Yannis Pappas Speaks Out About The Leslie Jones’ Controversial SNL Piece

yannis pappas

Comedian Yannis Pappas took to Facebook to post some well written thoughts about the controversy that has followed the SNL sketch performed by new SNL writer Leslie Jones.   We’ve reprinted it here in its entirety or you can view it on his facebook page.


 

A culture is created by action and intent. For example, Greeks prefer to marry Greeks. This action creates an intent in future generations and the intent is created by the action of previous generations. This intent and action thus becomes a cultural trait into posterity.

Professional comedians tell jokes to evoke laughter, they may fail at this, however, the intent is to make you laugh, not to convince you to rape or hate. Without the intent, the corresponding action will not be born. What is born instead is laughter or an appropriate distaste for a joke that did not generally work or one that you did not like, it ends there. In fact, a bad rape joke in the context of a comedy performance may even evoke horror which only serves to amplify and remind us of how morally wrong rape is and acts as a bulwark against the intent and action of rape. Admittedly, rape jokes with the victim as the target, like pedophilia jokes or murder jokes are harder to pull off, but they are not impossible and if executed correctly, produce majority laughter. Laughter is a reaction of relief in the face of horror (life’s trials) and thus serves a noble function (helping us deal). If rape jokes by professional comedians created or contributed directly to rape culture there would be an abundance of rape in and directly around the comedy community and there would be rapes happening because of jokes after comedy shows. This does not happen because the intent was not there, therefore, it does not breed the action and the action therefore does not breed the intent as it DOES do in the military, in jails, amongst male athletes in locker rooms, in dark alleys or in countries where it’s the norm and part of their culture (a rape culture). Those who have argued that bad rape jokes, good rape jokes, or mediocre rape jokes are contributing to rape culture, as I have explicated herein, have not logically approached their hypothesis. In fact, the outrage against Tosh and whomever else ironically serves as an example of how the conversation around comedy and rape jokes has raised awareness of rape culture. Rather than contribute to it, it assists in thwarting it. Free speech about the most horrible of acts enlightens the darkness and silence that rapists rely on. Rapists rarely announce their intent, rapists generally rely on chicanery and stealth to achieve their actions, not jokes.

Free speech is the foundation of freedom and the mother of comedy and serves to raise awareness for better or worse, funny or not funny. Silence on the other hand is what predators rely on.

Comedians and their jokes ARE however a worthy target for this outrage for it stimulates thought and conversation. The call to silence comedians via the topics they are allowed to make jokes about is NOT. It is an evil choice and intent. A joke can be offensive and not funny and it ends there, for it’s intent was not to create the action of rape and the action therefore does not create further intent- as it does with the example of Greeks I gave above. Again, the example of Greeks I gave dissects the anatomy of what creates, drives and perpetuates a culture. Leslie Jones created controversy with her joking about the rape of female slaves by their male slave counterparts who were forced to rape them by white masters, and most seemed to like the bit and others were offended. It created conversation. Jokes, in the context of a comedy performance, as with a movie or play, do not directly lead to rape, therefore do not contribute directly to rape culture. They instead remind us of the horror of the reality and in some cases provide relief from that horror.

Rape cultures exists and they exist because of intent and action, the intent being the belief that rape is ok (and often this is because it is not talked or joked about) and the action being the actual rape. In comedy culture, being offended is the risk that creates the laugh and sometimes is the harsh reality in absence of the laugh. However, without the risk, there is no laugh. Free speech is the foundation of freedom and the mother of comedy and serves to raise awareness for better or worse, funny or not funny. Silence on the other hand is what predators rely on. They hide in bushes, under the cover of darkness, secretly appreciating the calls to silence comedians on certain topics. The biggest contributor to rape culture is not talking or joking about it. Welcome to the power of Irony. A power comedians know well. Rape culture is no laughing matter, literally.

Yannis Pappas has been featured on Comedy Central, AXS TV, VH1’s Best Week Ever and CBS. He tours the world doing stand up comedy and is known for his immensely popular characters Mr. Panos and Maurica. Along with Director Jesse Scaturro, he is the co-founder of the comedy production company Ditch Films.  Visit his website at www.yannispappas.com and follow him on twitter @yannispappas.

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