(Note: I taught a course on Comedy for several years, so in spite of the more serious issues we are confronting in our society today, this issue hits home personally. Sorry for the long-winded response, but to anyone who takes the time to read it, Thanks!)
There are two issues here: the joke itself and the retweeting of it.
As for the joke itself:
I think we all agree that the joke is offensive on two levels: It is misogynistic and it attempts to mock the LGBTQ+ community and a mental illness as part of the punch line.
I'm going to go on the principle that analyzing an offensive remark helps to defuse it. When we can examine how human language is used offensively, we objectify it, and by so doing, we remove at least some of the subjective "sting" we feel from it.
So, I would have explained to my students that the joke is a lie, which you can tell from the logical fallacy, the overgeneralization, it begins with: Every girl is "bi." That overgeneralization is a stereotype: Every girl is NOT 'bi' although some are, and who cares in today's world anyway? And as we have discussed before, any stereotype is a lie and only leads to other lies. In a syllogism, since the initial premise is false, any conclusion it reaches will be untrue. Invalid. With this joke, you can laugh at its clever attempt to use a prefix "bi" in a unique way, but that does not make it true or significant. The conclusion of the joke, the second half here, can never be true if the original premise is false.
In other words, the text of the joke announces itself as a lie with that logical fallacy, overgeneralization, i.e., stereotyping. So, it is not meant to be taken seriously, but rather as another example of the absurdities people believe. It is fiction, and as a text, it can help us distinguish truth from fiction. It's our duty to recognize such absurdities, and if we feel hurt by an absurdity, by language that is intended to demean us in some way, we always have the option to say, "So what?" in response.
The punch line, the conclusion of the joke, has already been proven invalid by the faulty premise. Therefore, the words bisexual and bipolar have been defused of any truth or relevance in this syllogism.
To radically shift the humor of it, I might have added, maybe the "Every girl is 'bi' means that every girl is "bi-lingual." Which would be terrific for the world if it were true.
As for the retweeting of it:
The foul here is that WaPo has a policy of not tweeting or retweeting any jokes The list is clear of what not to tweet, and it encompasses any broad category of humor. So the guy who retweeted it knew he was in for trouble by disobeying company policy.
So, in conclusion, people have tried to weaponize language since the first grunt made by our primate ancestors on the savannas of Africa. It's up to us to de-weaponize the language by analyzing it and seeing it for what it is: words, words, words.
If the joke had been: "Every girl is 'bi.' You just have to know if it's lingual or sexual." Would that have been better? It still has the overgeneralization in the premise, which is a logical fallacy, so the conclusion is false. But in this case, somehow the story the joke tells sounds much more interesting and pro-social.
The woman who dropped the dime on Dave Weigel is what I call an umbratunist. It's my word to define people who tend to seize any and all opportunities to take umbrage at a dimension of our cultural expression. And, as any form of apology is deemed inadequate, eventually most people tire and grow deaf to the nattering of the unbratunist .
I am so angry about how WA PO treated David whom I love and is a big reason I still subscribe to WA PO...that when his Newsletter showed up in my inbox, I had to tell them exactly how unhappy I am and that if they keep behaving this way, I will cancel them, just like I did NYT's for the same reason...
I have had enough of this crap, and I wish there was a major liberal leaning paper that would behave a lot better and not cave to their vocal crybabies. And acknowledge all liberals aren't ok with this crap.
I know they probably won't miss me, but, it is the principle of the thing...and I know I am not the only one...
I became a liberal as a teenager, and freedom of speech ( and for that matter, understanding what a joke is, and what subversive comedy is meant to do would be nice)...was paramount, don't know what happened, but I am beginning to feel like I don't fit anywhere anymore...sigh
( This is about as angry as you will ever see me...lol...doesn't happen often, but I always stand up for the mistreated..)
It remains incumbent on this country, the EU, and all other allied nations to ensure that the Ukrainians have the resources they need to maintain themselves and defeat the Russians. Whether Putin is "humiliated" or not is up to him, he should not be allowed an inch of Ukrainian territory just so he can save face after making a public ass of himself.
If by sprawling investigation the writer meant that condition one presents immediately after executing a faceplant, the description is apt. Far better to have a more focused and productive endeavor that built on and complemented the House Committee's work to resolve this issue and at least maintain the idea that we are a country ruled by laws to which no one is inherently immune. Trump incited a riot on national television and his invitation to the crowd to interfere with the lawful operation of the Congress is treason; how hard is that? Perhaps one of the originalists on the Supreme Court can provide us with a working definition of the term that will pass muster with them and enable the DoJ to proceed with some alacrity.
Dave Weigel has been on Twitter since 2008, and only with the Washington Post since 2015. I don't view his tweets as reflecting Washington Post standards. But if they don't want to be associated with silly jokes about women, I guess they don't have to keep him as a contributor. I will continue to follow his work and his jokes. I'm less inclined to keep up my subscription to the Post.
On Ukraine and Russia's Black Sea blockade: The West has resisted appeasement and must resist grain for sanctions-relief blackmail as well. The Danes get it: they have already sent antiship missiles to Ukraine. The US and allies need to send them, too. Lots of them, right now.
If I were running a big corporation reliant like the WaPo on many female professionals and subscribers and some high profile reporter publicly retweeted a version of "all dames are crazy" male locker room humor, I don't know what choice I'd have but to suspend him.
Weigel is 41, BTW. That's a little old to be compromising his employer's reputation. If he wants to quit his day job to do stand up comedy, that's always an option.
On Dave Weigel: IMO he's guilty only of irresponsibility and bad taste, but someone who professes to be a reputable journalist, writes for one of the world's leading media institutions, and indulges in coolness display on social media should expect some blowback. The ferocity of it should put media figures everywhere on notice that ugly, tasteless speech without consequences is becoming unbearably tedious for audiences. Weigel's employer has a responsibility to, at minimum, give a very firm reminder of its code of conduct ( every company has one) and to make a public statement that it has done so.
Just another example of Very Serious People making a mountain out of a mole hill while ignoring the real big issues. This country is so unserious. The US is nothing more than a Russian nesting doll of decadence.
"We can talk about anything today. Absolutely anything. In a country filled to the brim with problems. Let's talk about this dumb shit right here."
I hope the Jan 6th committee addresses the legitimacy question in their public hearings. Many may have forgotten the interchange between Pelosi and McCarthy. They should be reminded that McCarthy appointed would-be disrupters and, when Pelosi rejected them, refused to appoint new, more reasonable ones. They should fold this in with their introductory remarks where they remind viewers of the committee's purpose and what happens going forward.
(Note: I taught a course on Comedy for several years, so in spite of the more serious issues we are confronting in our society today, this issue hits home personally. Sorry for the long-winded response, but to anyone who takes the time to read it, Thanks!)
There are two issues here: the joke itself and the retweeting of it.
As for the joke itself:
I think we all agree that the joke is offensive on two levels: It is misogynistic and it attempts to mock the LGBTQ+ community and a mental illness as part of the punch line.
I'm going to go on the principle that analyzing an offensive remark helps to defuse it. When we can examine how human language is used offensively, we objectify it, and by so doing, we remove at least some of the subjective "sting" we feel from it.
So, I would have explained to my students that the joke is a lie, which you can tell from the logical fallacy, the overgeneralization, it begins with: Every girl is "bi." That overgeneralization is a stereotype: Every girl is NOT 'bi' although some are, and who cares in today's world anyway? And as we have discussed before, any stereotype is a lie and only leads to other lies. In a syllogism, since the initial premise is false, any conclusion it reaches will be untrue. Invalid. With this joke, you can laugh at its clever attempt to use a prefix "bi" in a unique way, but that does not make it true or significant. The conclusion of the joke, the second half here, can never be true if the original premise is false.
In other words, the text of the joke announces itself as a lie with that logical fallacy, overgeneralization, i.e., stereotyping. So, it is not meant to be taken seriously, but rather as another example of the absurdities people believe. It is fiction, and as a text, it can help us distinguish truth from fiction. It's our duty to recognize such absurdities, and if we feel hurt by an absurdity, by language that is intended to demean us in some way, we always have the option to say, "So what?" in response.
The punch line, the conclusion of the joke, has already been proven invalid by the faulty premise. Therefore, the words bisexual and bipolar have been defused of any truth or relevance in this syllogism.
To radically shift the humor of it, I might have added, maybe the "Every girl is 'bi' means that every girl is "bi-lingual." Which would be terrific for the world if it were true.
As for the retweeting of it:
The foul here is that WaPo has a policy of not tweeting or retweeting any jokes The list is clear of what not to tweet, and it encompasses any broad category of humor. So the guy who retweeted it knew he was in for trouble by disobeying company policy.
So, in conclusion, people have tried to weaponize language since the first grunt made by our primate ancestors on the savannas of Africa. It's up to us to de-weaponize the language by analyzing it and seeing it for what it is: words, words, words.
If the joke had been: "Every girl is 'bi.' You just have to know if it's lingual or sexual." Would that have been better? It still has the overgeneralization in the premise, which is a logical fallacy, so the conclusion is false. But in this case, somehow the story the joke tells sounds much more interesting and pro-social.
Huh..WA PO wrote back and said they forwarded it to the proper depratments...yikes, wasn't expecting that...lol
Since he has a month off, I'd be happy to read a Wiegel piece or two in the Bulwark. Just to help him keep food on the table.
The woman who dropped the dime on Dave Weigel is what I call an umbratunist. It's my word to define people who tend to seize any and all opportunities to take umbrage at a dimension of our cultural expression. And, as any form of apology is deemed inadequate, eventually most people tire and grow deaf to the nattering of the unbratunist .
I am so angry about how WA PO treated David whom I love and is a big reason I still subscribe to WA PO...that when his Newsletter showed up in my inbox, I had to tell them exactly how unhappy I am and that if they keep behaving this way, I will cancel them, just like I did NYT's for the same reason...
I have had enough of this crap, and I wish there was a major liberal leaning paper that would behave a lot better and not cave to their vocal crybabies. And acknowledge all liberals aren't ok with this crap.
I know they probably won't miss me, but, it is the principle of the thing...and I know I am not the only one...
I became a liberal as a teenager, and freedom of speech ( and for that matter, understanding what a joke is, and what subversive comedy is meant to do would be nice)...was paramount, don't know what happened, but I am beginning to feel like I don't fit anywhere anymore...sigh
( This is about as angry as you will ever see me...lol...doesn't happen often, but I always stand up for the mistreated..)
Kellyanne Conway, charlatan supporting a whoreson.
It remains incumbent on this country, the EU, and all other allied nations to ensure that the Ukrainians have the resources they need to maintain themselves and defeat the Russians. Whether Putin is "humiliated" or not is up to him, he should not be allowed an inch of Ukrainian territory just so he can save face after making a public ass of himself.
If by sprawling investigation the writer meant that condition one presents immediately after executing a faceplant, the description is apt. Far better to have a more focused and productive endeavor that built on and complemented the House Committee's work to resolve this issue and at least maintain the idea that we are a country ruled by laws to which no one is inherently immune. Trump incited a riot on national television and his invitation to the crowd to interfere with the lawful operation of the Congress is treason; how hard is that? Perhaps one of the originalists on the Supreme Court can provide us with a working definition of the term that will pass muster with them and enable the DoJ to proceed with some alacrity.
McCarthy lied? On Fox? Shocking!
Dave Weigel has been on Twitter since 2008, and only with the Washington Post since 2015. I don't view his tweets as reflecting Washington Post standards. But if they don't want to be associated with silly jokes about women, I guess they don't have to keep him as a contributor. I will continue to follow his work and his jokes. I'm less inclined to keep up my subscription to the Post.
On Ukraine and Russia's Black Sea blockade: The West has resisted appeasement and must resist grain for sanctions-relief blackmail as well. The Danes get it: they have already sent antiship missiles to Ukraine. The US and allies need to send them, too. Lots of them, right now.
Retweet an offensive joke = one month unpaid leave
Police shoot and kill someone = weeks of paid leave
That tracks.
If I were running a big corporation reliant like the WaPo on many female professionals and subscribers and some high profile reporter publicly retweeted a version of "all dames are crazy" male locker room humor, I don't know what choice I'd have but to suspend him.
Weigel is 41, BTW. That's a little old to be compromising his employer's reputation. If he wants to quit his day job to do stand up comedy, that's always an option.
On Dave Weigel: IMO he's guilty only of irresponsibility and bad taste, but someone who professes to be a reputable journalist, writes for one of the world's leading media institutions, and indulges in coolness display on social media should expect some blowback. The ferocity of it should put media figures everywhere on notice that ugly, tasteless speech without consequences is becoming unbearably tedious for audiences. Weigel's employer has a responsibility to, at minimum, give a very firm reminder of its code of conduct ( every company has one) and to make a public statement that it has done so.
Just another example of Very Serious People making a mountain out of a mole hill while ignoring the real big issues. This country is so unserious. The US is nothing more than a Russian nesting doll of decadence.
"We can talk about anything today. Absolutely anything. In a country filled to the brim with problems. Let's talk about this dumb shit right here."
I hope the Jan 6th committee addresses the legitimacy question in their public hearings. Many may have forgotten the interchange between Pelosi and McCarthy. They should be reminded that McCarthy appointed would-be disrupters and, when Pelosi rejected them, refused to appoint new, more reasonable ones. They should fold this in with their introductory remarks where they remind viewers of the committee's purpose and what happens going forward.
As someone who's ex-wife was both bipolar and cheated on me with women...I don't see that much of a problem with the tweet.... ;-)