Response more shocking than comic

I’m writing in response to Tuesday’s “”No Relation”” comic and the ensuing flamewar in yesterday’s Mailbag. They were about equally amusing. Regarding the comic, it is a rather intelligent pun about the mitzvah of having sex with your spouse that took me, a relatively knowledgeable Jew, a couple reads to understand. It is a bit crass, but no worse than anything you can see on Comedy Central.

The moral majority that voiced its opinion in yesterday’s Mailbag was far more shocking than the comic itself. It’s good politics for the Hillel brass and President Shelton to claim outrage, but have we as a society become so prudish that we cannot take a harmless joke, even one based on a stereotype? Stigmatizing everything that can offend someone will only give us the moral equivalent of “”bubble boy syndrome,”” and hiding prejudice, including that as a vehicle for satire, only leaves the real issues about the nature of hate unaddressed.

Alex Lovinger
biology sophomore

Offensive speech deserves protection

I saw all the hoopla regarding Tuesday’s comic “”No Relation”” and agree that it was tasteless and probably unnecessary. I saw that people called for the Wildcat to pull the comic, for the editor to resign, etc. I can see why, too, considering what just happened with Colorado State’s paper.

But may I remind others one of the founding principles this nation was built on: “”I disagree with what you say, but I defend to the death your right to say it.””

What speech isn’t offensive to someone? If we begin censoring speech or print that offends someone, suddenly we’re in “”1984.”” Don’t let ignorance become strength.

Clayton Chu
aerospace engineering junior

Comics should be controversial

I’m usually not the kind of person to write to newspapers, but after missing out on the Arizona Daily Wildcat on Monday, I had to make sure to pick up a copy of today’s paper. I needed to catch up on the Fast Facts and the Police Beat, which seems to get more interesting day by day (remember in the beginning of the year when freshmen were scared to smoke weed in the dorms?). To my surprise, the Mailbag section was full of hate towards the comic “”No Relation”” regarding the issue that I missed. I had to go online to look at Monday’s issue to see what all the fuss was about.

Is it really that difficult to accept humor these days? From the tone of the open letters I read in today’s Wildcat, it seems that people are becoming too uptight and looking for trouble, looking for something to focus their negativity toward, and looking for an excuse for their misery. This type of humor can be found anywhere and everywhere in today’s culture. People who find this comic “”disgusting”” and “”openly anti-Semitic,”” how do you go through everyday life? It seems like these people live in caves with no connection to the outside world besides the Wildcat (sorry if I offend and “”disgust”” you cavemen out there). I’m not saying stereotypes are OK, don’t get me wrong. In the right context, stereotypes can be funny, witty and clever.

Honestly, who wants comedy that’s dull and boring? Controversy is what brings comics to life – and Joseph Topmiller seems to have done this exactly the way it is supposed to be done. How about Seinfeld sitting on the couch for a whole episode to make sure he doesn’t offend anyone? Michael Scott from “”The Office”” with his mouth shut for 45 minutes? The Griffin family from “”Family Guy”” leading a normal, “”stereotypical”” middle-class Caucasian life?

Come on people, laugh it off and move on.

Justin J. Lee
pre-business sophomore