Being Offended Does Not Give You Power Or the Moral High Ground
Ricky Gervais is a comedian who, by his own words and actions, does not care about people being offended by his jokes. The world still remembers Gervais proving it in 2020 during the Golden Globes when you told his fellow celebrities to their faces that they know nothing about the real world and have no right to lecture the public.
Once again, Gervais is under attack. In his latest Netflix comedy special, Gervais once again tells jokes that had people clutching at their pearls and demanding censorship.
As noted by the Daily Caller, Gervais told a joke about terminally ill children resulting in a cancel mob forming against Gervais and demanding that Netflix remove the joke:
Gervais’ joke apparently focuses on how busy he is making videos for terminally ill children supported by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, according to an interview with BBC 5 Live. In it, Gervais says he doesn’t go into hospitals and say “Wake up, baldy!” He then says, “Why didn’t you wish to get better? What, you fucking ret**ed as well?”
And of course, all the Karens came out to scream hysterically that Gervais’ joke wasn’t funny. In fact, they hated it so much they started a petition to have Gervais censored by Netflix, and more than 6,000 people were apparently comfortable removing his freedoms (and likely their own — I mean, we’re talking about a country full of people who thought Brexit would save their National Health Service, they’re absolutely stupid enough to remove their own freedom of speech).
Of course, those who are angry about Gervais's joke didn't pay attention to what he said and Gervais commented on the reason behind these people being so offended and taking action against him.
“They’re not really offended. They just want to be heard,” he said in a BBC interview.
I would add that it's probably more than just wanting to be heard, it's wanting to be seen. I can't tell you how these offended people live their lives with much accuracy seeing as how I don't know them, but I do think that many of these people go to great lengths to prove something.
And they're not just proving something to others either. They're trying to prove something to themselves. While being offended is a natural reaction to disagreeable things that every single person has (I'm offended by nanny state authoritarians and their view that they have a right to tell me how to live) the perpetually offended seem to arrive at offenses wherever they can.
They're moral busybodies who see themselves as more upstanding than everyone else and believe themselves to have a firmer grip on what is good and proper than you do. By taking offense to everything around them they can signal their virtue and make sure you know that your behavior and/or beliefs are less than theirs.
The thing is, someone's offense doesn't inherently have power or authority. The person being told they're being offensive has to agree and submit to the offended party that they're out of line for the offense to have any weight.
Gervais is right on the money by denying these people what they want, which is for you to feel like you're lesser and they're greater as a moral figure and a person.
If someone tells you that something you did offended them and you know they have no real reason to be offended, the correct answer is "Okay...be offended." This will likely cause them to rant, rave, or show disgust but honestly...who cares?
If they can't take a joke then they should probably lock themselves up in their home and never come out because the world is full of jokes and sometimes the darker jokes are absolutely necessary for the individual and societal health.
Post a Comment