I’ve occasionally asked myself that when comedians such as Francesca Martinez, Liz Carr, Rosie Jones and Alex Brooker joke about their problems, why can’t non-disabled comedians do the same?

I SAW Francesca Martinez on Live at The Apollo on t.v the other day, and during her routine she made jokes about her problems which got several laughs from the audience. During her routine though I began to ask myself a couple of questions; the first being that when people who don’t have any form of disability make jokes about those who do it turns into immediate outrage along with a furious backlash on social media, yet why is it acceptable when those with problems do it? The other question that sprang to mind was that if those with problems can mock themselves then why can’t non-disabled people do it? Just curious to know, that’s all.
Now before you go down the hell have no fury route, or similar routes, let me just point something out to you; I’m autistic and I live with a disability known as Asperger Syndrome which I a mild form of autism. And yes, I openly admit that once in a blue moon I referred to myself as a ‘spastic’, but only in the example terms or whenever I am mocking myself.
Back in 2007 Heat magazine apologised to glamour model, Katie Price, over one of their free giveaways when it featured a sticker with her son, Harvey, with a speech quote ‘Harvey wants to eat me’. Understandably Katie was furious with the magazine, as were many of the publication’s readers. In 2010 another controversy ensured when controversial comedian, Frankie Boyle, made a remark about Harvey during an episode of his Channel 4 show Frankie Boyle’s Tramadol Nights.
Whenever I look at episodes like this, as well as others, one thing that it always sparks off is the whole issue within regards to free-speech, what is deemed acceptable and what isn’t when it comes to live comedy, sketch shows or satirical programmes. Another thing that I always find is that there are some people who seem quite content and claim that how the comment or the joke hasn’t harmed anyone. Others would say how people need to get over it and stop being so mardy. Looking back over the past couple of decades we’ve always had this debate within regards to free-speech and expression whenever it comes to stand-up comics and the material that they do.
Now I openly admit that I am a supporter of free-speech and expression as much as the next person but what I also know is that you have to take responsibility for what you say and do as well. In a way it’s a bit like the line in Spiderman ‘With great power comes great responsibility’. Sure, we’re supposed to be living in a country where we’re able to say what we want, do what we want etc but at the end of the day we can’t void ourselves of our individual responsibilities either.

However, going back to comedians who mock themselves. Whenever Francesca does her set, she frequently refers to her disability in a self-mocking way cos in way, or as I see it, it’s a way of owning the so-called tag and reusing it in another way. During my life there have actually been times when I’ve been mocked for my disability and it’s left me feeling upset and annoyed, and yes it was from people who I didn’t like. Yet whenever I do it to myself, I don’t feel any upset whatsoever.

So, this all in all, has left me wondering in theory that maybe why people with disabilities mock themselves cos it’s a way of finding the humour in their problems, and also because it’s coming from themselves and their nearest and dearest there’s no cold-hearted malice in it. However, this still leaves one question that will every so often will rear its head whenever things like this rise up again; if disabled comedians can mock themselves, why can’t comedians with no disabilities or problems do the same?

If we claim we care about others, why do we enjoy seeing mental breakdown’s people enduring a public fall from grace?

SINCE reality TV hit our screens and became such a monster hit, why do we as people, fans and viewers take such delight in watching others endure mental breakdown’s and public upset? Let me give you a quick example of what I’m on about; if you remember watching Big Brother you got all sorts of characters with various sorts of personalities, and I think it’s fair to assume that the producers somehow hoping for some sort of Clash of the Titans-style personality clashes. For instance, do you remember Nick Bateman, or Nasty Nick as the tabloids called him? He was the first contestant to be removed from the house for cheating and attempting to rig votes.

Now because of what he did and how he manipulated people we, both as viewers and fans, were all too happy to see him endure a public fall from grace and become a sort of panto villain. Though I’m not sure whether the infamous panto villains themselves quite got a public backlash as he ever did.
I openly admit that in some ways I am as guilty as charged as anybody else would be. Not long after the news broke out, I remember talking about it on the phone with my sister, who also took great delight in telling me how she’d defaced a front cover of a tabloid paper with Nick’s face on it with devil-like features. Every time I saw pictures of him in the months that followed, I looked at his face with vitriol claiming how he deserved any abuse he got.
Going back to 1999 to the BBC t.v series, Castaway 2000, it’s the show where a group of people were selected to live on the remote Scottish island of Taransay to make a small community for whole year. One of the people on the programme was a guy named Ray Bowler, and one of things that we pretty much remember him for was his aggressive outbursts. In my naivety, and due to the footage I saw of him, he just came across as an aggressive guy who I wouldn’t want to be in the same room with. Looking back at now I think it must have been quite upsetting for his family to see him portrayed as a constantly angry guy who just seemed like he was ready to raise a fist to anyone whenever he temper flared. For all we know he was probably a decent guy for whom it had become too much for. And all because of the mechanics of reality tv and our joy in watching his frequent shout-fests we just saw a man type-cast as an aggressive man.
As avid reality-t.v obsessives we don’t seem to be quite helpful in these sorts of situations, especially where the supposed entertainment-factor is. If anything, we seem to want more of it. As though we can’t seem to get enough of other peoples’ misfortune.
Now another programme I’m not a fan of in anyway is The X Factor, especially in its early days. Contestants who were hungry (or desperate) for a shot at fame went before the judges and did what they could to secure a vote and be liked by the viewers. However, the moment humiliation begins we just begin to find some sort of pleasure in watching some poor soul be publicly slaughtered, for all the nation to see. A few years ago, I remember seeing footage of a young male contestant doing whatever they could to impress the judges enough to be selected. Sadly, the guy wasn’t chosen but what happened afterwards, I think, looked almost unbearable. The infamous rejections from the judges began then escalated into a heated war of the words and swearing. The man in question then ran off stage, barging past the two co-presenters in the process in a state.
For as much as I don’t know the guy in question, I just remember feeling quite sorry for him as when he ran off the stage there was a tidal wave of laughter from the audience. I mean, to suffer a small embarrassment before your friends and family is one thing but to suffer total, soul-destroying humiliation before an entire crowd is quite another. Yet all made worse knowing that millions around the country observed it to.
Something we really need to ask ourselves is if these shows have a negative impact on someone’s well-being, what pleasure are were actually getting out of it, and is it really worth it?

If I could think of a song to sum up the last two years it’d be Spaceman by Babylon Zoo

SO, we’re getting into the Autumn season now, basically past the half-way mark in 2019 and in terms of politics, social issues, security and other issues etc the only way I can describe it is one great, big messy scream-fest. By all means, feel free to disagree to any extent but I’m just calling the situations as I see them. Now you could say that all of this started as a result of Brexit, but I think you’d be hard-pressed to remember that much of this has been going on since way before then. If anything, Brexit either added voices to the tidal wave of screams or just re-ignited some rather loud voices.

If I was to think of a song that could sum up pretty much everything that’s been happening for the past two to three years it would be Spaceman by Babylon Zoo. Yes, it’s a weird choice. I mean why chose a song that was used back in the 90’s for a jeans advert? But hold on a second whilst I explain a supposed meaning behind the song. I remember reading an interview some years back about the song and how it is supposed to be about what an alien would possibly think if they were to visit earth and with everything that is currently going on. I saw the music video on TV the other night and as I paid particular attention to the lyrics I just remember thinking about the irony behind the meaning when you consider what’s been happening in the news lately.
For instance, let’s have a look at what has happened since 2016. We have had the vote on our membership with European Union, the presidential campaign in America, problems in Russia and other parts of Europe, members of the SNP continuously going on about Scottish Independence and the rise in hate-crime.
When the presidential election campaign happened, it was Hilary Clinton verses Donald Trump. Now the whole thing seemed to get not only ugly, but somewhat misogynistic as well from what I can recall seeing. I remember being somewhat disappointed by Trump, especially by the language he used when describing Hilary as some of it looked like character assassination. And she didn’t resort to such low tactics. But I can remember feeling disappointed by the people who voted for him as he just seemed to stirring up no end of rhetoric which many just seem to swallow.
In many ways it just seemed to be the same here in regards to issues surrounding Brexit, homophobia and Islamophobia. You had groups of both far-right and religious zealots who were semi-educated and protested against numerous social issues without knowing either the all the facts. For further examples look at what happened at the primary school in Birmingham. When the No Outsiders project was introduced many parents accused the school of trying to turn the children gay.
In the past couple of years alone one thing that has been brought into being was the surge in so-called ‘fake news’, which was a term mostly used by Trump. Particularly when he was being challenged to certain statements. Something that I have found myself asking every so often is that why this term, or excuse, is used. Is it because those who have been called into question have realised that things they’ve said, or reports that are linked to them are either fake, or is it because they’re genuine and they’re worried that they’ll be found out?
To me it’s almost like a spectrum. At one end you’ve got people who seem to say anything to get attention, haven’t a clue what to do and just shut down anyone who tells them differently. Whereas at the other end you’ve got those who actually know what’s going on and are trying to offer actual solutions but are just shouted down by those who remain clueless.