44Z")
Of course you’ve never heard Jeff Dunham say that: He’s willing to stereotype and insult pretty much any group, but tries not to insult his most fervent supporters, the “country crowd,” which I’m assuming means conservative Christians. “That’s why I don’t pick on basic Christian-values stuff. Well, I also don’t like to, because that’s the way I was brought up.” > **[What are the political views and Religious Beliefs of Jeff Dunham? - Hollowverse](https://hollowverse.com/jeff-dunham)** > > Religion: Dunham is a Christian, but it's tough to say if he's devout. Political views: He appears to be conservative. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/143 "2020-11-12T16:14:02Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > “That’s why I don’t pick on basic Christian-values stuff. Well, I also don’t like to, because that’s the way I was brought up.” Well, he isn’t poking fun at Islam, he’s poking fun at terrorists. I think there’s a significant difference. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/144 "2020-11-12T16:18:09Z")
That’s the great thing about racists stereotypes, as long as one can find someone to match it, one can justify laughing at the racist puppet show. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/145 "2020-11-12T23:32:58Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Well, he isn’t poking fun at Islam, he’s poking fun at terrorists. I think there’s a significant difference. Considering most of the terrorists in the US are white Christians, he’s not helping things any. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/146 "2020-11-13T00:28:42Z")
I remember purchasing Dr. Demento’s first album in the early 1980s. It was called _Dr. Demento’s Delights_ and was released in 1975. On the album was a song called _The Ballad Of Ben Gay_ by Ben Gay and the Silly Savages. (I won’t link to it, but it’s on YT.) Being an ignorant teen, I thought it was kind of funny at the time. Apparently Dr. Demento thought so, too. A search on [http://dmdb.org/](http://dmdb.org/) shows the song was played on his show 50 times between 1973 and 1980. Many years went by where he didn’t play it, for obvious (and good) reasons. And then he played it on his show in 2006, 2010, 2011, and [2019](http://dmdb.org/cgi-bin/plinfo.pl?drd19.0119.html). I am shocked he played it on his show just 10 months ago. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/147 "2020-11-13T02:24:37Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > It didn’t occur to me for a long time that the song “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” was basically just a list of racist stereotypes. _Trouble_ from “The Music Man” also strikes me as, well, troublesome. _Not a wholesome trotting race, no, but a race where they sit down right on the horse! Like to see some stuck-up jockey boy sitting on Dan Patch?_ Bearing in mind that most jockeys in horse racing at the time _were_ African-American, that seems problematic (except that most people probably don’t bear that in mind). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/148 "2020-11-13T02:36:59Z")
And [here’s](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-GsDG9ZzenM) what the production team at _The Sonny and Cher_ Show came up with when they decided to feature _Bad, Bad Leroy Brown_. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/149 "2020-11-13T05:23:25Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Dan Patch Had to google that. “The Music Man” was set in Iowa, probably sometime after 1901, so “some jockey” would probably be white, and it was written in 1957, so “some jockey” would almost certainly be white. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/150 "2020-11-13T06:48:29Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > _Trouble_ from “The Music Man” also strikes me as, well, troublesome. > > _Not a wholesome trotting race, no, but a race where they sit down right on the horse! Like to see some stuck-up jockey boy sitting on Dan Patch?_ > > Bearing in mind that most jockeys in horse racing at the time _were_ African-American, that seems problematic (except that most people probably don’t bear that in mind). What is supposed to be so “problematic” about that verse? It’s about gambling on a horse race. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/151 "2020-11-13T07:28:32Z")
Sorry, I should have included some more of the patter. _Not a wholesome trotting race, no, but a race where they sit down right on the horse! Like to see some stuck-up jockey boy sitting on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil? Well I should say!_ It’s problematic because Prof. Hill is implying that decent white folks should be outraged by the idea of a black man (jockey BOY) actually sitting on the back of the foremost pacing race horse in the land. > **[Dan Patch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Patch)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Dan Patch (April 29, 1896 – July 11, 1916) was a noted American Standardbred pacer. At a time when harness racing was one of the largest sports in the nation, Dan Patch was a major celebrity. He was undefeated in open competition, and was so dominant on the racetrack that other owners eventually refused to enter their horses against him. Instead, he ended his racing career performing time trials, and traveled extensively on exhibition, earning mil... ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/152 "2020-11-13T14:17:03Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Sorry, I should have included some more of the patter. > > _Not a wholesome trotting race, no, but a race where they sit down right on the horse! Like to see some stuck-up jockey boy sitting on Dan Patch? > Make your blood boil? Well I should say!_ > > It’s problematic because Prof. Hill is implying that decent white folks should be outraged by the idea of a black man (jockey BOY) actually sitting on the back of the foremost pacing race horse in the land. > > [Dan Patch - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Patch) Meredith Willson was writing this in the 1950s, at which point the ban on Black jockeys was not general knowledge. Jockeys then were white and he probably was unaware it was any different. It’s a real stretch to think there was any racist intent especially since audiences in 1957 would not know anything about the racism that kicked Black jockeys out of the sport. Jockeys were often referred to as “boys” in the 50s, probably due to their small stature. It had nothing to do with race. So neither factor has any relevance to what Willson was writing. The lyrics to “Ya Got Trouble” were based upon nostalgia, not fact (e.g., “Captain Billy’s Whizz Bang” and “Bevo” are anachronisms). The line was written for people who knew nothing of the era other than a vague knowledge that Dan Patch was a harness horse (which is clear from the lyrics). ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/153 "2020-11-15T06:17:14Z")
The song _Madeira, M’Dear_ by the 1950s-era British comedy songwriters Flanders and Swann is blatantly and unapologetically making light of an older man getting a young woman drunk so he can rape her. It’s incredibly cringeworthy from a modern viewpoint. Which is a shame, because its lyrics are incredibly clever. It’s also worth noting that F&S seem quite progressive for their era (at least from my fairly naive perspective). One of their songs is subtly but powerfully anti-war. Another one has a strong “love who you want” message. Maybe it wasn’t pro-gay back then, just catholics-and-protestants-should-be-able-to-marry, but it certainly wasn’t stodgy and conservative. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/154 "2020-11-15T22:33:21Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > The song _Madeira, M’Dear_ by the 1950s-era British comedy songwriters Flanders and Swann is blatantly and unapologetically making light of an older man getting a young woman drunk so he can rape her. It’s incredibly cringeworthy from a modern viewpoint. Which is a shame, because its lyrics are incredibly clever. Here’s Tony Randall performing it on _The Carol Burnett Show_ in the 1970s (which is where I recall seeing it) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpqCFwksON4) Here’s Flanders and Swann doing it [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OW_zi8n4HDQ/hqdefault.jpg "Flanders & Swann") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW_zi8n4HDQ) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/155 "2020-11-16T12:45:50Z")
I last performed this in a concert about 18 months ago. I prefaced it with a sort of disclaimer that obviously the plot of the song is unacceptable in this day and age, and I was including it precisely because of the wordplay, not because I agreed with the premise. It went down well, as I knew it would (and it helped that this was a small audience with an average age of 70+, some of whom I knew personally). I now wonder if even that shouldn’t be done - but by that standard, we shouldn’t watch most pre-90s James Bond films (for example - no doubt there are millions of others). I guess I’m saying that I think we can still be entertained by the exploits of fictional characters from past eras (as in these two cases) without perpetuating their outdated attitudes. But maybe I’m wrong. As a white male who doesn’t really take offence to anything, myself, I’m not the best person to judge. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/156 "2020-11-18T01:11:11Z")
Although I see from the video that the song is clearly about an older guy trying to make a girl reckless by making her drunk, I wanted to mention that I’d never _seen_ it before – only heard it on the radio, where, like a lot of people with a lot of songs, I didn’t listen carefully to the words, or know what the song was really about. I always heard it as an older alcoholic more interested in the wine than the women, rapidly getting drunk as his target rapidly looses interest. Have Some Madeira M’Dear Some Madeira Madeira ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/157 "2020-11-19T05:45:42Z")
This is the best version of the song: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vrbAyHVVYgI/hqdefault.jpg "The Limeliters - Have some Madeira my dear") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrbAyHVVYgI) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/158 "2020-11-19T12:34:19Z")
In the original version – a recording of their live stage show\* – Flanders explains it is a parody of Edwardian temperance songs that warn against strong drink and the dire consequences of drinking. \*Produced by George Martin. Martin’s background in comedy music had to play into why he signed the Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/159 "2020-11-19T17:03:48Z")
Hogan’s Heroes because now Nazis are depicted as evil not some bumblers. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472/160 "2020-11-19T18:11:02Z")
Nobody could possibly make this scene from _Bugsy Malone (1976)_ today. In case you don’t know it, it’s a prohibition-era gangster movie made entirely with child actors. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ulEG7bd1H60/maxresdefault.jpg "Bugsy Malone - My Name is Tallulah (HD)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulEG7bd1H60) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-seemed-funny-at-the-time-but-you-couldnt-get-away-with-them-now/921472.md?page=9)