Dog whistles

 I believe in free speech.  I have recently experienced having my own words silenced on different platforms, which is especially absurd when I post quotes or videos of Marc Maron discussing his decades old obsession with sexually exploiting teen girls, and I am told those words are breaking content rules, while Maron himself, or his fans, have some of those same quotes or videos on that same platform.  Pointing out the predatory nature in Maron's many bits and intros and interviews is seen as wrong, while the bits and words and behaviors themselves are perfectly acceptable. 

I have mentioned the term "dog whistles" in previous blog posts, and most people understand that term.  The funny thing about dog whistling is that most of us can spot it, if we are hearing whistling directed at those whom we disagree with.  Racist, homophobic, exploitive, or sexist dog whistles are not hard to spot and call out, for those of us who find such bigoted and exploitive behavior reprehensible.  But those who agree with the bigotry represented by certain dog whistles,  are the first to deny the subtle meaning behind the very whistles their ears are attuned to pick up. They know exactly what they are hearing.  And will zealously deny what they know.  That is the whole reason dog whistling exists.  To get away with signaling bigoted or exploitive behavior, while retaining plausible deniability.  It is a form of gaslighting that happens regularly.  Ya know, iykyk.

Maron's Thanksgiving podcast episode today ends with he and his guest discussing Lenny Bruce, a comedian who fought against obscenity laws, and was seen as controversial for his brand of humor, which included sexual material that fell under such laws still in place decades ago. 

Lenny Bruce's humor was groundbreaking in its day.  His comedic spin and subtleties were personal.  The obscenity laws he fought against were draconian, and his right to push the envelope edge, in finding humor through comedic commentary on human sexuality and behaviors, was valid.  Humor can be found in the darkest of places, and finding that humor can actually ease the pain inherent in such darkness.  Maron, in his most recent special, did just that, by finding humor in personal grief and loss.  That is a gift, the ability to finesse humor from grief, to extract laughter from tears.  This is probably what resonates most for me, as one who enjoys Maron's brand of comedic talent.

Near the end of today's episode, Maron speaks of a book, The Essential Lenny Bruce, and how he found a first edition years ago in Phoenix, Arizona. Maron refers to this book as "bible," an important piece of literature for him. He goes on to say that the copy he found was "perfect" for him, because "it had a bookmark in it that was a Campfire Girls' bookmark."  This is a dog whistle.  Maron's meaning is clear.  How he views underage girls is right there.  Plausibly deniable?  Not when one looks at Maron's own words and behavior, from 1989 up until the day this podcast episode was recorded.  Not when one looks at the victims he has left much worse off after he is through re-exploiting them.  

Would Maron's story about finding a Lenny Bruce book, containing a bookmark from an organization created exclusively for underage girls, be a legitimate laugh, if told by a comedian with no history of grooming and sexually exploiting mentally compromised teen girls who have serious self-harming and substance abuse issues?  I don’t know.  Truth is, I can't think of any non-predatorial comedian who would view this scenario as comical in the first place.  But what do I know?  I'm just someone who is pointing out a dog whistle.  I'm sure Maron and his fans will say I was hearing things where there is nothing to hear.