Our heart was hurting recently, again, for the families in Parkland, Florida, who were devastated by a Valentine’s Day school shooting last year.
Seventeen students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School lost their life in an assault carried out by Nikolas Cruz. The nation, as it has too many times, mourned the losses. The fallout afterward had what has become something of an expected give and take, most prominently with the arguments for and against gun measures.
March for Our Lives, the student-led effort by survivors at the school, was different. While other school shootings had varying degrees of making positive responses in the wake of such tragedy, this initiative impressively struck the nation’s collective chord.
When word came that comedian Louis C.K., trying to make a comeback from sexual misconduct allegations, had cracked jokes about the school’s shooting survivors, we were floored. Fake news, we thought. Surely this would be that tired but trendy hashtag.
It doesn’t appear to be that way.
Audio began to be leaked, said to be from his 48-minute Dec. 16 set at the Governor’s Comedy Club in Levittown, New York, crediting him saying, “They testify in front of Congress, these kids … (expletives) … . You’re not interesting because you went to a high school where kids got shot. Why does that mean I have to listen to you? How does that make you interesting? You didn’t get shot, you pushed some fat kid in the way — now I gotta listen to you talking?”
No one should ever again employ such a disgrace.
We can’t imagine what has been felt since that day by those who lost loved ones.
As the year closed and news organizations searching for something to put on the air in slow news cycles ran end of year stories, there was Parkland again. And then, over the weekend before New Year’s, a comedian’s trash act.
Said one parent in response, “My daughter was killed in the Parkland shooting. My son ran from the bullets. My wife and I deal with loss everyday. Why don’t you come to my house and try out your new pathetic jokes?”
And student Cameron Kasky, a co-founder of the March for Our Lives movement, added this via Twitter: “Comedy is supposed to be offensive. My feelings have no place in it. Yes, Louis is an ass for the jokes he’s making which sucks cause he used to be really funny and not just a professional jerk.”
C.K. is known for going to the edge, taking aim where others wouldn’t, and bringing it together with shock value that makes people laugh. Audiences have allowed their toes to be stepped upon – that’s a great deal of how comedy best works.
There’s nothing funny in this bit. It’s classless.
Get off the stage, C.K., and this time stay there.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Sometimes when you go too far, there is no turning back.” (Unknown)