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Heath Ledger is Dead (Page 2)
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Jan 23, 2008, 02:48 PM
 
Originally Posted by Kerrigan View Post
To the inevitable jokes about his death, I'm reminded of a quote by Jean Baudrillard:

“A negative judgment gives you more satisfaction than praise"
completely unrelated to his death, but check out comment number 3. such bad taste some people have
Cops: Lil' Wayne Had a Lot O' Dope! - TMZ.com - Entertainment News, Celebrity Gossip and Hollywood Rumors

edit: the commenter telling off number 3 is not me
     
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Jan 24, 2008, 02:35 AM
 
Originally Posted by Jawbone54 View Post
The image I keep seeing in my head is the picture of his 2-year-old daughter riding on top of his shoulders as he walked down the street. She won't have any memories of him in just a few more years.

This is really sad.
I happened to found your quote on a Hong Kong newspaper. The news article even translated it to Chinese. Strange.
     
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Jan 24, 2008, 12:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by Kenneth View Post
I happened to found your quote on a Hong Kong newspaper. The news article even translated it to Chinese. Strange.
Eh?
     
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Jan 24, 2008, 05:45 PM
 
To the Too Soonâ„¢ crowd: Dealing with death and disaster with humour is a natural human reaction. Deal.

No less than 30 minutes after the news broke I got this ticking in:
You know what the good thing about Heath Ledger dying is? Now Steve Irwin will have someone to make out with. Too soon?
Comedians are a harsh bunch.

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Jan 24, 2008, 06:08 PM
 
But unfortunately not a very funny bunch if that "joke" is any indication. Just suggesting somebody is gay doesn't actually constitute humor.
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Jan 24, 2008, 06:28 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chuckit View Post
Just suggesting somebody is gay doesn't actually constitute humor.
"That Salty bloke... ...he might be gay he might."

See? That was funny. Especially in the Scouse accent I just said it in. So it actually can constitute humour if done correctly.

Unfortunately, whoever Erik gets his jokes off needs to retain the day job.

(* not picking on the cuddly gay pastor for any reason other than he's a good subject to illustrate that it can work because he's known to be reasonably flamboyant here on the NN and thus fits the joke framework perfectly)
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Jan 25, 2008, 02:16 AM
 
Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - View Post
To the Too Soonâ„¢ crowd: Dealing with death and disaster with humour is a natural human reaction. Deal.
Is that so? I can see how humor may be used to deal with the death of someone close to you--perhaps a humorous aside at the funeral, or something to this effect. But in the public sphere, mocking someone's death is distasteful. It doesn't matter how novel or edgy it makes you feel, people around you will still consider you to have poor taste.

I'm guessing however, that since you find cracks about Brokeback Mountain funny in the context of Ledger's death, you would likewise condone this:
Fox Host John Gibson Mocks Heath Ledger's Death - Media on The Huffington Post
     
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Jan 25, 2008, 02:26 AM
 
I was just about to post that link myself as an example of the difference between humour and assholishness:

Think Progress » John Gibson Mocks ‘Weirdo’ Heath Ledger’s Death: ‘He Found Out How To Quit You’

Thanks Kerrigan!

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Jan 25, 2008, 02:45 AM
 
Considering that the set up of each joke is strikingly similar, all things being equal, I think that the only difference to you between humor and assholishness is the person who tells the joke. If a conservative mocks a celebrity's death, then he must be an asshole, but if anyone else does, then it is humour.

Let's face it, there just isn't anything funny about his death. Not to mention, Brokeback jokes are pretty old hat.

Now, if Britney Spears or Michael Jackson suddenly died, we might have a few good jokes on our hands.
     
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Jan 25, 2008, 03:25 AM
 
Originally Posted by Kerrigan View Post
Considering that the set up of each joke is strikingly similar, all things being equal, I think that the only difference to you between humor and assholishness is the person who tells the joke. If a conservative mocks a celebrity's death, then he must be an asshole, but if anyone else does, then it is humour.

Let's face it, there just isn't anything funny about his death. Not to mention, Brokeback jokes are pretty old hat.

Now, if Britney Spears or Michael Jackson suddenly died, we might have a few good jokes on our hands.
Oops, you did it again.

The machine is not aware of what is in your heart.
     
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Jan 25, 2008, 03:46 AM
 
No. It has nothing to do with the person telling the joke being conservative or not. It has to do with the intention of the person telling the joke. The latter case here being clearly fuelled by actual hatred rather than a jocular zeitgeist motivation.

People laugh at politically incorrect jokes. It happens.

Mind if I Laugh? Humor When Tragedy Strikes « HumorX Blog
An Evaluation of Humour in Emergency Work

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Jan 25, 2008, 04:35 AM
 
You're still not getting it. It's not about being politically correct. It's about not being a jerk. I don't think anybody who knows my politics would ever accuse me of being politically correct, but like I said earlier, I still don't go around trying to exacerbate other people's pain. There's a very large area between walking on eggshells and being a jerk — that's where we should try to be.

Also, the joke is lame completely independent of it being offensive. There are well-constructed (though still tasteless) jokes involving Steve Irwin's death — that just isn't one of them. "LOL I'm calling two dead dudes GAY! My God, I'm clever!" Like, maybe I would have giggled at it when I was in junior high.
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Jan 25, 2008, 06:58 AM
 
it would have been funnier if the joke went,

Steve Irwin had someone to play cards with.

Brandon Lee has someone to talk about facial makeup with.

ok, maybe not funnier.
     
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Jan 25, 2008, 04:55 PM
 
The joke is intentionally skewed to be even more un-pc. It's obvious neither of them was gay. Like Jesus.

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Jan 25, 2008, 06:06 PM
 
While I often find unexpected celebrity deaths shocking and tragic, I invariably find the over-the-top reactions to them hilarious.

Originally Posted by Chuckit View Post
You're still not getting it. It's not about being politically correct. It's about not being a jerk. I don't think anybody who knows my politics would ever accuse me of being politically correct, but like I said earlier, I still don't go around trying to exacerbate other people's pain.
Pain? I wish you knew how to quit Heath Ledger.
     
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Jan 25, 2008, 06:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by Face Ache View Post
While I often find unexpected celebrity deaths shocking and tragic, I invariably find the over-the-top reactions to them hilarious.
I haven't seen any really over-the-top reactions to Heath's death in this thread.

Originally Posted by Face Ache View Post
Pain? I wish you knew how to quit Heath Ledger.
Didn't say it was my pain. (BTW, 2005 called. It really needs that joke back.)
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Jan 26, 2008, 01:40 AM
 
Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - View Post
No. It has nothing to do with the person telling the joke being conservative or not. It has to do with the intention of the person telling the joke. The latter case here being clearly fuelled by actual hatred rather than a jocular zeitgeist motivation.
OK, I see your point, vis-à-vis Gibson's homophobia.

(Pardon my French, I couldn't find a suitable, less pretentious expression there).
     
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Jan 26, 2008, 04:33 AM
 
Originally Posted by Chuckit View Post
2005 called. It really needs that joke back.
2007 called. It said you can stop saying that 2007 forum wisecrack in 2008.
"There is a minority of intellectual pacifists, whose real motive appears to be admiration for totalitarianism. Pacifist propaganda boils down to saying that one side is as bad as the other, but if one looks closely at the writing of these intellectual pacifists, one finds that they do not by any means express impartial disapproval but are directed against Britain and the United States" - George Orwell, 1945.
     
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Jan 26, 2008, 06:18 AM
 
Originally Posted by Kerrigan View Post
OK, I see your point, vis-à-vis Gibson's homophobia.

(Pardon my French, I couldn't find a suitable, less pretentious expression there).
"with respect to" or "about"

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