Friday, August 28, 2015


Australia: Comedian criticised for ‘deeply offensive skit’ on public broadcasting show

If you’ve never heard of the term before, defensive architecture is an urban design trend in which public places are designed “in a way which discourages people (such as homeless people) from touching, climbing or sitting on them”.

In the three-and-a-half minute skit, Tom Gleeson interviewed a man called Spike Chippalone who spent years living on the streets.  “Sometimes I think defensive architecture is the wrong way to go,” said Gleeson to Chippalone. “Like, we should have attacking architecture. It’s like a chair but it’s also a robot. People sit in it during the day and it could get up and attack homeless people at night.”

But the joke clearly went over some viewers’ heads.

“That skit was deeply offensive to homeless people,” said one angry person on Twitter.  “I find it difficult to understand how that was funny, in anyway,” wrote another. “I am sad and disappointed.”

In a statement to news.com.au, Gleeson said he thought it was obvious that he was “taking the piss”. [Being provocative rather than serious]

SOURCE

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Elsewhere on this blog page is the perfect summation of the comedian's troubled audience: "It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper

And that's the truth...


AIB/44

Bird of Paradise said...

Q. What do you call a basement full of liberals? A. A whine cellar

Anonymous said...

The homeless choose to be. The answer is to find out why. As for the attempt at comedy, the Chaser have a long history of bad taste comedy, usually against conservatives.

President Not Sure said...

Anon 820: I dont think they choose to be homeless.. They just make decisions that end up in them being homeless.. Its semantics but there is a distinction. Like when I dont shave people ask me if Im trying to grow a beard.. Trying to grow a beard makes it seem like thats the reason Im doing it, rather than the fact that Im just lazy and dont want to shave.

Alpha Skua said...

Many so called homeless are drug addicts or alcholics they want dope and booze not charity

Anonymous said...

Many charities offer places for the "homeless" to stay but they don't want to be bothered with following rules.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:20 - this was not a Chaser bit. It was done on Charlie Pickering's show, I think its called the Weekly or something like that.
I have seen the segment twice and although not side-splittingly funny it was not bad and clearly done in humour. Kinda reminded me a bit of a Colbert bit.
People are just stupid and determined to be offended sometimes.

Anonymous said...

It is funny to imagine someone hearing tthat joke and instead of laughing, he just blanches and disapproves of the joke and then he looks angry.

Borat should have added something about the chair attacking a homeless person in his joke. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfOVV7iUp10