Past Reflections

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June 14, 2009 - SARAH PALIN IS NOT LAUGHING AT DAVID LETTERMAN

by Father Edward L. Beck, C.P.

By now you’ve no doubt heard that Sarah Palin is none too happy with David Lettermen after he made some inappropriate jokes about her daughter. How David Lettermen or his writers or producers wouldn’t have known that such bad taste would cause a backlash, I don’t know. Maybe they were just trying to create controversy so they can beat Conan O’Brien in the new ratings war. But the episode once again raises the issue of how inappropriate and mean spirited some humor has become. Well, it’s not even humor. It’s trying to get a laugh at the expense of other people and not really caring who gets hurt in the process. And believe me, I’m no prude when it comes to humor, and I can enjoy an off color joke with the best of them. But this goes beyond the pale. Sexual jokes about minors and someone’s children are clearly out of bounds. And so are many other things we joke about including racism, sexism and all other demeaning slanders that attempt humor at the expense of someone else’s dignity. And, yes, I know that we have to be able to laugh at ourselves. But not at someone else when it disrespects their humanity. And, g ranted, sometimes it’s a fine line. But it becomes a lot clearer once it’s been crossed. And Letterman clearly crossed it, and heard about it. And we should let others know when they’ve crossed it too. The more we just shrug it off and make excuses for it, the more debasing humor continues unchecked. And we are all the lesser for it.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH FATHER BECK GIVE THE ABOVE COMMENTARY: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7827939