Let's talk about the jokes, please!

Ok, now that we've got it all out of our systems, can we please stop arguing about the hunting theme in Sunday's KOTH?

For the liberals: (myself included) Yes, hunting and guns are terrible (I fully agree with this), but just because Hank Hill likes them doesn't mean the show or its creators support them. Hank is a redneck. He's a pretty good guy, but he is still a redneck. He irrationally refused (at first) to let Bobby learn Sex-Ed. He equates big cities with drugs and low moralals despite never having been to one. He has some notion that men are superior to women. And although he does a good job of controlling it, he has prejudicial feelings towards the Soupanousaphones. Also, he thinks guns are an appropriate part of childhood. I disagree, as do you. So get over it. The line about guns keeping the Hill family together is meant to be funny because it's absurd. Guns only have the power to destroy families. The NRA sponsored safety class is shown to be a joke, and the NRA sponsored safety instructor is shown to be an idiot who knows nothing about safety. It's a PARODY!!!!! Moreover, I don't know the political stance of the creators of KOTH, but looking at their previous work, I find it hard to beleive they're not lefties themselves. Therefore, any pro-rightist stuff which appears in KOTH is probably meant to be laughed at, not with. Case in point: Dale.

For the non-liberals: You're right & we're wrong. But some of the rhetoric used by those advocating your side of the issue wasn't quite cricket. Cecil's obviously drug-induced rant was clearly beyod the pale. I don't see a purpose in calling someone whose statement was reasonable phrased, if probably incorrect, a "bitch on the rag, " or assuming that everyone who is against hunting is secretly harboring a virulent desire to hurt men. Seeing as deer are usually portrayed in our society's literature and culture as female, one might make a more compelling argument to support the hypothesis that hunting is actually the expression of a desire to hurt women. I don't think that's true either, but if you want to "reason" that way, you'll cause more problems than you solve.

For everybody: Okay? Are we done? If not, please feel free to continue your discussion on alt.crap.bitch.bitch.bitch. For the rest of us, let's go back to what this group is suppossed to be about: the hilarity of this show.

-------------------
Bobby:
This is the best day ever.
You're the best dad ever.
I'm the best son ever.
---------------------

--Cliffy

P.S. You may ask who appointed me moderator of this newsgroup. I did. If you had wanted to, you should have done so.

[...]

On the basis of KotH, Mike Judge steers one of the most unerringly middle-of-the-road courses you'll find anywhere. Most of the irony and satire is directed against extremism, inflexibility, and ignorance located in any region of the political spectrum. Dale is laughable (though human enough to be sympathetic); but so was the bleeding-heart social worker from L.A. who wanted to take Bobby away from his family (but his commonsensical boss sent us the message that not all Child Protective Service staffers hate parents). If you want to stick ideological labels on the values KotH supports, "pragmatism" and "common sense" will do as well as any.

Case in point: when is the last time you saw a network TV show that presented such a matter-of-fact attitude toward guns as Bobby's? Bobby's not interested in guns because he's a junior Rambo, or a would-be gang-banger; he's not trying to prove how macho he is, or impress his friends that he's way cool because he owns a rifle. His gun is basically an instrument that he respects and enjoys because he has finally discovered a physical skill that he excels at, namely target shooting. Part of the point of this episode was to contrast his innocent mastery with the politicized, neurotic, or self-serving attitudes toward guns of other characters.

If, like a certain former movie star, you think that gun-owning is the most important right in a democracy, or if you believe that guns are evil and that no one should have one, you probably weren't amused by the episode. But you're not the audience KotH is speaking to.

KotH is above all art & entertainment, not a "message show". But I think it conveys a quiet but profound patriotism (toward both Texas and America), grounded in Judge's belief that our cultural, moral, and political strength have always emerged from a strong center. Because it's a lot harder to capture this kind of centrism in sound bites (we don't even have a good label for it--"middle of the road" sounds wishy-washy), it's not a voice you hear often in the media.

DS

In article , David Sewell wrote:

Well, *I* happen to think gun ownership is a bedrock right -- in a critical sense, the "most important" -- in a democracy, and I thought the show was hilarious. And quite a few of my fellow gun nuts have expressed the same opinion over on talk.politics.guns. Mostly, for the reasons you stated so well in your post.

So who exactly WAS the episode speaking to, then? Some kind of middle-of-the-road opinion (read, neither Democrats or Republicans)??

I don't want to get overly serious here because this is an animated show, after all, and supposed to be light comedy. But it touched on a very serious issue in our society. One that people, for or against, are very passionate about. And your comment leaves me very curious. The majority of people on this issue feel either one way or the other, and I've heard of very few "third" or "independent" opinions....

In article ,

But what is the "one way or the other"? If you consider two extreme positions: (1) all private ownership of firearms should be abolished, vs. (2) there should be no governmental regulation of private ownership or sale of firearms, then there are dozens of intermediate positions.

I probably shouldn't have said "KotH isn't speaking to people who hold position X on guns", because if J.D. Baldwin is right maybe Charlton Heston saw the show and laughed his butt off. I don't see KotH taking aim at particular ideologies or politics, but at ways of thinking--humorless, inflexible, them vs. us mindsets.

Anyway, part of KotH's effectiveness is showing us what we have in common--heck, I'm ready to go out for a beer with J.D., even though I've voted anti-NRA most of my adult life. (But then, when I was 12 I was Bobby: worked to earn money to buy my first .22, practiced marksmanship like a kid possessed, knew the most obscure details about flight trajectories and rifling torques--and was proud when a girl from next door to my hometown won a gold medal in skeet shooting last year in Atlanta, and pissed at the media for ignoring it.)

DS

Gee, I wonder why the media ignored it? Could it be that they are totally biased against all private-ownership of firearms and do the bidding of Billy Clinton and the HCI crowd? If anything, the NRA gave your hometown friend the opportunity to represent her country at the Olympics. HCI and the like would rather her stay at home and twiddle her thumbs, rather than learn a discipline and excel at it. You, in a small way, are responsible for the media ignoring her.

I tuned into Sanity FM when David Wisniewski wrote:

Might just be that they're on a crappy network.

Jeez. Ease up there, Dale.

In article ,

I think it was speaking to, "People who have a sense of humor."

In article , [email] (J.D. Baldwin) wrote:

Excuse me, but I *wasn't* speaking to you.

In article , B.J. Major wrote, quoting me:

I hate to break it to you, but you *were*. The instant you decided to post instead of mail your message.

If there's anything else about the nature of Usenet you need cleared up, the FAQ's are posted regularly in news.newusers.questions. HTH.

Well, *that* certainly explains a lot . . .

In article , [email] (J.D. Baldwin) wrote:

I did both and didn't get a personal reply back from you. And I don't appreciate being told I don't have a sense of humor when you don't even know me.

(disparaging personal remarks snipped. I don't respond to flames or those who troll for flames.)

[email] (Paul Hurley) wrote:

I know this to be true.

Not only in Texas, but in every other state in the Union as well. Add to that the "turkey shoots" that are in every town on every weekend and you've got a great market in bullets and shot.

While on a trip to Newfoundland a few years ago, I'm waiting outside a national campground for someone to come and open it. A car drives up and a guy gets out and asks us what we're waiting "out here" for. I tell him that the campground isn't open yet. He walks over to the gate, notices that it is not padlocked and opens it. He tells us that if they wanted us to stay out the gate would've been locked. On inquiring if that was normal for Newfoundland he answers in the affirmative. "Jeez", I say "if that were in the US I'd be shot by now!". He looks at both of us and says "Well son, the only difference between you Americans and us Canadians is that we don't have guns. I like it that way."

I do too.

Jeff

jmg wrote:

That and about a zillion dollars in GNP...

j c

In article , [email] wrote:

Please, let's not start a U.S. vs. Canada thread on this group. One already exists on alt.tv.simpsons, and it's way off topic....

I tuned into Sanity FM when [email] wrote:

Oh, yeah! Well, I'm taking my gun and over-throwing the tyrannical despot of the newsgroup!

No, I'm just kidding. I don't subscribe to any political party in particular, but I'm pro gun-control, like you. So I'm taking my....tweezers and over-throwing you! Ha ha! =)