With senseless shootings now as common as birthdays, Hallmark is forced to make cards for a fast growing segment of the population, victims of gun violence their families and their communities.
What strikes me most about this video commentary on our escalating violence is the outspoken vitriol in the comments section! Granted, this is very dark humor…If it is humor. But the reactions to it provide a glimpse of our divided country at large.
The most aggrieved – and vocal, complain that liberals wish to put us all at the mercy of violent attackers. Personally, I didn’t get this from the video, but any mention of guns which isn’t a wholesale advocacy is viewed as an attempt by ‘librals’ to grab guns.
A less vocal but also very unhappy subgroup complains that comedy should be funny, and the issue is “too serious” for comedy. I don’t believe UCB Comedy intended this to be a laugh-fest, perhaps they sought to shine a light on the problem via absurdity? If the growing violence issue is ‘too serious’ to present in this manner, no one gave the memo to comedians like Lenny Bruce or Richard Pryor.
From henceforth, we will cease to shine the light of humor on serious topics in the human condition. Banned is comedy based upon our own personal travails. Such topics as drug use gone awry (Richard Pryor), divorce,
sex, racism, marriage, men, women, blondes, stupidity, angry birds, fat cats, nerds, Republicans, Democrats,
crooked bankers, love, hate, illness, colonoscopies (notify Lewis Black to stop it!), awkward adolescence, diets, drunkenness, Boomers,X’ers, Hipsters, world leaders, love, hate and the whole of human experience – is too damned serious to view through the slightly skewed lens of humor…Apparently. Did I mention denial or insanity?