This house believes ...

[gazzyk1ns]

It's an interesting one, if weekender had have posted the rest of that convo we were having then you'd basically see us agreeing that it was just rubbish, regardless of whether it was offensive or not.

I was saying that I bet the thread-starter was surprised at the reaction, I think he might have meant it in a semi-jovial-but-semi-serious-way, like a lot of the more serious threads on herbivores here... just bad judgement and/or wording I suppose, if that was the case.

I also can't understand people getting offended at certain subjects because they've had bad experiences as a result of things they've experienced in real life. This is the net, the people don't know you and nothing is personal. I had a friend die in a car crash a couple of years ago but if someone started a "car crashes - aren't they fab?" thread then I'd not worry, it's just someone being an idiot or just misjudging what is and isn't really appropriate, as I expect this whole thing is/was.

I'm not sure what to vote for here, I suppose maybe it might have been best to lock it, if someone was going through a bad time and read that then maybe it would upset them and it's certainly not worth it for a rubbish thread.

Interesting that the opposite attitude seems to have been taken regarding the Baynham article and NIghty Night  in Comedy Chat, though... even though most people (me included) thought Nighty Night was/is rubbish, like the thread in quesiton here.

[Evil Knevil]

Can't you people see I was making a satirical comment on terminal disease cliches and stereotypes?

Ha! No I just thought you could tell a lot about people from their terminal diseases. After all it is the last form of personal expression.

[Nearly Annually]

hoverdonkey - Heh, yeah, go on. Let's go locking nuts, ahem.

Yes, I knew you'd respond to that.

Only to prise my crap locking nuts pun in. I've got another one about cross threads.

It's just one stupid thread, big deal.

Two.

Yes, I really am a cunt today it seems. I've been under a lot of pressure...

[Lewis]

"Hitler had the right idea, he was just an under-achiever"

Which reminds me, I've just finished reading "American scream: The Bill Hicks story"  - a truly excellent read. It includes half a chapter on the set which led to that famous outburst. I would highly recommend this book to all Hicks fans.
I'm toying with the idea of buying "Love all the people" and "One Consiouness" come next payday, any of you fellow whores read these? And if so, worth buying?

[Neville Chamberlain]

Ha! No I just thought you could tell a lot about people from their terminal diseases.

I quite like that quote actually.

After all it is the last form of personal expression.

Not sure about that bit though.

I voted "no" if anyone cares.

[chand]

I think it should either have been deleted or left open. Locking it creates a curious middle ground where the offensiveness is still there but no-one can reply to it.

[Gamma Ray]

<interlude>

I'm toying with the idea of buying "Love all the people" and "One Consiouness" come next payday, any of you fellow whores read these? And if so, worth buying?

I'm part way through Love All The People right now. Much of the book is transcripts of live performances, and you'd do better to get hold of bootlegs. There's the odd newspaper article, and proofs for The Counts Of Netherworld, which are interesting. Still, I'm not sure ... I bought it because of the picture on the front (it's a great icon), the title, and the fact that it has Hicks credited as the author. I guess that it's cool, man, but not as cool as it sounds. What's that One Consciousness of which you speak? Oh yeah ...

ONE CONSCIOUSNESS is an in-depth study of the late American stand-up comedian, Bill Hicks. Structured around Hicks' life from 1961-1994, it looks at the historical and cultural events that shaped his comedy, the comedians who influenced him and the philosophy he developed.

... from Amazon. Usually I like to let people speak for themselves, but maybe that's worth a look. Personally I dug what the man was saying just as much as how he was saying it.

</interlude>

[Schlippy]

Funnily enough, I had a big ol' argument with my girlfriend recently, not exactly on "which terminal disease would you like to contract", but basically because she was insisting that she'd prefer to contract cancer and have a drawn-out process of dying than to die suddenly.

Seems that the thought of not being able to tie up the loose ends in her life, along with the knowledge that other people would be rooting about in her personal effects/papers, scares the bejesus out of her. She'd prefer to suffer any amount of physical pain if it allows her to have control (as she puts it) over not only how she lives, but how she dies and how she is perceived by those around her after her death.

Tried telling her this was bollocks, but she's utterly humourless about it.

Not sure about locking the other thread on the grounds that it could cause offence, mind. My younger brother died suddenly in a car crash some years ago, and in the weeks/months that followed it seemed that practically everything around me was a reminder of this loss - every second advert seemed to be for a car; I became extraordinarily sensitive to the amount of death (especially murder, something that is extremely rare in real life) there is on normal television, etc. etc. But anyone else watching the stuff that was causing me to turn the waterworks on wouldn't have been bothered in the slightest.

Someone who's been recently bereaved, or has friends/family who are currently ill, could understandably be upset by the kind of "Cancer > HIV" comments being made, but then they'd also be upset by "Nighty Night". Should that be taken off the air on the grounds of taste?

If I was really worried about not causing offence, well, there are some pretty sweeping (and inflammatory) political statements made on here all the time, especially concerning the Middle East and US foreign policy. Don't recall any of the threads filled with wild political gesturing being locked recently.

[Jaffa The Cake]

Well, I voted 'no'. Mainly because I'd seen the thread around, read the title, thought "Nah, not the type of thing I'm gonna find funny", and never read it.
Having said that, I've read it now, but only because of this thread, and I was right, it wasn't funny.

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

It was a shite thread, offensive or not the mods were correct in locking it. It was only there so everyone could  make 'lets be controversial' style comments inside. I hope more threads of that ilk are locked in the future.

[Borboski]

"Hitler had the right idea, he was just an under-achiever"

I'd love to see someone try and make an intelligent case for that.

I had an old sargeant who was jewish, who's mother used to say to him "You know if you read Mein Kampf, there's a lot that you'd agree with".

Although of course, Mein Kampf is very very hard to work, like pushing treacle up a hill with your finger, so she was a swine to recommend it to her child.

Just to say that potentially controversial and offensive threads are potentially the most interesting, although of course, potentially the most flippant.