| Let's say you have a big nose and you're out on the town attending a comedy club. A comedian gets up during his stand up routine and comments on your big nose, which you're sensitive about and wish no one would comment on, since you've always wanted a small, delicate nose, and in fact you've scheduled surgery to 'fix' it. After they comment on your nose you loudly protest and ask the comedian to cease, since you really don't think the nose represents the true 'you.' Is it 'hate' for the comedian, against your wishes to continue to make jokes that night, and in fact, he finds the whole exchange (and you) so funny that he incorporates the exchange into all his routines going forward? I'd argue that it is maybe a bit rude, but it is exactly why we have people like comedians- they are the court jesters for our society, they point out when our good intentions turn into pathologies and give us room to reflect on progressive and regressive overreach. Taking that out of the public sphere removes a good chunk of society's ability to make course corrections. |