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News Bot
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
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 Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 5:20 pm Post subject: Racist? Me? |
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Matt Price is accused of causing offense
| Quote: | I didn’t know I was racist until someone white, middle class and who has probably never faced prejudice pointed it out to me last night.
I’m making assumptions about the person of course. I don’t know them. They were at the gig in Vienna and they don’t know me either. It’s also hard to have a conversation with someone when English is their second language. Am I being racist in pointing this out? Or will anyone reading this suspend their judgeent until I explain a little further what happened?
I thought that the gig went quite well given that there is no culture of stand-up in Vienna and that there was an audience of 22. I bantered with a woman in the front row who said I spoke too quickly. I deliberately slowed down and made a joke of doing so, explaining that I tried to cater for everyone.
I didn’t know what the German was for ‘cater for’ and neither did she. It was fun. She liked it and occasionally asked her boyfriend to translate. Another audience member contributed and it turns out that ‘train spotter’ translated from German to English is ‘Train lover’.
It was only after the gig that another woman suggested that my story about deaf comedian Steve Day singing at the airport on the way to Germany is offensive. More specifically, it could be deemed very offensive in Vienna because in the story I make a brief reference to Jewish people who were at the airport. The woman complaining wasn’t Jewish, she was ‘just being helpful’.
I was horrified. I explained that I never thought of it as a Jewish joke. That I would never make a Jewish joke or any joke or comment that would potentially hurt someone.
I told her that I thought I had explained that the point of the story is that my deaf friend is consoling me because he understands what my girlfriend Martha was going through in losing her hearing. It was his way of showing that actually, it’s all right to have a laugh about something that could be and was very upsetting at the time.
I explained that I never considered the story to be about anything other than my girlfriend losing her hearing and Steve consoling me. If anyone should be upset it should be Steve. The more I tried to reason with her, the less she believed me.
Eventually she said that I was very naïve and that I should be careful what I say. She also said me referencing my Mum’s moustache in a different story is offensive because Hitler also had a moustache. Although I didn’t mention him, I was alluding to it, etc.
I really wasn’t.
Originally, I mentioned Martha’s brain tumour in the Steve Day story so as to explain how she lost her hearing, but it’s too much for an audience to hear. This is understandable and I don’t want to talk about it on stage. I never imagined that any other aspect of what I thought was a heartwarming story, could cause me any problems.
Are people really this sensitive? I try to avoid offending anyone. It’s just not me. I love to watch comics who people might find offensive, such as Jim Jeffries who I think is hilarious. His story about taking his disabled friend to a brothel is one of the finest pieces of comedy I have ever seen. I see it as a guy with a big heart, telling a brilliant story. I can’t imagine how offended some people might be by it and I think if they are, then they are wrong.
I couldn’t cope with people having a go at me every night and it takes a great a deal of skill to push boundaries and break taboos. I just want to entertain the audience in front of me which also takes a great deal of skill. It happens to be where I am the moment.
Those who are actually trying to be edgy, I salute you. Perhaps I should be careful using the word salute and rephrase that as,’I take my hat off you to you?’ I don’t want anyone reading this and getting the wrong idea.
Here is the routing that was questioned:
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http://www.chortle.co.uk/correspondents/2012/01/25/14725/racist%3F_me%3F
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The Man in the Bowler Hat
Joined: 23 Feb 2011
Posts: 143
Location: London
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| Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Not racist, not offensive, just genuinely laugh out loud funny. |
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Roy
Joined: 14 Jan 2007
Posts: 2686
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| Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:39 pm Post subject: Re: Racist? Me? |
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| News Bot wrote: | | I make a brief reference to Jewish people who were at the airport. The woman complaining wasn’t Jewish, she was ‘just being helpful’. |
- the same as her mother was to the Gestapo.... |
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henryclift
Joined: 01 Oct 2010
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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I really can't see why anyone should find this routine remotely offensive to anyone. Apart from anything else it's a story no real people were hurt in the making of it.
Also, if you look at the date of the upload, it looks as if Matt has been doing this one for a while without any aggro until now.
Looks to me like a case of someone sitting on the edge of their seat just waiting to be 'offended'.
I guess they must be a professional hazard (like death and taxes) for anyone who sets foot on a stage. |
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matt price
Joined: 10 Mar 2004
Posts: 407
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| Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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I have had a fair bit of feedback on this and most of it has been positive - thanks.
Henry's remark about the age of the material is spot on. I have been doing that routine about Steve (with a few variations to keep it fresh) for a couple of years without complaints.
Maybe I should be just a little bit less sensitive to occasional negative comments.
Cheers,
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Alex Marion
Joined: 16 Jan 2011
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 3:17 am Post subject: |
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Matt, you don't seem to have learned anything from this experience. You say you:
| matt price wrote: | | have had a fair bit |
Being married to a blond woman I find this statement highly offensive.
You then go on to use the phrase
little bit
with callous disregard for all the men with small penises reading your outburst.
Shame on you and 3 cheers to this brave lady in her belated attempts to keep Austria's Jewish community safe from harm. |
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HazelHumph
Joined: 15 Apr 2003
Posts: 11183
Location: Essex
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| Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:04 am Post subject: |
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Having not seen Matt before (although mightily looking forward to him headlining the Funny Farm at the end of March) can I just commend him on his Steve Day impression. 
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Martin_Caine
Joined: 10 Nov 2011
Posts: 309
Location: Poole, Dorset
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| Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:18 am Post subject: |
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Well the funniest part of this for me is, the Jew reference to racism. As Judaism is a religion and not a race it can never be connected to being racist. I'm sure someone will no doubt try to disagree with that but it is a fact. My tip would be never be rude or offensive on stage but after your act always treat an idiot as an idiot, it would be rude not too really 
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Okse
Joined: 04 Feb 2004
Posts: 3451
Location: Leamington Spa
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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At the start of this routine you state that Steve is Deaf, therefore this gives you carte blanche to say whatever you want.
"Did he just say the N word? yes, but its okay, he's got a mate who's deaf"
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hodgson
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 1144
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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I think the 6 million people murdered in the Holocaust would have something to say about anti semitism not being connected to racism. Do you think everyone in Auschwitz was put there because they were devoutly religios. Anti Semitism defines someone as Jewish by ethnicity /race not by religious practice.
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Paul Savage speaks Easy
Joined: 05 Dec 2007
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Location: Wolverhampton
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Plus, Ashkenazi and Sephardic jews are both definitely races. So you're very misinformed. |
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