Louis CK is Still Funny, Won a Grammy, and That's Perfectly Fine
Not All Situations are Criminal, Not All Circumstances Merit Scorched Earth
"Oh, dude. I just bought CK's latest video special. It's very, very funny."
My friend of 35 years got that look.
"Uh. Yeah. OK. Knock yourself out with that. I'll pass."
"Not a fan?"
"Not any more. C'mon. You knew three of the women he assaulted."
"Assaulted? I'm not entirely certain that's how I'd categorize it but sure. I get it. When can I acceptably think he's funny again?"
"Never. Seriously? Never."
The desire for justice is strong in America. The execution is wanting. Given the specific circumstances of CK's crimes (ask women if he can jerk himself off in front of them, receive no acknowledgement of consent or rejection, pull out dick and commence to whacking) there is no assault involved. The worst thing the man can be legally accused of is indecent exposure.
Someone convicted of felony indecent exposure can be subjected to any or all of the following penalties:
Incarceration. Sentences may involve time in the county jail, or one or more years in state prison, depending on the state. The judge may require that the entire sentence be served in jail.
Fines. Courts impose fines to penalize defendants. These fines also help defray the cost of maintaining the criminal justice system. Fines vary depending on the circumstances, but usually start at $1,000.
Probation. A person on probation regularly meets with a probation officer and fulfills other terms and conditions, such as maintaining employment and attending counseling.
Community service. Courts often include as a part of probation the requirement that the defendant volunteer for a specified number of hours with court-approved organizations, such as charities.
Sexual offender registry. Some states require registration on a sexual offender registry after conviction for indecent exposure.
Not convicted in a court of law but in the court of public opinion, CK has no obligation to serve time. While not specifically fined, his unwanted penis caused him (according to various sources) somewhere around $35 million in financial loss. He spent a year or so in hiding which feels a bit like probation, I suppose. While he is not on a sexual offender registry, because he is famous and famously outed, everyone who meets him knows he masturbated in front of uncomfortable women.
I mean, even a convicted pedophile can go into a grocery store and not be seen as such. Louis CK can't ever and, I know I'm going out on a limb here, fingering a little girl or boy is a lot worse than jerking off in front of someone.
Under any reasonable sense, the man has paid the penalty for his crimes. I can almost guarantee the man has been rehabilitated (meaning he will unlikely ever jag off in front of anyone but a fully consensual partner) which is the written purpose of punishment.
That isn't enough apparently.
Scorched earth. Total destruction of the man's ability to be in public. Full banishment. That is what is called for as if Louis CK is the sole reason that women in comedy are subjected to less money, fewer bookings, and the daily harassment for blow jobs by make comics and talent agents. Which is all why when he won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album, the chattering classes couldn't help themselves.
"Just as a refresher, while rumors had been around for years, Louis CK was formally accused in 2017 by several female comedians of whipping his dick out and masturbating in front of them."
"People aren't mad that Louis CK got a Grammy even when he was supposed to be "canceled," they're mad because he whipped his dick out at people who did not want him to do that, which is a relatively reasonable reaction to have."
"In comedy, it’s still a good time to be a sexual abuser.
The message this award sends to C.K.’s victims and other female comics and comedy writers is that their cries will fall on deaf ears — and might well backfire. Not just because men in the industry are supporting other men, but because the system is broken. The comedy establishment sends a dog whistle to sexual predators, forgiving their abusive actions as long as they offer a superficial apology (often drafted by their publicists) and go underground for a year or so. After that, they can emerge and revive their careers. It’s assumed they’ve changed, even though there’s no evidence of change."
The irony of the necessity of the movement for police reform is that it’s happening in tandem to everyone becoming a cop. Each of us are spending far too much of our time policing one another. An entire nation of George Zimmermans looking at everyone else in order to catch them in some sort of egregious activity in order to call out the offense, rally the mob, and convict them in the Twitter Courts.
What a sad bunch of fucking busybodies we've become.
I love Kevin Spacey movies but I wouldn't have a meal with the man because, from everything I've read, he's a been a sexual predator in the past. I love movies produced by Harvey Weinstein (everything by Tarantino, gang?) but I wouldn't go on vacation with his fat, bloated, raping ass. Rosemary's Baby might be the greatest horror film this side of The Exorcist but the idea of grabbing a drink with Roman Polanski and his underage "valet" does not appeal.
Louis CK? Still funny and, as long as he promised not to pull out his johnson, a grand potential poker buddy. You may not agree and that's OK. I don't eat at Chick Fill-A because the owners are homophobic but I don't sit in the Chick Fill-A parking lot and wait for people to come out with grease on their mouths and scream "SHAME! YOU FUCKING MONSTER WITH YOUR CHICKEN!" Why? Because I'm not a fucking idiot and I have more important things to do like get a Domino's Pizza (owned by devoted anti-abortionists).
Trust me on this—whether Louis CK gets a Grammy or not, it has almost absolutely nothing to do with you. Also, the fact that I'm thrilled to pay $5.00 for a digital copy of his newest standup is none of your business.
Luckily, when people talk about cancel culture, they aren't talking about the wealthy and famous but for people like Amy Cooper. The famous can't be cancelled because if they were, whom would we bitch about?