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The Forum > Article Comments > Muzzling 'The Chaser' - the politics behind the outrage > Comments

Muzzling 'The Chaser' - the politics behind the outrage : Comments

By Stuart Munckton, published 12/6/2009

The decision to suspend 'The Chaser' sets a dangerous precedent of silencing comedians whose job it is to satirise society.

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if the chaser team truly believed they did the right thing they should not have apologised.

but they did..
Posted by Rainier, Monday, 15 June 2009 12:44:37 PM
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No matter how OTT the Chaser gets, there are two places they won’t go – they don’t do misogyny and they don’t do homophobia. If either of these elements enters the script, it’s to lampoon their exploitation by the mainstream establishment, which programs us from the cradle to laugh uproariously at any man who makes fun of women or effeminate men.

This puts the Chaser well apart from the other 98% of male comedy teams – including the much revered Monty Python. For this fact alone, I’ll forgive them the occasional bad-taste stunt that goes badly wrong.

‘Dr Suresh Viswanathan from the John Hunter Hospital said the “skit achieved what it set out to do, and that was to start debate about issues that are seen as taboo. Let us debate the role of charities such as the Make-a-Wish Foundation.” ’

This comment is spot on. Under successive right-wing and pseudo right-wing (aka Labor) governments, Australia has moved from a proudly progressive, socially responsible welfare-state pioneer to a smug, philanthropy-based culture that offloads its social obligations onto the capricious benevolence of the wealthy.

Brilliant writing, Stuart, and the best analysis on the Chaser controversy I’ve seen yet
Posted by SJF, Monday, 15 June 2009 2:15:44 PM
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Blairbar: "However this time their "shock and awe campaign" collapsed."
You think it has collapsed? Oh, good! I'm glad you think that way, that means the Chaser can get on with what they do best, and have been doing all along. To my mind, their campaign did not collapse.
It has now been drawn to the attention of a far wider audience than it would have, if people had just let it be.
Therefore, the Chaser have achieved their ends, even though some of us needed the good Doctor to make it plain to all.
Posted by LadyAussieAlone, Monday, 15 June 2009 3:06:26 PM
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This is a good article, it has merit - for the most part. The question was asked, "Why has this skit attracted more attention?" And the answers given so far have all missed their mark. Comparing a comedy skit that involves terminally ill children to that of the Footy Show or the APEC stunt is comparing chalk with cheese. Losing a child is not comparable to anything. It's clear to me that most commenters here have not had to endure the loss of their child, because if they had, there wouldn't be the myriad of comparisons or the minimising of the seriousness of the loss by dismissing it as bad-taste-satire. Losing a child is nothing like losing a grandparent, a parent, sibling or pet. Losing a child is a part of losing your own future, coupled with a sense of helplessness and loss of control. The grief surrounded by losing a child is of the most intense that can be experienced, and it is the MOST tragic thing a parent can ever go through. One has to be able to comprehend this before one can fully understand why The Chasers skit has received the amount of attention that it has.
Posted by shivers, Monday, 15 June 2009 4:30:55 PM
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Shivers: It is precisely the sense of helplessness and loss of control that cause people to react in irrational ways to the death of a child. People, including children, die and that is a fact of life – we can try and prevent what is natural or we can fight against it to our own detriment. Why do people need to be helpful? Why do they need to be in control? This is the real problem and it is what causes them to do what they want for dying kids rather than what the kids want. This is why such organisations like the Make a wish Foundation exist. It is about adults trying to avoid what cannot be avoided. It is probably not the only area in their lives where they try and control events beyond them.

Those who experience the pain of the loss of a child also become quite illogical in their efforts to deny the pain. They try and belittle the suffering of others which is exactly what the Chaser have been accused of doing. How do you know that none of the posters here has not experienced the loss of a child? Maybe they have and come through the experience and can put it all in perspective. How can you say that the grief is ‘the most intense that can be experienced’ unless you have had the experience of every type of grief that exists? Dismissing the opinions of others just because they have not had that particular experience is exactly what you accuse them of doing to those who have had it.

The Chasers were saying nothing about the experience of the loss of a child and everything about the way some people seek to deny the pain of the experience. It has touched a nerve because there are many people who want to deny the pain, go through the grief and come out the other side. Most people do come out the other side and regain their perspective. There are people who have lost a child and agree with the Chaser’s point of view.
Posted by phanto, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 11:01:42 AM
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Beautiful comment shivers. I have never suffered the loss of a child or grandchild but last year a friend of mine's little boy died from leukaemia after months of treatment, then remission but sadly the fatal return of the illness. He was taken off all medication and his parents told he had about four weeks to live. They asked him to make some wishes. He wished for two things: to visit Melbourne or to see his siblings fish at the beach. A family friend arranged for the little fellow and his family to spend three days on Bribie Island. The little boy's wishes were granted; he returned home and died three day's later.
I guess the parents and friends were "pander(ing) to parent guilt" and the money spent on the little fellow's last few days would have been better served by donating to medical research. But they were loving parents who wished their son to have a little bit of happiness after months of treatment and sacrifice. At the funeral, mourners were asked not to bring flowers but to make a donation to the Leukaemia Foundation.
Posted by blairbar, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 11:26:34 AM
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