Late night TV comedian David Letterman recently got himself in hot water by making a tasteless joke about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s 14-year-old daughter. To paraphrase his joke, he said the girl got “knocked up” by baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez during the seventh inning of a New York Yankees baseball game that she and her mother attended last month.
The Palin family was not amused by the joke and the Alaska governor made their sentiments quite clear during ensuing media interviews. Letterman subsequently issued several apologies, the last of which was accepted by the Palins.
However, there are those who are still so indignant about Letterman’s joke that they are now calling on CBS to fire him. Pardon me, but this smacks of selective outrage. Yes, Letterman should have used better judgment. He obviously should not have made such a remark, even if he was, as he claimed, referring to Palin’s older daughter. I personally don’t see why that should have made any difference – I don’t care she was 40 years old.
However, if people are going to be so intent on penalizing Letterman for this indiscretion, why do they remain silent in the wake of equally offensive material spouted by other comedians? I challenge them be a little more consistent and also go after comedians who:
1) Joke about prison rape, as if it is something to wink at or laugh about.
2) Make fun of Christians and Christianity.
3) Seem to think immoral behavior is funny.
4) Imply that adult, white, protestant, heterosexual males are the stupidest of the stupid.
5) Make a living off profanity-laced jokes.
6) Glorify drunkenness and recreational drug use.
7) Use sexually explicit material as a crutch and as a cover for their complete lack of creativity.
8) Display a nonchalant attitude toward violence.
If the “dump Letterman” zealots are going to hold their peace when it comes to comedians who fit any of the above descriptions, then they should just shut up and leave the man alone.
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