A tactical victory in the alternative universe of internet petitions, where a seconds-long cameo by Benedict Cumberbatch in the new Zoolander 2 trailer has been branded transphobic. Then again, what hasn’t?
I’m joking, of course – and the lovely thing about the more intelligent provisional wings of modern activism, from feminism to trans rights to newcomers such as transracialism, is that they are totally on board with the idea that jokes might be permissible. Even when representation is not what you might wish, even when there are vital battles left to be won, even when you think the joke isn’t funny. History shows us that someone else is always likely to come along and make a miles better joke about that lame joke, and make the original joker look quite the passe bigot.
A world without jokes is not a safe space: it is a very dangerous place indeed. Diversity of opinion and – crucially – diversity of tone: these are things that are obviously to be cherished in all free societies and ones that would be more free, because the irony of their not being would be so immense in the circumstances that it could literally give you brain damage.
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