[fluxquanta]

I'm a big comedy fan and found this whole case to be pretty disturbing. It validates the idea that a comedian should be punished, legally, for doing their job and telling a joke. It's not a particularly good joke in this case, but a joke nonetheless. It gives fuel to the social media lynch mobs who take every tweet or comment as an excuse to get comedians (and really, anybody) fired from their jobs (which seems to be happening with increasing frequency -- look no further than the Kurt Metzger mess from this week).

[meira]

To make a profit bullying people that aren't public should not be considered a job.

[fluxquanta]

The kid is a public figure, so I'm not sure what you mean there. Public figures are frequent subjects for comedians because of the shared experience between them and the audience. If it was some random disabled kid I doubt anyone would have found it funny, Mike Ward included.

And whether you like it or not, it is a job. HN seems to be pretty hip to letting the market dictate whether or not an enterprise should thrive or fail. Don't like what a comedian has to say? Don't support that comedian with your money. If you're at a comedy show and you're so terribly offended, get up quietly, find a manager, ask for your money back. If you're offended watching a comedian on TV, turn the channel. Tell your friends and family you don't like them. These are all ways you can "vote with your dollars".

But it's not your (or the government's) responsibility to punish and take away from them for saying something you find to be offensive. At least it shouldn't be, and I find a world where that's okay to be pretty terrifying.

[antisthenes]

The fact that you so casually dismiss the comedian's right to free speech and his way to make a living simultaneously in one sentence is a little frightening.

I'd wager you would have a different perspective if someone came along and prohibited you from making software unless you met someone's asinine set of arbitrary criteria.

[meira]

You can say the same about drug dealers and buglars, but it would make "less" sense.