Hitler Moustache

In case you're interested - here's a rebuttal from Richard Herring, in the Grauniad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/brian-logan

It is a rebuttal of an article which appeared in the Grauniad on Monday
"The new offenders of standup comedy: Political correctness used to rule comedy, but now comics routinely offend their audiences. How did things get so nasty?"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/new-offenders

Brian Logon, a complete tit who should be writing for the tabloids, started his article: "It's a Saturday night in north London, and a group of people are listening to one white man speak. First he suggests that all Muslim men are secretly gay. Next, he's using the n-word. Then he draws his eyes into slits to mock the Chinese. One woman in the crowd has had enough. "You're awful," she says, leaving the room. "You're a disgrace." Soon, others join her; the man abuses them as they leave. The atmosphere is sour."

I wasn't at that gig but I saw the same material being performed in New Cross a couple of weeks before. My own take was that it was - although very funny - quite an obvious polically correct anti-racist show, and not the least bit controversial. I don't know how stupid Logon has to be to misunderstand the point - or maybe he's just a tit out to get a story, create a bit of controversy, make a name for himself. Or maybe he doesn't like Richard Herirng. Who can say.

Logon went on to say "This year, veteran comic Richard Herring is sporting a Hitler moustache for his show, Hitler Moustache, in which he argues "that racists have a point"." Well, no Logon. How stupid do you have to be not to realise that with use of IRONY, Herring is actually arguing the opposite. And I thought you had to be clever to be a journalist!.

Richard Herring: "It is true that the phrase "maybe racists have a point" is in the show. It's an interesting moment: the awkwardness in the room is palpable; a core belief has been challenged (by a man with a Hitler moustache) and people are uncomfortable about where this might be leading. But the statement is followed by what is possibly the standup routine I am most proud of, one which examines our attitudes to ethnicity and questions whether the way humans choose to divide themselves is obfuscating their essential similarity. It challenges racism, but also liberal assumptions about cultural identity. It's funny, too. Comedy, it seems, can cover some complex issues much more effectively than someone blankly stating these truths.

"This isn't a "new offensiveness". It is an age-old comedic device to say the opposite of what you believe in order to demonstrate the ultimate stupidity of the stated position, following it through to its illogical conclusion. Is it heresy to explore the arguments of the racist? Some liberals might think so. But if we stop people even discussing it, then aren't they bound to question why they aren't allowed to question it? Generally, when people are silenced by authority it is because they have a point – look at Galileo or Iran's democracy movement. There is no harm in exploring the truth about racism when all moral, scientific, social, historical and genetic evidence demonstrates it to be groundless and ridiculous. And funny."

And a big FUCK YOU to the tiresome po-faced Guardian proving yet again that the narrow-minded uptight greedy British middle classes wouldn't know humour if it came and bit them on the fucking arse, tweaked their nipples and shouted into their ugly faces, "This is humour you fuckhead, what you gonna do about it!"