Yeah it's not like GWAR don't still go around beheading presidents (do they still do that right?) all the time, but there's a time and place for everything I suppose. And while by no means should anyone limit their right to free speech by temporal or spatial restrictions, but trying to make yourself into Salman Rushdie or something is stupid. She told a controversial and dumb joke that nobody liked, but if imdb's any baromete,r she's used to that already. What sucks is her self martyr-ization and defense of herself is taking attention away from another comedian, Bill Maher, who pretty much used to same "I'm a comedian" excuse for his use of the n-word a few days later. And then he just shut the fuck up like he was supposed to in hopes of salvaging his career and reputation. A bad joke's a bad joke but there's bigger fish to fry.

Including the very real possibility of actual frying fish in our planet's oceans.

The really fascinating thing is Marilyn Manson decapitated a fake Trump mannequin in a music video last year with the exact same photographer and no one said anything.

I'm pretty indifferent to stand up comedians doing anything. I do wish people would differentiate contextually between "Bill Maher called himself the n word" and Michael Richards screaming it at the top of his lungs because they are different. There is no reason to believe that Maher is a racist. Dumb maybe, but not racist.

"There is no reason to believe that Maher is a racist."

Yeah I'll take the word of someone who felt that it was okay that Trayvon Martin got killed because he was headed for a life of crime anyway.

But would you agree there's a difference between Bill Maher referring to himself as a nigger, and the Michael Richards thing? Even when it's being put forward by ROUS? (who I generally disagree with, though I seem to recall that we share some taste in music. I can't remember the specifics.)

Bill Mahr apologized, and HBO deleted the word. I seem to have an idea that that Bill Mahr has a history of decrying actual institutional racism, but I don't have time to do the research. He's critical of Islam, but is that the same thing as Islamophobia? Some think so, I don't know, but I know he's not a propagandist. People come on his show and argue with him.

I'm actually more forgiving of Michael Richards than Bill Maher, not that either deserves a pass. Maher thinks he is entitled to use the word simply because he wants to, which is disrespectful as fuck. If someone were to say to me "please don't call me 'Smitty'" or whatever, I would have a very simple choice to make: do I respect his wishes because he is a human being, or do I ignore his wishes because I am shit? Maher is shit.

Now Michael Richards, he got angry at a heckler, and said all sorts of hideous hateful stuff. How much of that was his true opinion of blacks and how much of it was him saying the most hurtful things he could think of, I can't say with any certainty; probably at least some of it was sincere. But at least he had the excuse, inadequate as it was, that he was angry about being heckled. Maher was more of a blithe "fuck 'em, their wishes don't matter".

Amen.

I wonder how many wedgies he's gotten at school since that announcement.

For a moment there, I thought you were talking about me.

well that wouldn't help the outrage industry make a buck

Pretty much. Did she even think this through? I mean, it was a dumb move that OF COURSE was going to attract some blowback; if she expected that Trump critics would line up behind her, why would they? She's on her own. The only way through that is to say "that's right I did it, now are you gonna CRY, snowflake?"

My comment was in response to simon666.

if she expected that Trump critics would line up behind her, why would they?

It would be hypocritical for me to complain about the "Beat Up Anita Sarkeesian" Game, and support this.

People have this idea that it's okay to issue threats that aren't "credible". "Criticism is not harassment" is something the Gamergaters and similar dipshits like to say. But HARASSMENT IS NOT CRITICISM. Threats of violence, and things that look like threats of violence, are not legitimate criticism or humor.

A female TV comedian doing something like this about someone who commands not only the secret service but the armed forces of the United States, and not hiding behind anonymity but showing her face, is a long long way from a credible threat, but I feel the need to hold the line on this. I know this is ironic AF, but as a feminist, I need to side with Donald Trump over Kathy Griffith.

It's like calling someone a nigger. You have the right to do it, but you probably shouldn't, even if you don't mean it, and it might not work
out well for you in the end.

Maybe some of these altiright antifeminist shits will make the connection and not issue graphic threats anymore. The precedent may be a valuble thing to throw in their faces. It may be a good thing that this happened. It's too bad that Kathy Griffin had to ruin her career, but at least it wasn't anybody who's actually funny.

"if she expected that Trump critics would line up behind her, why would they?"

She didn't think this through at all. Nobody's going to line up behind her because, no matter how much you dislike Trump (and with good cause), stay away from any murder imagery. It's not like the only choices are "bloody head" and "complete surrender to the Trump agenda".