âthe comedian Atsuko Okatsuka recently posted a screenshot of the proposed contract she received (and turned down) from the festivalâs organizers. The section she shared, titled âContent Restrictionsâ, forbade material that denigrates âThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including its leadership, public figures, culture, or peopleâ, as well as the countryâs legal system. It is a far cry from the principled stands comedians have taken against censorship in the past. Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, role models for many of todayâs free speech warriors, both did battle with government censors: Bruce was arrested, prosecuted and convicted for his act, while Carlinâs led to a landmark supreme court decision that upheld the FCCâs authority to regulate indecency and obscenity on the public airwaves. For these comedians, âfreedom of speechâ means the freedom to say anything you want, including to be cruel to racial minorities, women, trans people and immigrants; to associate with conspiracy theorists and lend their platforms to politicians set on undermining democracy. Yet for all their claims of free speech absolutism, it now seems clear comedyâs champions of liberty are all too happy to censor themselves for the right priceâ
US comedians defend decision to play in Saudi Arabia: âTheyâre paying me enough to look the other wayâ
These dirtbags arenât champions of free speech or principled warriors like George Carlin or Lenny Bruce. They are lazy bullies who take cheap and easy shots at vulnerable people, so stupid people will laugh.Â
So of COURSE they are going to take blood money from a murderous regime while they pat themselves on the back.
George Carlin would excoriate them. Lenny Bruce would savage their weakness.
And, like David Cross said, none of these comics need the money. They are all choosing to enrich themselves while they help whitewash and soften the image of one of the most repressive and murderous nations on the planet.Â
Everyone has choices to make in their lives, and those choices matter. These comics have all shown us that they arenât worthy of our respect or attention, and they should be reminded when they do shows in America that they are stained by the blood money they accepted.
theartofmadeline
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