Buy a mac

In the light of the Brand/Ross incident in the UK, it seems the PC society of America is making its way across the pond to Europe. A recent local sign was a number of complaints Swedish comedian (and I use the term comedian quite loosely) Petra Mede received for the following joke at the Swedish Eurovision qualifications:

"So, I hear your dream is to become like Ella Fitzgerald? Fat and with diabetes?"

Now, as Jimmy Carr - and as most know I share his opinion - said, humor is like sexual preference, nobody can tell you what to like. To me, Petra Mede has always been the equivalent of masturbating with a cheese grinder; slightly amusing, but mostly painful. Still, I have to defend her right to tell the joke.

Basically every single joke is built the same way. First, the comedian makes a statement which leads the audience into making an assumption. The comedian then, in what is often called the "punchline", says something that will reveal to the audience that the assumption they made was erroneous. As a result they will, hopefully, laugh. The reason I find most Swedish comedians horrendously dull is that I can see the punchline coming a mile away, so the assumption turns out to be correct. Anyway, I digress.

Now, to say that you don't like a certain joke or that you find it offensive is perfectly fine. However, you have to keep in mind that offense is taken, not given. You cannot demand that everyone else should share your views, that nobody else should find the joke funny. Such a demand is not only incredibly egocentric, it's also absurd. Everything that's on TV or radio cannot possibly float your boat, but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be allowed.

The people who complained about this joke did so because it was the only joke she did that affected them and, I'm quite certain, it also fitted their agenda. To me though, it also seems quite counterproductive. The people who complained said that they had been trying to tell their children that diabetes is nothing to be ashamed about - of course it's not - but through their complaints, what they are really saying to their children is that it is. As usual though, it's much easier to put the blame on someone else than to take it yourself.

/JP