Tune the wayback machine to the mid 80s. WNBC 660AM (Now WFAN) radio out of NYC had Don Imus and Howard Stern. They were funny, witty, and pushed the envelope on what you could say and do on broadcast radio. They pushed each other to be more outrageous. and occasionally slipped over the line and got fined. Their producers didn't really care because their advertising numbers were insane.
Because there were no real consequences, they went over the line more often, the fines got bigger, and they were eventually both fired when the advertisers dropped out. They weren't funny any more, it was all 12 year-old bathroom humor.
I watch Colbert, I expect him to be funny. I expect his political leaning to flavor and direct his monologue. Criticism and lampooning his political opponents has always been his schtick. I don't expect obscenity. That's not cool on broadcast television.
Be careful in defending it or even being comfortable with it, because you are going to see the other side latch on to it, just like with "deplorables". Are you going to be fine when the next time Nancy Pelosi starts babbling something incoherent (seriously, is she channeling Ozzy Osbourne, auditioning for the "authentic frontier gibberish" part in a Blazing Saddles remake, has she had a stroke, or is she just perpetually drunk?) will the meme that she needs to shut her cock-holster be ok? The same, shouted out at a Clinton or Obama public appearance?
If she does it on tv at midnight I don't see a problem. Also, I honestly wouldn't care either if he threw obscenity at Clinton, or Obama, or the Pope, or whichever public figure you can think of. It's part of being a public figure, and I think that both doing it and taking it seriously are silly. The appropriate response would just be to not watch his show, not give him free publicity by making a lot of noise about it.
On the other hand, I never watch tv, so that might be part of the reason why I don't see a problem :)
No one was asking for obscenity.
Tune the wayback machine to the mid 80s. WNBC 660AM (Now WFAN) radio out of NYC had Don Imus and Howard Stern. They were funny, witty, and pushed the envelope on what you could say and do on broadcast radio. They pushed each other to be more outrageous. and occasionally slipped over the line and got fined. Their producers didn't really care because their advertising numbers were insane.
Because there were no real consequences, they went over the line more often, the fines got bigger, and they were eventually both fired when the advertisers dropped out. They weren't funny any more, it was all 12 year-old bathroom humor.
I watch Colbert, I expect him to be funny. I expect his political leaning to flavor and direct his monologue. Criticism and lampooning his political opponents has always been his schtick. I don't expect obscenity. That's not cool on broadcast television.
Be careful in defending it or even being comfortable with it, because you are going to see the other side latch on to it, just like with "deplorables". Are you going to be fine when the next time Nancy Pelosi starts babbling something incoherent (seriously, is she channeling Ozzy Osbourne, auditioning for the "authentic frontier gibberish" part in a Blazing Saddles remake, has she had a stroke, or is she just perpetually drunk?) will the meme that she needs to shut her cock-holster be ok? The same, shouted out at a Clinton or Obama public appearance?
Or will that be vulgar, offensive, and classless?
If she does it on tv at midnight I don't see a problem. Also, I honestly wouldn't care either if he threw obscenity at Clinton, or Obama, or the Pope, or whichever public figure you can think of. It's part of being a public figure, and I think that both doing it and taking it seriously are silly. The appropriate response would just be to not watch his show, not give him free publicity by making a lot of noise about it.
On the other hand, I never watch tv, so that might be part of the reason why I don't see a problem :)