This is a very good thread. https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1167053951860191233?s=19

A lot "edgy" jokes are simply reinforcing societal/cultural norms (rape culture, white supremacy, etc.).

Is that really edgy? Or is it lazy and harmful?

Does it "shake people out of their comfort zones" or keep those with power IN their comfort zones?

Telling edgy jokes at the expense of people who are already punished by society is another form of bullying: keeping people without power in the same position, and making the people with power feel comfortable and unquestioning in theirs.

Humor is one way a society communicates its values. Using humor is an excellent way to teach things. Who do we laugh at, and why?

If you're a comedian, you have a tremendous opportunity to subtley shift the narrative and to make people think about something in a different way.

Think about how many comedy shows make light of "men dressing as women." That's a big punchline in a lot of movies and TV shows. Have you ever asked yourself why? What message that is sending, particularly to people questioning their gender identity?

That's the kind of "joke" that reinforces social norms around the gender binary.

Writing jokes at the expense of disempowered people is "punching down." Writing jokes at the expense of people in power is "punching up."

And it's even possible to write jokes that don't punch anyone but are still funny.

WILD, I know.

As comedy musicians, we aren't perfect. We've made some mistakes, some we didn't realize until after a song was recorded and distributed.

We learn. We do better. We've taken songs and verses out of our repertoire because we do not want to punch down.

It's hard! Our own hidden biases and privilege and life experience sometimes get in the way of us realizing "hey, this could be hurtful to some people who don't deserve to be hurt."

Reexamining is a process and something that has to be done on an ongoing basis.

But we do continue to reexamine our jokes and our lyrics, because it's fucking important.

And we applaud comedians who are doing the same.