The thin line between comedy and insensitivity

One of the characteristics which distinguishes humans from other creatures is the possession of empathy. Sadly most people seem to have lost this attribute. As one grows older with more exposure and enlightenment we tend to regret some things or preferences from our past. One of such things for me was being entertained by comedians who made jest of people's peculiar physical or health challenges such as stuttering and the likes. In hind sight I wonder what must have been going through my mind for such awful speech (which made mockery of things which the affected individuals could not control) to have been mildly amusing.

Empathy demands that we put ourselves in the position of persons living with such challenges or their close relative and see if we would have found it amusing to be the subject of ridicule all in the name of humour or comedy. I certainly know that I would have taken offence if I or a loved one was being made jest off in my presence because of a physical challenge.

The recent Oscar drama where actor Will Smith assaulted comedian Chris Rock brings to the fore an important question ,

Should there not be a limit to what comedians can say or make subject of their jokes ?

Some might argue that it might amount to censorship of free speech but then is there anything that is absolutely free in life without limitations ? . While I am not in support of Will physically assaulting Chris, the G.I. Jane joke which took a swipe at the alopecia challenge Will's wife was experiencing was insensitive. It was satirically a case of you have the right to free speech but cannot be guaranteed what happens after exercising that right.

Any man who cares for his wife would certainly not be pleased with such utterances. In fact no individual should have been pleased or amused by such a joke. The reaction of the audience is a pointer to how generally insensitive we have become when relating with people with peculiar physical or health conditions.

Will didn't do well for initially laughing about the joke only to rethink his display of amusement upon seeing that his wife had been hurt by the joke. Will's sudden about face is an important lesson for everyone to never turn a blind eye or be pleased when a wrong is being done to someone else simply because you think you aren't directly affected.

It is probably the guilt of his initial reaction to the joke an an attempt to save face that prompted him to want to prove to his wife that he wasn't pleased with her being the subject of the joke by landing Chris the slap. Alas the milk had already been spilled ant it was too little, too late. The Will Smith saga reminds me of a local adage:

Do not throw stones in the market place

The wisdom behind this wise saying is that if you throw stones in the market place , you cannot determine who is going to be hit by such stone as it could be a dear loved one who is the recipient.

While comedians like any other individual have the right to express themselves , I believe that there must be boundaries which should not be exceeded. You can be funny or crack jokes without making jest of the health or physical challenges of others . Better still you can also avoid being mean just to please your audience.