Today is International Women's Day...to remind us why this is a necessary event in 2013, I turn to the antics of our Mayor, Rob Ford...
Last night was the CJPAC Action Party, an event for (and I quote from the group's own page):
"...brings together Toronto’s most plugged in Jewish and pro-Israel Young Professionals to celebrate political engagement with politicians and political insiders from across the political spectrum and every level of government."
Tickets went for $90 a piece, and got you open bar, h'or d'oeuvres, live entertainment, and desserts...Although it was kosher, so bacon, cheeseburger, shellfish, and pork-fans...beware! (I believe Ford falls into several of those camps...)
Where was I? Ah yes, $90 a person affords you a nice evening out...except for 2010 Mayoral Candidate Sarah Thomson. It turns out, she got a fair bit more than she could af-Ford...(I'll wait for applause)
...ahem...
Last night, Sarah Thomson, publisher, CEO, former Mayoral Candidate, and all-round mensch...was publicly groped and hit on by a drunken Mayor Rob Ford.
Sarah Thomson posted to her Facebook page after a photo of her and Rob Ford was taken at the CJPAC event:
“Thought it was a friendly hello to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford at the CJPAC Action Party tonight until he suggested I should have been in Florida with him last week because his wife wasn't there,” Thomson wrote in a late-night post on her Facebook page. “Seriously wanted to punch him in the face. Happy International Women's Day!”
Yes my friends, Ford has once again shown how he REALLY feels about Toronto, the taxpayer, and basic human decency...His defence will likely be along the lines of: "I'm sorry...but this taxpayer did have a fine ass!" *highfives to football teams, bros, and Doug Ford*
We all know that what is more likely, is that every single slack-jawed, drooling misogynist will come out of the woodwork to accuse Sarah Thomson of lying. What is it to the media, to the public, to Rob Ford to dismiss a woman's claim of sexual harassment? It's NORMAL. They're already at it on Reddit.
Step one: Strip woman of her accomplishments
Step two: Imply she is overreacting, blowing things out of proportion, being "hysterical"
Step three: Nebulous comments about feminists overreacting, threats of lawsuit for libel
AND FINALLY:
Step four: She's just a slut, amiright guys? *highfives to football teams, bros, and Doug Ford*
So, while Rob Ford has, once again, presented himself to be a boorish, drunken, sexist mess, he really could not have picked a more perfect day, International Women's Day, to do so.
My bad, ladies...
Way to go, Rob. Although, I suppose we SHOULD thank you for illustrating more perfectly than any power point presentation could, why we still need an international day of recognition for the rights of women, and those who fight and have fought for equality.
This is the "job" posting I received from Onestop Media (a division of Pattison):
...What was particularly offensive about this, is that is was delivered through my membership with WIFT: Women in Television and Film. An organization who describe themselves as:
Really? So the best way for women to "...build, advance, and sustain their careers..." is to work for below minimum wage? I beg to differ.
Finding my rage bubbling above it's usual levels, I felt that I HAD to respond... and so I did:
Just today I read an article in the Toronto Star about the abuses in unpaid internships, and the legal gray area they reside in...
Rise up Generation Y! Rise up MPs and MPPs! Tell these ethically bankrupt criminals to fuck off back to the industrial revolution. No more slave labour! No more employer abuses!
Hey, people who hire unpaid interns, FUCK YOU.
UPDATE #2!
I guess the issue got too hot to handle... WIFT has removed my posts from the forum, but left the original "job" posting up. They will be issuing a statement tomorrow. I hope that WIFT will approach the issue with the rights of the members in mind, and look forward to what the statement's tone and message will be...
For those of you who somehow missed out on one of the greatest moments in internet history...I present, for your viewing pleasure: Banana, the Atheist's Nightmare!
Yes, that's right. Bananas. I am shitting my pants in fear of the devil right now, folks.
Also, no, you did not imagine that. The homoerotic tension in that video is off the charts. From his banana "insertion" at 0:18, to the face-shot comment at 0:43, to the "STICK A DICK IN MY MOUTH" moment at 0:54, this video is just moments away from a semen-soaked gangbang.
So, like, WAT? You say. I came hurr for to be entertained!" You cry. FINE.
Here is what I tweeted to Kirk Cameron this morning. Enjoy.
If that face tells us anything, it's that I am looking into the face of god...and he looks like a fruit that has been selectively breed by humans over hundreds of years for easy consumption.
*drops the mic*
In other news, here is a collection of photos of our mayor playing with animals.
What is comedy? What is funny? What is an appropriate topic for comedy?
If you can definitively answer any one of those questions you are either the first person to ever do so, or (more likely),you're full of shit.
I recently had an experience with a friend of mine that resulted in a disagreement over what can be funny. Seriously. An argument over what has the potential to be funny... I can't think of a stupider thing to argue over...maybe marmite vs vegemite.
Let's be honest, they are both foul.
The issue came up over twitter, so as you can imagine, every response was an in-depth evaluation and presentation of the issue from all sides. Totally not a waste of time for everyone involved. Totally.
My friend had quoted Ricky Gervais, and Karl Pilkington. Now, you need to know that Ricky has debatably built a large part of his career on parading Karl Pilkington (KP) as the epitome of idiocy.
From decrying KP's shockingly uneducated & ignorant grasp of complex issues, to having him star in a TV show called "An Idiot Abroad"...it has been WELL ESTABLISHED that Ricky Gervais disagrees with KP, and uses him to highlight the arguably WORST POINT OF VIEW POSSIBLE ON ANY GIVEN ISSUE.
Ahem.
So, that brings us to twitter. I log on to see my friend quoting KP's moronic views on transgender issues. She seems to have misunderstood who KP is, and Ricky Gervais' usage of him for identifying terrible viewpoints (and then laughing at them, as a way to take away their power). I foolishly try to explain this...thinking she has simply misunderstood:
But my attempt to clarify that Gervais was mocking the bigoted view was a lost cause...because it`s more fun to rage on twitter than to acknowledge mistakes...
I foolishly thought this was the end of the conversation...but then it took an unexpected turn into a debate about what COULD be examined with comedy...
Now, I feel very strongly about censorship, and specifically censorship regarding comedy. I subscribe to the belief that either we say: everything can be funny, or nothing can be.
It is such a subjective concept...I mean, "The Big Bang Theory" is the most watched show in Canada right now, obviously people like it, or even love it. I can't stand it. I don't find it funny in the least. But hey, that's the subjective nature of comedy, amirightfolks?
I digress:
Okay, so, this MAY have got my back up a bit. My opinion is invalid? Wait, what was my opinion again? Oh yes, my "opinion" was CLARIFYING THAT RICKY GERVAIS WAS MOCKING KARL PILKINGTON'S BIGOTED/UNEDUCATED VIEW ON TRANSGENDER ISSUES.
Wait, is that an opinion? Or is that a fact? Now, I'm confused...Maybe my opinion was on comedy...yea, that seems more likely...?
...and now comes the time when one is confronted with the certainty that there is nothing to be gained from continuing the conversation...
What followed was my "friend" retweeting all my tweets to 400-ish followers, encouraging them to harass me over the internet. I was forced to delete and block her just to avoid harassment from stangers online.
That is fucking sad.
I would never attack my friends, or try an censor them with the threat of online harassment. And I certainly wouldn't do it over the issue of "what is appropriate for comedy".
...Although I do feel VERY strongly that when we begin to draw lines around sensitive issues to avoid offending the nebulous "someones" we limit ourselves as a society. We limit our ability to re-examine complex or uncomfortable issues through the lens of satire, something I think is essential to a healthy and open society.
This whole concept of "YOU CAN'T SAY THAT, I'M OFFENDED!" is just bizarre...viewpoints are subjective...to an extremist Muslim, both these women are dressed immodestly:
Because boobs, et al.
Immodest? Her hands are visible, and she is not wearing a crocheted grill over her eyes. Obviously a whore.
Do we limit creative expression because we may offend someone, somewhere? What makes their indignation legitimate? What makes it superior to creative expression? I think Stephen Fry summed things up fairly well:
When we limit the boundaries of comedy, (or any other art form,) for fear of offending someone, it's censorship. And worse than that, it is the censorship of the potential of an idea. Satire has always been the bane of dictatorships, and a powerful weapon of free speech.
...Does that mean that every comic will enter into controversial territory and present us with an intellectual oeuvre? No.
Remember Daniel Tosh's rape joke?:
Note: this is a summary of the event
The rage that flew back and forth over whether there were "off-limits" areas to comedy was...uh...intense to say the least. Was Daniel Tosh's joke funny? To me? NO. It was lazy, mean, and insulting. It didn't make me think, or re-evaluate where I stood on my beliefs. It didn't call out socially-accepted-but-horrible-attitudes. It was mean, and worst of all...IT WASN'T FUNNY.
The Onion (who I think are some of the best satirists out there) took Tosh on, and I think they did it brilliantly:
I won't get into the nitty gritty, but they took an issue:
Daniel Tosh thinks rape is funny
They used HIS TONE on the issue to have him recount his own fictional rape:
Present serious issue with flippant tone
Use Tosh as lens
Result? An INCOMPREHENSIBLE situation, that illustrates ABOVE ALL that rape is an act of violence and isn't very funny. But, what IS funny, is that someone would think that it was.
See? Comedy.
Anyway, my friend from the whole twitter debacle was horribly offended by that article when it came out. I was not. I thought it was brilliant. But hey, that's the world of subjectivity, right?
Comedy is tool, when used properly it can cause great social change...Remember this shitstain of a person?:
Todd Akin, occupation: asshole.
What better way to call out and destroy his moronic viewpoint than with a well-written biting satirical piece?:
