My wife finds Jon Stewart offensive.

[Mythsaje]

Blew my mind. I was watching some old rerun of the Daily Show and, after a few minutes, my wife looked over at me and said, "who is this asshole?"

They were playing a story about the Surgeon General being told he couldn't support the Special Olympics because the Kennedys were involved in them. Steward made some comment about "it isn't right to throw disabled kids under the bus just because of the Kennedys. Now the Clintons, that's understandable."

I'm not sure what about that set her off, but my wife was pissed. I tried talking to her about it, to no avail.

It wasn't about the Clinton crack, I don't think. She's not a big fan of either of them. Well, she thought Bill was okay, though she was never thrilled about him lying to Congress. She doesn't like Hillary at all.

I was baffled. Hell, I'm STILL baffled.

[DS1]

1. that's gotta be a real kick in the gut

sorry 'bout your wife, man

[Mythsaje]

6. Tripped me out.

She went into the bathroom to get ready for bed and forget why, she was so offended.

I was like "he was being sarcastic. He doesn't mean it literally."

Didn't matter. Offended she remained.

[soleft]

2. Is his first post 9/11 show on youtube.

If so, show that to her. it will warm her up to him.

[Mythsaje]

3. I wish.

But, no. Once she'd made her judgment, it's final. No do-overs.

[movonne]

10. I think that is a very bad trait....that is the way bush is.....

[Mythsaje]

15. It's not one of her most endearing qualities...

Pretty much the opposite of me.

[Tejanocrat]

4. I agree with your wife. It offends me that someone of my own species is that much funnier than me.

[Mythsaje]

9. Well, she doesn't find ME very funny either...

Other folks do. But not her.

Then again, I've rarely seen her bust a gut. I was howling in laughter at the last Boston Legal. She managed a smile or two.

[frogmarch]

48. Boston Legal was fab last night!

Alan, as always, came through. Wow. The whole show was wonderful!

Sorry about your wife being offended by Jon Stewart. My husband isn't offended by him, but he doesn't "get" him.

[Warpy]

5. Who knows?

If you agreed on everything, your life together would be dull beyond belief.

Just don't insist on togetherness when you watch TDS and you'll be OK.

[Goblinmonger]

7. Is she completely humorless?

Sorry, just giving you the business, beaver.

Maybe she just doesn't like satire. My wife doesn't. She thinks Stewart is funny, but that is probably more the politics talking than the literary form. My wife gets satire, just doesn't like it.

:shrug: Takes all kinds to make the world spin, I guess (I know, I know, it's about gravity, centrifigual force, or some shit, but I'm an English teacher so I went for the metaphor).

[Mythsaje]

11. She likes Maher, actually.

Says he makes her laugh on occasion.

:shrug:

She just really, really doesn't like Jon Stewart. Doesn't like Colbert either, for that matter. But Stewart...whew. Serious dislike.

[Lucinda]

24. Now see...I often think Maher can be an total asshat.

I'm much more likley to be offended by Maher. Weird world, isnt it? :)

[Mythsaje]

26. Yep.

She says, at least he comes across as intelligent.

And I said (I like Maher too, for the most part) that he comes across as thinking he's smarter than anyone else.

[OzarkDem]

43. Well that explains a lot

Perhaps its low self-esteem.

Maher is degrading and condescending to women. Some women like that. :shrug:

OTOH you have to be pretty confident to laugh at yourself and appreciate real satire a la Stewart.

[Mythsaje]

52. No...low self esteem is definitely not her problem.

I wouldn't say she was a fan of Mahers, but she at least enjoys his jokes.

[bunkerbuster1]

8. If that was her first exposure... hey, sometimes first impressions are off.

I used to think Mystery Science Theater wasn't funny at all.

[NV Whino]

12. Grounds for divorce.

[lapfog_1]

13. Some people just don't have the

:sarcasm: humor gene. It's hard to watch TDS without one. Not to mention the Colbert report.

[Mythsaje]

17. She has no sense of the absurd either.

I find that terribly sad.

[Sequoia]

14. Well, I find Stephan Colbert offensive.

Even the cover of his angry eyes book turns me off. He's always interrupting his guests too.

With John, maybe your wife thought the part about the children being thrown under the bus that she found offensive.

[sandnsea]

16. My niece saw the show live

She went to an expensive private Christian school her entire life and graduated from a small state college in the south. She loves Jon Stewart and is an Edwards supporter.

Never can tell about people.

Sorry about your wife. Sounds like she doesn't like snarky politics. I don't like people who think it's all a big joke either, but I also know that's not where Jon Stewart is coming from.

[applegrove]

18. Tell her to watch a few more episodes. I thought the same thing till

I realized the people who were being made fun of were assholes themselves. Then I could just sit back and enjoy the show.

[Mythsaje]

19. Nope. That one exposure is all it takes.

There are no second chances. LOL

[Vickers]

20. My wife doesn't like The Pixies.

:shrug:

Somehow we soldier on.

[Goblinmonger]

40. I wanted to name my daughter (now 14) Allison

I lost. No judging for taste I guess.

[AlCzervik]

21. My Husband cannot stand Will Ferrell but i love him, thankfully we'll always have Caddyshack.

it's a good idea to always have 2 televisions and 2 bathrooms are also helpful.

BTW did i mention how much i hate "top Gun" oh yeah and sometimes the Law and Order channel has that on the loop, my husband loves that movie, i go upstairs and watch Blades of Glory.

[babylonsister]

23. "and 2 bathrooms are also helpful"

:rofl: No truer words!

[Mythsaje]

25. Excuse me while I shudder.

I can't stand Top Gun, but I'd rather be whipped with razor wire than watch Blades of Glory. Now, The Cutting Edge--now THAT'S a skating movie.

We refuse to have two TVs. I tape the shows she doesn't watch so I can watch them when she's not around.

[AlCzervik]

28. The cutting edge??!!! whatever happend to Moira Kelly?

[Mythsaje]

31. I have no idea.

DB Sweeney popped up occasionally, but Moira I haven't seen since.

[Phx_Dem]

62. She had a part on the West Wing

last I have seen of her. That skating movie is one of my SOs favs, never could figure out why.

[Mythsaje]

68. It's a cute romantic comedy.

:shrug:

Didn't lean on too many romantic comedy cliches, which is always nice.

[blondeatlast]

60. The keys to a happy marriage--2 baths, 2 tubes. Yep! nt

[babylonsister]

22. Right about now I'd love to be offended. I miss him! nt

[AlCzervik]

29. no kidding! TV is a vast wasteland of suck, ok it was before the strike but no Stewart and Colbert

is killing me.

[stillcool]

27. I like my humor straight-up

these days. I liked John Stewart, Bill Mahr.. when they first came on the scene...but now political humor just pisses me off. I still like George Carlin..but then George Carlin is real.

[nashville_brook]

30. my s/o watches ultimate fighting!

[Mythsaje]

33. Blech. Just another sport.

I detest televised sports. And I loathe the fact that they've cheapened martial arts that far.

[AlCzervik]

34. my friends husband loves watching that, "Can you tivo it for me Babe"

i'm always tempted to go over there and tivo him some cspan instead.

[Mythsaje]

36. Hey, at least it's not pro-wrestling.

I'd be tempted to tape Jerry Springer instead and say "Hey, I got confused."

[nashville_brook]

63. when it's on, all i ever see is two guys in full body contact, "grappling"

BLECH!

[RaleighNCDUer]

32. Blame it on the times.

There's something about constant stress that short-circuits the irony/sarcasm gene, at which point the class clown looks more like a common asshole.

My sister has much the same reaction to Stephen Colbert - she just cannot respond to his style, no matter her political and social affinities.

[Mythsaje]

35. I can handle Colbert in small doses. That's it. n/t

[elizm]

37. I'm so sorry. nt

[Perry Logan]

38. I like him. But he sometimes shouts for no reason. Maybe he thinks shouting will make it funny.

[Snarkturian Clone]

39. To tell you the truth,

I've always found him to be kind of smug.

[DURHAM D]

41. Just curious - what did Bill Clinton lie to Congress about? n/t

[Mythsaje]

54. The affair.

The way I see it, they didn't have the right to ask the question.

[DURHAM D]

61. You need to review your opinion. n/t

[Mythsaje]

67. Why is that? n/t

[Snarkturian Clone]

65. Something about a bologna wash. NT

[Skarbrowe]

42. My best friend doesn't like Jon Stewart. I keep trying to get her

to watch him for at least a week and try to catch on to his humor. She remembers him from some old show he was on and said she didn't like him then so why should she now. Well, I think she's being stubborn. Then again, I watch Tweety everyday so I'm not a good judge of character. Eh, when it comes to Jon Stewart, he is GOD!

Hey, the person I live with just told me a couple months ago that she clapped and whooped for joy when Kennedy was assassinated. We were both kids at the time and I didn't know her then, thank-god. I'm still not over her telling me that. She was a die hard Republican until Bush came along. But still, being overjoyed by JFK's death is simply too much. Makes me sick to my stomach.

Sorry about you not being able to share Jon Stewart's wonderfullness with your spouse.

[Apollo11]

57. How can you live with this person?

Is it a choice between that, or under a bridge? :eyes:

PS - Of course, if there was a Presidential assassination today, I can't be sure how I would react ... ;-)

[ozone_man]

44. He can be offensive.

Some of his jokes are off color, at least to progressives like me. Remember how he treated Howard Dean in 2003? I think overall though, he's the best thing that has happened to TV in 20 years.

Regarding compatibility issues, a certain amount of difference or tension is required in any relationship to be successful.

Maybe she will like Steven Colbert? ;)

[Mythsaje]

55. No, she doesn't like Colbert either.

But he didn't straight out piss her off.

[Xithras]

45. My wife doesn't like Stewart either.

She has more of a "dry" sense of humor, and finds Stewarts brand of comedy juvenile.

Different strokes, I guess. We all laugh at different things.

[ecstatic]

46. I find the "Senior Black Correspondent" bit offensive

:shrug:

[Sal Minella]

51. I find that funny because being black has absolutely NOTHING to do with being a correspondent,

or with being senior, or with being a senior correspondent.

It's like discussing somebody's computer by talking about what color its outer shell is. Who cares.

"What kind of computer do you have?"

"Green."

Well maybe that doesn't explain it.
If they had a Senior Senior correspondent, I would think it was funny.....

[Apollo11]

58. I think they are trying to highlight some of the covert racism that exists in the mainstream media.

I found a couple of links where Larry Wilmore explains how they came up with that idea:

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3703737&page=1

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/arts/television/02wilm.html?_r=1&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/C/Comedy%20and%20Humor&oref=slogin

[Cha]

47. Sorry she doesn't get him.

Not everybody does. I can't wait until he gets back and Good Luck to the Writer's Union!

[sutz12]

49. He's a comedian...he's supposed to be offensive.

:shrug:

[fujiyama]

50. I suppose I can see someone not really enjoying Stewart's humor

but finding it offensive? Does she finds members of this administration offensive with their lies and obfuscation? BTW, does your wife understand that the impeachment was a political witch hunt and that those trying to do so were all guilty of the same or worse?

Also does she dislike or not get sarcastic humor or political satire? Stewart is more entertaining if you are informed of current events.

[Mythsaje]

53. Oh, she finds the Bush administration offensive too.

Something about that particular joke really rubbed her the wrong way. Surprised me.

She's generally pretty apolitical. I keep her as informed as she can stand.

[crim son]

56. My gut response is: odd.

I'd have to understand her political persuasion/type of humor, to get it. As it stands, it would freak me out.

[Apollo11]

59. It's probably the part about "throw disabled kids under the bus"

It's the kind of line that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, including me.

I would find it hard to read out that line and make it sound funny.

[Mythsaje]

66. Yeah.

I can see her point, absent the context.

[donsu]

64. I don't watch him

nt