What's the difference between the drone joke and ones about priest?

[SpartanDem]

Priest jokes are a staple of late night comedians, yet I never hear any complaints about them being insensitive to the molested. Or jokes about Toyota or Firestone Tires being insensitive to the people they kill. Really, just about any joke if taken to illogical extremes can be shown to be intensive to somebody or someone. Hell, Obama's joke wasn't even remotely about the war itself.

[MrModerate]

1. So I take it some are trying to make a big deal . . .

Of Obama's predator drone joke at the Correspondent's dinner? I just looked at the video as thought is was funny but maybe a bit tasteless. Ya know, like comedy often is.

[babylonsister]

4. You'd be right...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=284749&mesg_id=284749

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=284636&mesg_id=284636

[Sky Masterson]

2. The drones are Atheist?

:dunce:

[Enrique]

3. because Obama himself orders all drone strikes

he actually has the power of life and death over people. It's like a governor making jokes about executions.

If the Pope makes a priest joke, or Mr. Toyoda makes a joke about car crashes, let me know and I'll get my panties in a bunch over that.

[Mojambo]

5. This is a good point. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

7. BINGO. nt

[boppers]

11. Obama himself orders all drone strikes?

Uhm, no. Chain of command, and warfare in general, doesn't work that way.

Obama isn't sitting in a room writing out each attack.

[Hippo_Tron]

17. He signs off on a list of people that are authorized to be killed by drones

I would imagine they don't call him down to the situation room everytime they do a drone strike (although I bet they do for very high value targets).

Regardless I think this talk of drones is missing the forest for the trees. Either we should be at war in Afghanistan or we shouldn't (and IMO we shouldn't). Obama's detractors are using drones to try and paint a picture that he is violating the rules of war when the fact is that the whole concept of rules of war is absurd. The rules of war are that the victor gets to make up the rules when they win.

[boppers]

18. That's just for selective individuals.

Obama doesn't sign off on groups setting up IED's, whose names are unknown, he doesn't sign off on vehicular targets like military tacticals (small trucks carrying armed troops), etc.

He only signs off on specifically named individuals.

The way it would work in this context is the difference between targeting a given Jonas brother, and targeting their tour bus as a potential military asset.

[tekisui]

21. He sanctions the program, adds people to the kill list and signs off.

He most certainly orders, carries out, uses--whatever language you want to use.

[tekisui]

20. Yep.

[JVS]

34. You'd think that more people would get it. It's not rocket surgery.

[rug]

6. The priest is not the one making jokes about molesting.

[msongs]

8. at least priest do their deeds face to face and not hiding 1000's of miles away nt

[CakeGrrl]

9. Those who are disgusted with the President get to be even more so.

Seems to be a pattern.

[tekisui]

22. I can see another pattern.

[jeanpalmer]

26. Whose fault is that?

The guy dropping the bombs on people joking about it, or people seeing the insensitivity it. How low does he have to stoop for a laugh? That was an embarrassment.

[Zenlitened]

10. A priest making a joke about molestatation would indeed be offensive...

...don't you think?

:shrug:

[boppers]

12. Is molestation always offensive? Is war?

I can see good arguments for, and against, equivocation.

[Zenlitened]

13. Wow. Did you really just type: "Is molestation always offensive?"

:wow:

[boppers]

16. Puts the two in context, doesn't it?

Even more telling, perhaps, is that you only commented on the statement about molestation, not war, so perhaps you consider molestation more offensive than war? (I'm not making a value judgement, just making an observation.)

[Zenlitened]

23. I am really failing to see your point. (I hope.)

Do you mean to argue that there is no such thing as a "just war"?

Or are you arguing that there is such a thing as "just" or justifiable molestation?

Either argument would be daffy, no?

[boppers]

25. My point is to make people think.

Not to make them think what I want them to.

[Zenlitened]

31. I think you've failed to make any coherent point at all, honestly.

Unless "I think I'll recoil in horror from what that guy just said" was the point.

If that's the case, then well done! :hi:

[boppers]

36. Then, in this case, I have failed.

I have failed to draw a moral distinction between molestation and murder.

In my mind, they are not the same.

I prefer to not think that survivors of molestation are "dead".

Others disagree.

[Zenlitened]

37. Clarity is essential to good communication.

Perhaps the failure was in your introduction and presentation of your premise?

:shrug:

[bigwillq]

14. The drone joke was bad, and not funny either

but that seems to be the way it is at that dinner, which I think should be eliminated. Late night comics are just that, comics. No one is off limits. However, that shouldn't be the case with the President of the United States while the country is at war. I thought it was in poor taste. But so is alot of things said at that dinner.

[fishwax]

15. I don't see the similarity to jokes about priests

The jokes about priests are generally ridiculing the priests and/or the church. They're not celebrating (or even neutral about) priests abusing kids. They don't celebrate or make light of priests as weapons of molestation.

That said, though, I don't think the predator drone joke was a big deal. I also don't think the joke was funny--not because it was offensive, just because it lacked humor. (Disclaimer: I didn't see the delivery, so I'm only basing that on having read the joke.)

[BlooInBloo]

19. Obama making joke about boys taking away his little girls = DUer poutrage. Why?

Because DUers will poutrage pretty much anything Obama does. It's just how DUers are.

[Zenlitened]

24. Whole thing's gone whooshing right over your head, hasn't it?

Yet, as always, there's a whole segment of DU incapable of saying, "Yeah, I can see how that joke might sound a bit off. Might have been better if he'd chosen a different punchline."

But no, that would involve seeing something from another's point of view. Empathy, insight, imagination... all that yucky stuff.

Instead, they'll parachute into a thread en masse, jackboots ready to stomp out any expression of discontent, however mild, however sincere.

Thus turning a discussion into a flamewar.

And then they'll wonder aloud why there's no solidarity around here anymore.

:think:

[freddie mertz]

29. Well said! nt.

[spoony]

32. Not all DUers, some of you are just shameless apologists

Who deflect every criticism of the President with the same threadbare cry of poutrage.

[jeanpalmer]

27. How is his conduct

any different from the helicopter assassins in Iraq who made light of the killing they were doing?

[jefferson_dem]

28. Do you really need this explained?

They were in the military theater, directly engaged in combat, and gunning down Iraqis (some of which may have been "innocents").

He was in DC ballroom, yucking it up with some press folks, and joking about an absolutely "absurdly unreal" scenario.

[TheKentuckian]

30. Obama orders drone attacks and Lewis Black wasn't running the Vatican

If the Pope cracked wise about priests then I'm sure the outcry would be deafening.

Sometimes the person telling the joke ramps it up from off color to tasteless.

[marshall]

33. The difference is in the person who is telling the joke

The exact same joke told by Jimmy Kimmel or Don Imus or any other late, early, or midday commedian will come off quite differently when told by the POTUS.

[Arkana]

35. Yeah, I wonder what would have happened if Obama had made a joke

about banning guns?

Would all of DU be up in arms about it?