You Know It Makes Sense

Julia Ball

You are so right JD!! I wonder if the PC brigade will understand that it is also a defence mechanism against the horror of some things.

Royston Vasey

You are so right JD!! Tasteless, offensive jokes are "an essentially right-wing phenomenon". Lefties just don't do them.

Well, except for Lenny Bruce or George Carlin or Richard Pryor or Bill Hicks.

But apart from that, lefties don't do tasteless humour.

Well apart from Julian Clary, Jo Brand, Jerry Sadowitz, the League of Gentlemen and Chris Morris, obviously.

But none of them count because err, umm... lefties aren't funny!!

Phew! For a second there I thought your argument was riddled with holes.

James Delingpole

No, it's OK Royston, I am right. I think the examples you give are mostly just closet right-wingers in denial. But obviously, I'm glad you felt the need to get so self-righteous and cross. That was kind of the main reason I wrote the piece. For you, Royston. For you. xxxx

Royston Vasey

I'm so glad you clarified that, JD.

You are right because you say so. I'm "cross" because you say so. Black is white because you say so.

I'm guessing debating was never your strong point.

Of course, I assumed you were utterly vacuous but it's nice of you to admit it.

T. Güvenç

What about "Little Britain"? no longer running in the UK because it has been banned to Swiss and Austrian TV-channels regaling me and lots of my just as tasteless friends to its blatant crass and hilarious hitting out at anything and everything and everybody?

Paul Carlin

You are indeed right, although much of the laughter comes from the Forces (and perhaps their former comrades now in the City?). I have no idea what the the desperately earnest lefty laughs at, as 99% of mirth-making subject matter involves a banana skin of some sort and a victim, thereby automatically being "offensive". I'd hate to experience any joke devised by any of those Guardianistas you name, and as for Marcus Brigstocke, he really shouldn't be in the game at all; he's dreadfully unfunny all the time.

Newt

So right James. And something noticeable from an early age. At university, the young conservatives were always more fun - if often repulsive. The lefties were always to dour and serious. Everything just MATTERED so much.

Dr Dre

It's true. I have been a political conservative my entire life (64 yrs) and have always loved humor and try to be witty as well, with some success. I have a cosmic need to laugh. The anti-bullies do enormous damage, I feel, along with "hate-crime" legislation. Normal people rebel at these tactics.

Paul T Horgan

I think you have explained precisely why The Goodies will never be repeated on the BBC.

Rather like the translation of the Declaration of Independence by Orwell into the single work 'Crimethink', a modern apparatchik at the BBC could only describe their comedy as racist and homophobic (when it isn't, much).

Fortunately you can get the DVDs, after they were privately produced (another miss by the BBC), but still this wilfully self-induced blindness when it comes to pre-watershed comedy is disappointing. I mean, Dad's Army is still very funny, but there is a limit to how many times it should be repeated before it becomes to the BBC what 'Friends' is to Channel 4.

Mike

The left blew their collective top at Alf Garnet, but those he ridiculed found him funny. If the left had a sense of humour they would spend so much time laughing at their own pretensiousness that they would fade away.

Donald Clarke

Delingpole, you're full of nonsense. Announcing that you don't really know anything about the USA, then writing an anti-Obama screed, then writing a whole anti-Obama book (which has certainly flopped here in the USA) is funny, but not I suspect in the way you may have hoped. And what do the sick jokes we enjoyed when we were kids have to do with politics?

paul gilboy

Your a sick little wierdo finding baby shaking is totally out of order.
Humour always has a victim or is ironic, but picking on weaker or disadvantaged people is bullying if you feel the need to bully people who are weaker than yourself you have the problem not them.

ian skidmore

I agree with your central theme but not with your taste in comedians. Apart from Jeremy Hardy. Marcus Brigstoke? I have had more laughs from a hangover

The Bellman

@James: You're right about the identikit Radio 4 comedians with their almost-indistinguishable smug whiny nasal 'Radio 4 comedy' accents. 'The Now show': if they didn't keep introducing each other 'amusingly', you'd not be able to tell the difference between them.

But you're wrong about *Peep show*. Mark Corrigan is a proper small c conservative, and, although he is hardly a glamorous role model, I think it's clear that he's the sensible one. "It's only the miracle of consumer capitalism that means you are not lying in your own shit, dying aged 43 with rotten teeth." "Looking at porn is like lying to Parliament. It used to be wrong, but now it's all a big laugh." "I hate political correctness gone mad more than anything. I don't want to teach the world to sing. That would be horrible. But slavery, the holocaust, that's just... not on."

@Royston Vasey: I think you're on pretty shaky ground 'claiming' Jerry Sadowitz and Chris Morris for 'the left'.

tanker21

JD - Google doesn't return anything when I search for "drowning baby polar bear joke". Can you please provide URL as I must have missed this one.

PS: found the watch-tower joke referenced in your other blog.