Can Comedy Ruin Your Empathy?

​​The great irony of stand up comedy is that if done correctly the comic looks at a problem and discusses it from every possible angle, yet at the same time mocks every angle, dwindling every micro and macro issue in society down to its most based form. Suddenly, through the prism of tragedy 9/11 becomes a punchline and dating a girl without a job turns into "bitches be shopping." Then what eventually happens is the comic reduces an important ideal like LGBTQ+ rights and deeply held religious beliefs into a laughable group of people. We've seen this with Dave Chappelle's "Alphabet People" bit as well as Ricky Gervais's takedown of religion. This of course makes for great comedic writing and performance from master wordsmiths, but also can be weaponized to diminish and devalue the inherent value of a group of people or platform. And with this new rise of right wing manosphere comedy, the rise of politically incorrect comedy might feel like a freedom of speech victory, but it may very well be generating a lack of empathy that will have much longer lasting effects. 

Everything is Allowed to Be Made Fun Of
First off, let me say I have a libertarian view of the arts. If someone wants to make awful jokes on stage that creates a visceral reaction, by all means go for broke! But don't be mad when people call you out or won't book you because of it. If your best jokes are about how women are awful and Hitler was onto something (ironically, hopefully) then you can't be surprised when your own over usage of the 1st Amendment is the shovel that buries you.      

I'm not mad that certain comics have built a career out of mocking marginalized groups. I'm more sad and disappointed in the people who decided that was worthy of their hard earned money. If the offensive jokes about gay people, the trans community, women, and others didn't get laughs, then the comics would have moved onto other bits. 

Here's a joke: What do you call a racist or sexist who never gets paid gigs five years in? An open micer.      

So on one level, you have to understand that the awful comics we all know are awful with awful jokes are successful not because of the jokes or point of view but because people agree with the point of view enough to enjoy hearing jokes about the things they want to mock as well. 

Responsibility of the Comedian 
While every comic has the right to fail on their own, they have to take responsibility for their career's failure or fruit of their success. A comic who knows they're creating and profiting off a racist or misogynistic worldview should try to explain in other platforms that these are jokes and not really beliefs.

Anthony Jeselnik has gone out of his way to explain his brand of humor is a persona and not really how he views his family or the world. 

Jimmy Carr in his stand up is crass and unafraid to make everyone a punchline, yet in podcasts is insightful and brightly optimistic.

This doesn't excuse some of the jokes that cross into clearly problematic territory, but it does at least allow for their fans to realize their brand of shock humor isn't a way to argue with others about serious issues. 

Humor can provide insight into our biases and shortcomings. Jon Stewart does this every week on his show, and George Carlin was the master of this in his standup. Even Jim Gaffigan's bit about how people who make fun of people who eat at McDonalds are just snobs who have their own version of McDonalds. That bit has stuck with me for over fifteen years now, creating space for me to not judge others when I think their life choices are dumb. Well, so are mine too. And so are yours. 

But comics do have to think about the ramifications of how their jokes might create a new cultural ethos. You can't tell me that that Gaffigan didn't change the way we think about Hot Pockets, or how Richard Pryor made us view the silliness of how white people cuss. While I don't think those bits were at problematic, they did create a new perspective for many. Just as many would argue Joe Rogan's Austin Comedy scene has created a place for the worst of human behaviors to be celebrated. 

I have argued Tony Hinchcliffe's Kill Tony has created an entire open mic scene dedicated to poorly structured shock comedy, void of nuance or true wit. Just a bombastic group of sexually frustrated young men thinking they are being philosophers and truth tellers while using the R word and N word for comedic effect. Tony and his comedy cohorts (judges) sit back and laugh at the disturbing trend not because they think it's that funny, but because they can't believe they're making money off such awfulness. Considering Tony's first comedy special had none of that trademark humor, I have to think Tony shifted gears when he saw the potential money in being as ass. Kill Tony used to be a show where the freaks were ironically showcased, whereas today the same types of disturbed young men are not just showcased but platformed hard to monetary glory. 

Destruction of Empathy 
Sadly, what I think all of this shock and un-PC humor has done is create a lack of empathy amongst comics and fans. Comics now look or the joke in every situation. Yet, if there is no self censorship we become monsters.

Here's the irony of comedy: By laughing at people in positions of power we because less afraid of them. But by laughing at groups marginalized by society, we become bullies. Same approach but different targets. When comics see a tragedy or a mistreatment and go straight to the joke, they might be displaying a razor sharp awareness and wit, but they are also demonstrating a lack of empathy and sympathy to what's happening. Many comics think they are social police officers, taking down the ills of society. But what happens when their brand of stand up IS the ill of society? That seems to be the current state of this Austin based comedy brand. 

It's why the top comics were able to justify going to the Riyadh Comedy Festival. They are losing touch with their moral center. It also has a lot to do with the monetization aspect of stand up. Comics used to make money doing stand up so they could be in movies and TV. Now, they've forgone those platforms for podcasts and YouTube clips. They can make their own money now, without having Hollywood sanitize their brand or put them into a box they don't want. So instead of making mainstream entertainment with a basic core message of acceptance or growth (like Adam Sandler), they create podcasts and stand up designed to take down the groups that their fans want knocked down a peg.     

Say what you want about Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey but after their comedy career's skyrocketed, they took on acting and left stand up behind, eventually becoming the stars of major family films. Who knows where their stand up would have gone had they not started collaborating with Hollywood folks - my argument is Hollywood saved them from massive cancel culture the way Andrew Dice Clay and others lost their ability to make more money because their comedy was so divisive and offensive. 

This constant feeding the machine by modern comics only generates more hyperbolic racist, sexist, homophobic, and gender mocking content that gets fed into the algorithm and lives there forever. Every man I know between 25-45 gets the same comedy content in their feed, and you have to actively choose content that is the opposite to stop getting Red Pill crap. To combat the rubbish fed to me, I listen to a lot of Jim Cornette's wrestling podcast, Rory Sutherland's marketing hacks, and talking dog content like Hammy and Olivia. I'm not being fed junk all day. So unless a comics' destructive hot take goes viral and people talk about it on Facebook and Threads, I won't see it. 

Final Thoughts
It's a fine line between artistic expression, commerce, and self-censorship. Comics have to make money to survive, yet it seems the more alt-right they go, the more they make. It eventually become a loop where each group feeds into each other - which feels like it sadly has already become that. 
This of course builds a world were mockery is celebrated and empathy is laughed at. On one level I understand that empathy feels exhausting as we are demanded to feel empathy towards our co-workers and clients at work. It's built into the company culture and customer service. At work we can't offend anyone or we'll be fired. And if the customer complains about the tiniest thing we have to pretend it really is a hug problem. "I'm so sorry the wifi went down for a minute - here's a free coffee coupon for life." 

So the type of comedy that mocks the sensitivities of others feels like a positive outlet until it creates people unable to see comedy as a cathartic release and not an actual moral philosophy. 

What I can say, is most of this type of humor has come through before and eventually fades away. Andrew Dice Clay filled Madison Square Garden telling awful anti-women jokes and within a few years was a washed up comic, begging clubs for drop in spots. At some point people will wake up, or at least get bored by the same types of jokes Kill Tony and Joe Rogan push on people.

​And that's all we can hope. Because until comedy fans correct themselves and their spending habits, then this brand of empathy reducing stand up won't have to sit down for a while.