Tag Archives: Freedom of Speech

Funny, Not Funny!

 “When an idea first strikes you as funny, then you quickly realize its seriousness, and the funniness disappears, leaving you only with the feeling of how not funny it really is.” — Urban Dictionary

The past week there’s been a spotlight on Dave Chappelle’s new stand-up comedy performance, The Closer, streaming on Netflix. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I paid close attention to the early reviews and scathing criticism of his transphobic and misogynist material. At the suggestion of a friend whose humor I appreciate — which is often politically incorrect yet delivers a thought-provoking message — I decided to watch Chappelle’s The Closer. Continue reading

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The Seven Words

This past week I read a poem at an open mic during a live remote radio broadcast. Before the show, the guest interviewees, musicians and writers gathered for a briefing to learn our place in the line-up, provide the emcees with our introduction, and receive a pink Post-It note. The pink slip contained seven words deemed  indecent or obscene by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Words we were asked to not say out loud on the show. I was curious, were these in fact the same seven words that helped launch George Carlin’s career to national prominence after he first uttered them in 1972 in his monologue, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.”  Continue reading

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