Stand UP To Your Rights Of Speech?

Everything is subject to jokes or nothing is. Or is that right?

Stand-up comedies are a novel way of entertainment nowadays, at least it's growing a lot of attention since the young comic Brian who hosted The Night Night Show. It is a satirical form of comedy that often contains heavy elements like sex, race, religion, politics, and so on. The more taboo, the funnier the gigs and the more praises the comics receive. In a way, one can say that stand-ups act as a stick to your funny bone, or to break it because people react to jokes very differently. It is the task of the performers to find that spot to crack the audience. We've listed two ideas below and are open to all comments.

Is there something you cannot joke about?

The reasons people make jokes may vary, from ice breaking, seeking awareness on issues to roasting one another. Nothing is off the table. People make fun of facts or fabricate their own stories just for laughs. It isn't easy, and it requires quite a level of intelligence to be funny because humor is very subjective. Once the joke is out there, it is immediately put to the test and judged by listeners with applause or laughter. Since we're talking about those who joke for a living or on stage, you may say that they're putting their entire career in the spotlight. When you step into the coliseum, you must choose your best weapon even if it's a two-edged sword. Live or die, the crowd will decide.

Is joking protected by the freedom of speech?

One good joke can take you to the fame club, or it can destroy you. Are there boundaries for jokes? As stand-up comedians, they are entitled to say what the audience cannot, to walk into the dark side of society and make it shine. This could lead to the misery of others, which is why the performances become controversial. Can they joke about tragedies on the living or the deceased?

As far as human rights go, we all have the freedom of speech and are protected by law to express our ideas. Upon first thought, you may be thinking, "but the law protects us from getting hurt from others, doesn't it?". Physically, yes, but mentally, it's difficult to say, especially when it isn't so much as insulting but making fun of facts. You can bring an issue to court and start legal procedures to defend your name or so long as you're mentally disturbed but that depends on how far you would take it. It's very costly after all, besides being time-consuming.

On a side note: the jokes inside their circle isn't really any of our concern.

Ever since the recent incident of the stand-up show "Burn", to joke or not to joke has been food for thought. Though we support people expressing themselves with complete freedom, we also think that in order to access the whole freedom, one must be decent enough to be given that right completely. We don't think jokes should be regulated by law as the law is the minimum standard. It is up to our morals to determine who gets all the attention. For someone who made an inappropriate remark about you, it is up to you how to respond to it and how much power they have over you. We cannot stop people from revealing what happened even when it hurts us. What we can do is make peace with our history.

#selfreflect