Was Jimmy Carrs joke about wounded servicemen finding places at the Paralympics in poor taste?
It’s not in the best taste, no, but is a public lynching (mostly, it seems, (as ever) by people who weren’t actually there) really necessary? The calls by “the outraged public” for his career to end immediately are symptoms of reactionary idiocy as far as I’m concerned. I’ve heard that this is a joke told among wounded servicemen in an army rehab centre. That doesn’t necessarily excuse Carr; context is important, but it works both ways…take into consideration the fact that Jimmy Carr creates a persona for himself on stage as many comedians do: these aren’t his personal views. The comment was ill-judged but wasn’t a personal, defamatory or derogatory, attack on anyone or on the armed forces. He has apologised for any offence caused where none was truly meant. I am a proud supporter of the armed services fighting for Britain and I don’t find the joke particularly funny, but neither do I find it incredibly offensive. In poor taste yes, but sometimes comedy is in poor taste and I can’t s
