Don't Take the Offense!

So I didn't get to see it, but I heard all about the Roast of Charlie Sheen. All over Facebook, there were so many comments about how extremely funny the show was, and how so many personal topics from his life was absolutely free reign in the humor used during the roast. "They" always say, if you can't laugh at yourself, then who could you laugh at?

A roast is a humorous way to honor people. I used to love watching the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, they were freakin hilarious! Johny Carson, Ronald Reagan, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, George Burns, Bob Hope, Ginger Rogers, they were HYSTERICAL! But it was all in good fun. It was honorable to be roasted and made fun of, by the things that made you so well known, like Frank Sinatra and his young girls, Dean and his drinking, Lucy and her inability to sing and dance, Jack Benny and being stingy, all good, honorable fun.

Even Charlie Sheen the other night had a wonderful time, laughing and facing what he was known for with the laughs. But not all people found being roasted a thrill. A couple years ago when Joan Rivers was roasted, she absolutely hated it. She was preparing for "old" jokes, and plastic surgery jokes, and she found the whole thing insulting. This is coming from a woman who cursed and made fun of all types of people. One of her famous jokes was about Victoria Beckham's skinniness saying, "Does this tampon make me look fat?"

So it amazed me how when the shoe was on the other foot, she couldn't take it. And not only that, but the purpose as as an honorable tribute. Why take it so offensively? Lisa said on her Facebook about Sheen's roast "Amy Schumer was mean and hilarious the way you're supposed to be at a roast. People who are offended by comedy need to get over it."

A year after I attended Lisa's class, I went to see a speaker she was having come that she had open to the campus. His name escapes me at the moment but his name of Vladimir something. Sorry! Details escape me. But he was a medium and the common denominator of his talk was DON'T TAKE OFFENSE! Do not let your ego get such offense by outside forces. It tarnishes your spirit, and wastes energy in ways we could nt even begin to comprehend. 

For the most part, I agree. Especially with these roasts, and people taking offense to things people say and do in comedy. but What is comedy? I don't think people know. Overly exaggerating something about someone or a group of people that is common knowledge or general consensus about, yeah. However, as you all know my favorite comedienne is Lucille Ball. She was truly silly, funny, in every way where we are holding our gut laughing! Bill Cosby had the same effect, having us cry laughing and he was not dirty in any way. I sometimes think today, comedy is destroyed. People can't laugh unless there is a sexual innuendo or a curse word. Take all that out, they aren't funny. So that is not comedy to me. 

I also take offense to people making fun of ethnic groups, sexual orientation, religions, gender and I can't find any of that funny. The more we laugh at those kind of jokes, the more we are saying it is acceptable to hold that energy and keep it alive. It never goes away, because it is taken light. Always look at the intention behind something being funny. In light spirit, honorable tributes, general consensus, that is comedy, yes do not take offense-- get over it. But with the intentions of putting someone or a group down, negative-- not funny.


So if Charlie Sheen can laugh at himself, and face his infamy head on without taking offense, I believe we should do the same, don't get so offended, as Vladimir told us at Lisa's seminar. As long as the intentions are pure. Otherwise, if the intentions are not, then we should ALL be offended and those are the times people choose not to be! Ain't that backwards?

Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO