WRITTEN BY A.C. SMITH AND JAMIE NEBEN
A.C. Smith
I am pleased that David Letterman finally apologized to Sarah Palin on Monday night, but he did not go far enough. Besides the two remarks he was sorry for that involved the governor’s daughters, he didn’t mention another offensive one he also told regarding her appearance. Although, on the surface, this joke was aimed directly at her, all three are actually tied together because they paint the whole family as “slutty.”
Beyond that, when Sarah Palin goes after somebody, 90% of it is about policies. But when people go after her, it’s more about her personal characteristics than her policies. That’s the case with Letterman, and it only reveals his political leanings. Furthermore, children of politicians should be off limits in comedy, unless they too are involved in politics, or are otherwise doing something on their own to be in the news. But these types of situations are the price we pay for freedom. Of course, there should be no mandate to prohibit it due to freedom of speech, but when we see things like this, we should stand up and voice our displeasure. And if there’s lies being told, or financial losses and other types of damage that results from these jokes, the affected person should have the right to take it to court.
Maybe Letterman knew that it was a 14 year old girl at the game. Maybe he didn’t. Since Bristol Palin has been more in the news, perhaps he assumed that most people would think it was her rather than her younger sister. The fact is, he knew that Sarah Palin has more than one daughter, so he should have checked to see who was there. Either way, it’s bad enough to joke about an 18 year old, but now that we know who was at the game, the outrage should have been ten times worse.
Jamie Neben
First of all, I agree that David Letterman’s so-called jokes about teenage girls (it doesn’t matter which one) are indefensible, and I’m glad that he has received the message loud and clear. They shouldn’t have been told in any setting, let alone national television. However, before we act as judge, jury, and executioner, I believe we need to look at the social fabric we’ve created over the years. If Dave is indeed guilty as charged, our environment is most likely an accomplice.
Comedians, in particular, have a long history of telling sexist jokes. Letterman is no exception. Neither was his friend and mentor, Johnny Carson. Nor Jay Leno. Both male and female comics joke about the human condition and that includes the differences between the sexes. We also see it in television, movies, music, plays, you name it. Sometimes it’s observational and insightful. Other times it’s downright vulgar. Whether either style is funny is merely opinion. As they say, there’s no accounting for taste.
But then we have the issue of a young, possibly underage, girl being the butt of the joke. Are we so offended because these are living people? We seem more forgiving when the circumstance is fictional (at least in 2009). For instance, Lolita is now considered a classic in film and literature, and the song Young Girl by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap still receives regular radio airplay. Are they more acceptable based on their complicated, dramatic narratives?
Finally, if we give Letterman the benefit of the doubt, is it unfair to use Bristol Palin as the topic of any joke? After all, if she didn’t enter the public arena during the election period, she certainly did by appearing on television afterward to talk about her baby. Incidentally, Chelsea Clinton didn’t escape malicious jokes either when she was but a teenager. But instead of being delivered on a nightly entertainment show, the jabs came from none other than Rush Limbaugh and John McCain.
So now that there’s no way to plead ignorance in the future, let’s see if Dave will try harder to be a more responsible comedian, broadcaster, and human being. I will try harder too.
Speaking of jokes, here’s one for you:
“Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, ‘Where is that marvelous ape?’”
As told by John McCain. Where was Sarah Palin’s outrage over this when it surfaced during the campaign? She’s right, of course, when she describes jokes like those Letterman (and McCain) told as contributing to the general degradation of women. But she doesn’t get to decide whether she’s outraged based on who’s doing the talking.
Similarly, A.C. is right to a point. There were differences in how Palin was treated because she’s a woman. But the same was true of Hillary Clinton. In neither case did we take the opportunity to look at the sexism that is pervasive in our society. Then, as now, it’s somehow partisan.
Finally, and this is a bit off topic but important nonetheless — A.C., you really need to stop making up figures. Where is the empirical support for the assertion that “90 percent” of what Palin says is about policy? Palin’s rhetoric on the campaign trail in her attempt to portray Obama as in league with terrorists got so bad that none other than John McCain had to put the brakes on it. (I’ll allow that I might have been exposed to more of this than you, living, as I do, in swing-state land.) And on no less a stage than the Republican National Convention, she derided community organizers, preferring (without a hint of noticing the irony) her role as a governmental actor. That’s not policy. It’s divisive rhetoric intended to stir emotions rather than provoke intellectual debate.
I welcome a discussion of the treatment of women in our culture. It’s long overdue. The treatment of both Clinton and Palin evidenced disparities that still permeate public discourse, but the response showed that neither party is really taking these issues very seriously.
Hey, A.C., what did you think about that gorilla joke?
I had forgotten about the gorilla joke until I researched this article, but people of all points of view tend to have double standards on many issues including this, so the discussion is well needed and long overdue.
Please allow me to first address the comment that Cady wrote pertaining to my “90 percent” comment.
Cady, I do not think it is off topic as I believe we are writing about how we are respecting each other by the way we address one another.
You are absolutely right! This is one of my pet peeves (about making up figures).
I would be surprised if what was written is what I actually said. I will see if I can find out. Sometimes I may record (most of the time on-the-fly) my comments so I can keep other obligations. I am extremely grateful for any writer(s) who try their best to capture what I am saying. I do try to review writings before they are posted and sometimes I do not see it until after they are posted.
I do like recording to allow for more rapid responses and to give some input into other areas of thought. As time goes on, I am sure I will be able to include more (direct) writing as well as more captured thoughts while any writer may get a feel to my modus operandi.
Now for what I do stand by is my feeling (what it did seem to me) that 90% (or more) of what Palin addressed was about policies, and the majority of the attacks on Palin were not addressing why her policies may be flawed.
Now to Golden. Hi.
There are not many who I consider to have a larger part of their heart into (what I believe are) the good things this country originally stood for. Even though he got a lot of flack from the Republican Party, John McCain is one of them. I am one who really appreciates his service to America and the American people. Go ahead and disagree with his policies (I am not talking directly to you, but I hope you can appreciate what I am talking about – pertaining to both Parties), but give the man the respect he deserves. I think we really did him a disservice.
I never heard McCain tell a gorilla joke but if he told the joke like that or pretty similar to that (which I would not doubt he did), I say it is absolutely despicable. I hope we addressed this fully (with him) to get a sincere and convincing apology. I have a feeling we did not. I believe he did say it was a mistake to tell the joke about bomb, bomb, bomb..bomb, bomb Iran, but that was also a big mistake.
The gorilla joke doesn’t sit well with me because talking to many people and witnessing how the lack of sexual discipline (in many forms) from what some may consider minor to some of the most heinous acts, much of this has (absolutely) ruined lives. This is another explosive issue in our world today. We have habits of taking things in life that can be such a blessing and instead we turn it into a massive curse (Ok A. C., come back..come back).
To get back on track..
It does happen from time to time. Even someone whom I may have some respect for will say something to make me cringe. Like, what are they thinking? I believe everyone has been in that place, even if it is rare. I can say that I had regret things I said or regret things that I did not convey in a way so it could not be taken incorrectly. It is usually when I am trying to get a point across quickly. With David Letterman (to me he) took the first baby step (the first night after the so-called-joke) by admitting he did not mean it the way people took it. When he actually analyzed what he did, he came back and gave a more convincing apology. We should give a short leash of time for the person to come to his/her senses. Sometimes people will need to get themselves out of the defensive mode before they can see anything.
I hope you get my point.
Thanks to everyone for yours.
God bless!
A. C. Smith-