When comedian Gilbert Gottfried was fired from Aflac for tweeting jokes mocking the Japanese Tsunami, I took a “free country” approach towards the issue. If he wants to make jokes, that’s fine. If Aflac wants to fire him, that’s fine too. Free country. Gallows humor, jokes about real-life, ongoing tragedies aren’t my personal cup of tea, but Jazz Shaw posted a terrific piece today that asks a bigger and more important question: Are we as a nation becoming too sensitive to this sort of thing?
Shaw:
[I]n today’s politically charged climate, [dark humor during a tragedy is] darned near a capital offense. We saw this in action this week when Gilbert Gottfried lost his job as the voice of the Aflac duck after tweeting some ill timed jokes relating to the tsunami in Japan. Shortly thereafter, Haley Barbour’s press secretary had to resign after e-mailing the following comment:
“Otis Redding posthumously received a gold record for his single, (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay. (Not a big hit in Japan right now.) “
Even rapper 50 Cent – not exactly known as a paragon of good taste and demure social commentary – found himself having to offer a half-hearted apology on Twitter after rattling off a couple of tsunami jokes.
What’s happening to us? Are we really that easily put off our feed? When faced with unspeakable tragedy such as we’ve witnessed recently, do we really prefer to gnash our teeth, rend our clothes and wander around in a daze? There are some people – including yours truly – who find relief from such horrors in dark humor and a “what the heck are ya gonna do?” sort of attitude.
The first “tsunami tweet” I came across was from “Family Guy” writer Alec Sulkin, who wrote (he later apologized):
“If you wanna feel better about this earthquake in Japan, google ‘Pearl Harbor death toll’,” he tweeted over the weekend.
I didn’t find it particularly funny, but it didn’t even strike me as a big enough deal for a Big Hollywood story, and the thought of him losing his job never even crossed my mind. If Gottfried hadn’t become news, I likely would’ve forgotten the whole thing. But then Gottfried tweeted stuff like….
“I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say, ‘They’ll be another one floating by any minute now’.”
…Aflac canned him and the rest is history.
So beyond the “free country” issue, should Gottfried have lost his job over this? After all, Aflac knew what they were getting with Gottfried. This is his style. But if Aflac was worried about a PR backlash after the tweets, it makes sense for them to move quickly. But that brings us back to Jazz Shaw’s overall point. Should Americans be so outraged by gallows humor that a company finds it necessary to fire the offender?
Being outraged to the point where someone loses their job is going way, way too far in this case. But at the same time posting a joke on Twitter is something entirely different than trading gallows humor with a friend over the phone (an example Shaw uses) or over a beer. This isn’t a perfect comparison to Twitter, but how would we feel if Leno or Letterman told these jokes during one of their monologues? Twitter’s a megaphone.
Few people walk this comedic line as well as Greg Gutfeld, who I thought summed it up well in Monday’s Gregalogue:
At this point, a Mothra joke seems inevitable – but also lame.
Lame. Good word. But being lame isn’t a crime and the use of the word “lame” can also be considered offensive, so before I get myself in trouble…
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.