WHY I THINK OFFENSIVE JOKES ARE SOMETIMES OK
a reaction to my comments box
by Jill "comedian to the stars" Twiss

I don't usually write jokes that offend people. Or if I do, I'm more likely to offend them by the sheer stupidity of the joke than by its underlying offensive nature. But every so often I do hit upon a topic that causes some people to want to throw up on my shoes.

And apparently that happened on my last post.

Here are examples of other jokes I've written that have probably offended somebody.

1) So, on one hand, this new strain of AIDS is pretty upsetting. But on the other hand, aren't you just a teensy bit proud of AIDS?

I mean, we all thought AIDS was down for the count. A has-been, really. A disease that had its 15 minutes of fame and was on a downward spiral into oblivion. We all just assumed that AIDS was a one-hit-wonder. But AIDS was working behind the scenes. It was diligently improving itself even though times were tough. Even though no one thought it would pull through.

AIDS is living the American Dream. It overcame adversity, worked hard, and came back even stronger.

I think that AIDS is the new Rocky.

I bet people who think that there's nothing funny about AIDS didn't like this one at all.

2) A TOM SWIFTY:

"It was just a slumber party," Michael Jackson said touchingly.

Probably not at all amusing to Michael Jackson fans.

2) The car that parked in front of me today has a bumper sticker that says, "Elect Jesus King of Your Life."

Do you think Jesus is really interested in running a campaign here? And, if so, don't you think he could come up with better slogans?

Like, Vote For Jesus, or You're Going to Get Hit By a Bus. I think that one would be pretty persuasive.

And his campaign manager would be like, "Well Jesus, you're going to have to play down the whole 'virgin birth' thing. People want sex nowadays. But I think that whole water to wine business could really sell in the urban market. I do."

What I'd like to know is who's running against him?

Probably Al Sharpton.

This was probably offensive lovers of both Jesus and bumper stickers.

Are you getting my point? Or should I say it louder? I do so hate offending anybody. I think comedy is out there to make people laugh and the last thing I want to do is make anybody sad. That being said, I think most anything can offend somebody and I can't spend too much time worrying about who I'm going to offend.

Besides, I don't agree with sentences like, "There's just nothing funny about rape/cancer/Tom Cruise". I think there's something funny about everything.

Two days after I got attacked walking from my car to my apartment, a therapist informed me that I was "trying to hide my pain through jokes." Sure, I probably was. But I'm pretty sure I can't think of anything better to do with pain. I think if you can't make a joke about something, that's when there's really a problem.

So yeah, I won't be taking down the posts that might offend somebody. But thanks for asking.

Oh, and if you're offended by THIS post because it's disgustingly long and sentimental and annoying, well I can understand that. I am a little bit too. Feel free to throw up on my shoes.