Words Matter

I put this on Twitter this morning.

Mean humor is an oxymoron and has no place at the Oscars or anywhere else. People like #ChrisRock and #RickyGervais should try FUNNY jokes. We could all ask ourselves why we laugh at mean 'jokes.'

I certainly don't think we should hit one another when we disagree. But I get standing up for someone who is pained by an illness or disability. It is never humorous to mock someone. Ask any kid who's been bullied.

Largely in America, mean and mocking humor has been more popular than true humor, but the Internet has helped spread the habit.

As long as we laugh at meanness, people will continue to tell those 'jokes.'

To be clear, Chris Rock was not paying a compliment to Demi Moore, who was gorgeous in GI Jane -- as she always is. He was saying something unkind about Jada Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia, an auto-immune disease that makes hair growth difficult and spotty. You had only to watch Jada's face as he said it to know it was mean.

Some may say it's political correctness to object to mocking people with an illness. I disagree, as many did a few years ago when a presidential candidate made fun of a reporter with cerebral palsy. Why is Chris Rock's mockery of Jada Pinkett Smith any different?

Think about it. Words matter.

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