Colbert does gun nut imitation on The Colbert Report. Brilliant!

[zanne]

http://www.bradycampaign.org/

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

1. Helmkes response to the scenario of being attacked was priceless.

Colbert asked Helmke what he would do if attacked with a knife. Helmke said he would try to trip the attacker. If that didn't work he would try to reason with him. If that still didn't work he would kick him in the nuts. What an idiot.

David

[bossy22]

2. what did you expect

its a comedy show, i thought his responses were funny...

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

3. I agree, I laughed the whole time.

It was good comedy even if Helmke wasn't joking.


David

[radioburning]

5. Pretty funny.

I was laughing the whole time, even though I don't agree with a lot of Helmke's points. "We make it too easy for dangerous people to get guns", really? How come I have to fill out paperwork with all my information, and wait 10 days while the government checks to see if I have a criminal record or any history of mental illness?

[slackmaster]

7. Helmke lost me when he said they didn't allow people to have guns at the time the Constitution

was written, and that the word "regulated" in the 2A means regulation in the sense of gun control.

But that is his job, and he does it pretty well.

[radioburning]

8. I thought "well regulated" in the 2nd A. meant up to date equipment...n/t

[slackmaster]

19. I thought so too, but my point was that the Constitution was silent on RKBA before the BoR was added

Anything not prohibited is allowed.

[DavidMS]

26. I think somthing else was going on

Colbert didn't really care and was planning to roll with the punches. If Helmke pulled something off like the Florida Rep Wexler who suggested that the only thing more fun than cocaine was hookers and coke he would have done just fine. Unfortunately Helmke didn't have a sense of fun and got used like a cat's scratching post. He needed Colbert to make the points for him, just to be fair.

[iverglas]

4. Helmke must be Canadian

Self-deprecating humour. Not the stock in trade of the US comedian, or much appreciated by the US public.

Couldn't get the stupid thing to play, myself.


http://www.salon.com/ent/music/vowe/1999/01/27vowe.html

Canuck yuks
WHEN IT COMES TO AMERICAN HUMOR, CANADA IS COMEDY CENTRAL.

In a recent panel discussion at New York's 92nd Street Y called "Why Are Canadians So Funny?" moderator (and Vancouver native) Michael J. Fox mentioned a contest once sponsored by MacLean's magazine. MacLean's, which Fox identified as the "Canadian Time" (as is the Canadian comparative habit), once asked its readers to fill in the blank at the end of the phrase, "As Canadian as ..." to counterbalance the motto "As American as apple pie." According to Fox, the winning entry was "As Canadian as ... possible under the circumstances."

[benEzra]

11. A Canadian coworker of mine sent me the Rick Mercer video...

where he interviews Americans on the street who don't know anything about Canada. I think it's "Talking to Americans."

He actually got GWB to comment on-air regarding "Prime Minister Poutine," and a U.S. governor to congratulate Canada on saving their capitol building, the National Igloo, from melting due to global warming.

:rofl:

I do have to confess one aspect of personal Canada-ignorance; I did not know until recently that Avril Lavigne is Canadian. For some reason, I thought she was from Louisiana, of all places (probably her surname).

[zanne]

12. Lavigne is a French name. nt

[iverglas]

13. there are mixed feelings about that one

"Talking to Americans" was a regular segment on 22 Minutes. In small doses ...

But there's just something mean about it. (I don't quite know how to use "mean" in current USAmerican vernacular -- it seems to mean something hugely horrible. To me it's just a schoolyard taunty kinda thing -- not nice, a wee bit cruel.)

Not just that it's like shooting fish in a barrel -- that it really does exploit people's natural desire to be nice. People wanting to save our National Igloo from melting were just trying to be good neighbours, I think! Mercer is ordinarily hilarious, but that one just itched me, anyhow. Not that it wasn't hilarious anyhow.

I think my favourite is still Mercer and then Prime Minister Martin shopping at the Canadian Tire for shrink plastic to put on the windows of the official residence -- and then doing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiCle1Vk4Sg

Although the sleepover at 24 Sussex with current PM Harper has its moments.


On Lavigne: I think you can safely assume that any female pop star on the US charts is Cdn.

Céline Dion (no point denying it)
Shania Twain
Alanis Morissette
Sarah McLachlan
Diana Krall (did you have to listen to her as much as we did?)
and of course KD Lang

I'm sure there are more. I don't pay attention.

Just don't start trying to list the comedians/comics of ours you have ...

[benEzra]

16. You can add Loreena McKennitt as well...

not a pop star per se, but a favorite of mine. Wikipedia says she's from Manitoba. I had no idea Shania Twain was Canadian, though.

On Rick Mercer, I can certainly see the exploitative aspect of it. Does he let his interviewees know that they've been "had" after the interview, or does he leave them to find themselves on YouTube? That would be embarassing (though not half as embarassing as if you're running for President of the USA and fall for the gag, I suppose...).

[iverglas]

18. her too

and the boys. Let's not forget



For Wickerman.
(and just couldn't resist the source of that one: musingonmormonism)


I don't know how Mercer follows up. It just seems like a bit of a mean-spirited streak (that's the meaning I was after). It's a little unusual in Cdn humour, which is always satirical but tends not to have that bite.

It has to be acknowledged that a part of Cdn humour is having outsiders not get it, so there is that wee tinge of not niceness. That's what made "Blame Canada" Canadian. ;) And there are people who take "If I had a million dollars" at face value ...

[SteveM]

20. Check out RodneyDangerfield...

not only self-deprecating, but if you should get too near, you will be consumed as well!

[iverglas]

22. "Rodney Dangerfield - There goes the neighborhood.”

His headstone. ;)


I'm not sure I can put my finger on it, but there's a difference. For him it was a gimmick. It's a very complex thing in the Canadian national character that comes out in the humour.

I see someone using The Magnetic North Pole is in Canadian territory (for now) as an example. That's pretty close to as Canadian as possible under the circumstances. ;)


There's also the whole Brit first claim to self-deprecating humour. I think theirs is fake.


What you say -- "you will be consumed as well!" -- is also right on point. The usual distinction is between self-deprecating humour and hostile humour. And Dangerfield's wasn't exactly non-hostile.


Okay, find me something on the net about, I dunno, the Red Hot Chili Peppers that approaches this:

http://www.canadianshakespeares.ca/multimedia/audio/m_a_12.cfm

CASP is pleased to make available lyrics and full audio clips from two Arrogant Worms songs, "William Shakespeare's In My Cat" (from the 1994 CD Russell's Shorts) and "Proud To Be A Canadian" (from the 1997 CD Live Bait). The songs combine self-deprecating, witty, literary-type humour, obviously aimed at an educated audience that will appreciate the references.

... But at the same time the Worms send up the high culture references via their juxtaposition with the subversive banality of Shakespeare's reincarnation in a cat. How far this sort of bringing together of high culture with an attitude of self-deprecating humour is used as a marker to differentiate Canadian culture from American is clearly at stake for the Worms, whose lyrics frequently attend to issues of Canadian national identity via how "we're" different from "them."

We're awfully nice to strangers, our manners be our curse
It's cool in many ways to be Canadian
We won't say that we're better, it's just that we're less worse.

How Shakespeare figures in this equation of not being better, just less worse, poses an interesting problem with regard to how national identity formations are constructed via the mixing of humour with so-called high culture. The Arrogant Worms are part of an extended tradition of figuring national identity issues through filters in which Shakespeare and humour are juxtaposed.

Hmm.

Now there's another question -- "aimed at an educated audience that will appreciate the references".

Dennis Miller personified that in the US. But it was sooo obvious what he was doing. He was getting people to laugh at jokes so they could demonstrate that they got them, and were grateful to him for recognizing how clever and erudite they were. They weren't laughing at funny jokes; they were patting themselves on the back for getting them.

The shared references are a large part of Canadian humour, very obviously. And that kind of leads to self-deprecating, I'd think, when they happen to include things like ... well, growing up looking like this:



Note too that there are Canadian humourists who do the self-deprecating thing ... badly. Mike Bullard, who flopped a few times at late-night talk show hosting, just could not pull if off, if you ask me. You can't be arrogant and self-deprecating at the same time.



The president will not address parliament in the capital, Ottawa, apparently because of the risk of being heckled.
-- We have a President who’s afraid of being heckled. By Canadians.
This is part of showing the world how strong we are, right?


See, we don't mind being used as the fall guys in jokes like that.


Q: How do you get 20 teenage Canadian boys to get out of a swimming pool?
A: Stand by the edge of the pool and say, “Time to get out of the pool, boys.”

Best sign reported today at the anti-Bush protests in Ottawa: "Please Leave"


(You know: what does a Canadian say when you step on her foot? "Sorry.")



An Englishman, a Canadian and an American were captured by terrorists.
The terrorist leader said, "Before we shoot you, you will be allowed last words. Please let me know what you wish to talk about."
The Englishman replied, "I wish to speak of loyalty and service to the crown."
The Canadian replied, "Since you are involved in a question of national purpose, national identity, and secession, I wish to talk about the history of constitutional process in Canada, special status, distinct society and uniqueness within diversity."
The American replied, "Just shoot me before the Canadian starts talking."

[iverglas]

25. one I'd never seen before

You'll have to forgive me. I've been sitting here waiting for work that never came ...


One I'd never seen. It's making me guffaw, I think mostly because it's just so dumb.


In a train car there were a Canadian man, an American man, a spectacular looking blonde woman and a frightfully awful looking fat lady. After several minutes of the trip the train happens to pass through a dark tunnel, and the unmistakable sound of a slap is heard. When they leave the tunnel, the American had a big red slap mark on his cheek.

1. The blonde thought - "That American son of a ***** wanted to touch me and by mistake, he must have put his hand on the fat lady, who in turn must have slapped his face".

2. The fat lady thought - "This dirty old American laid his hands on the blonde and she smacked him".

3. The American thought - "That ******* Canadian put his hand on that blonde and by mistake she slapped me".

4. The Canadian thought - "I hope there's another tunnel soon so I can smack that stupid American again".



There's a whole new field opening up ...


How worthless is the Canadian dollar?
So worthless you can use it to buy an American dollar.



You may have heard that the Canadian government has decided to assist the USA in the war against terrorism. Canada has agreed to send:
6000 ground troops
2 of their largest battle ships
6 fighter jets.

After the exchange rate, the USA will receive:
2 Mounties
1 canoe
a bunch of flying squirrels.


(See? It's self-deprecating, even when it's on you!)

Okay, I'm stupid. That's an old joke. It's on us. ;)

[SteveM]

27. The Russians have a strange take on self-depracation...

...when it comes to being a "REAL man."

The average Russian man knows, after falling through the ice in Siberia, that it takes thirty seconds to die.
A REAL Russian man takes sixteen.

[slackmaster]

6. Every cliche in the book

Well played as usual!

[zanne]

9. Colbert imitated you guys so well!

"You want to take my guns away"!! "Infringing! Infringing!" :rofl:

[rdenney]

15. The gun nuts do take themselves so seriously, dont they?.......

yes, they constantly tell us that they "need" their deadly guns to make sure the government doesnt "become tyrannical", yet they never do anything when they claim the government overstepped its bounds. Thats how they justify keeping their deadly toys available for their own brand of fun and frolic in the sun.:puke:

[benEzra]

17. Hang around long enough, and I think you'll see that those stereotypes aren't true of most.

Certainly there are gun owners among the 29 Percenters, but roughly half of gun owners are Dems and indies, after all. We do tend to lean individualist rather than authoritarian, and a lot of even the repub gun owners out there are very uncomfortable with the Patriot Act, waterboarding, Surveillance Nation, and the Religious Right.

FWIW, for most of us, shooting is Zen, rather than Rambo. More thoughts here, if you're interested (so as not to hijack the thread).

[WWFZD]

23. That's it Ben

"and a lot of even the repub gun owners out there are very uncomfortable with the Patriot Act, waterboarding, Surveillance Nation, and the Religious Right."

I've voted mostly Republican, along mostly libertarian lines, until recently. The last vote I cast was for a strong 2A supporting, NRA A rated Democrat for governor of Ohio. He's a dedicated public servant and would make a terrific VP, although I would not want to see it happen. I'm very happy with my selection and most dissatisfied with the current state of the Republican party.
To entertain that religious right, whackjob Mike Huckleberry at the national level with his assertion that the "constitution" that he honors is the bible is unconscionable.

[SteveM]

21. You will find that most defenders of 2A in this forum defend the BOR...

Perhaps you think that because we defend 2A that every time some blow-hole like Bush circumvents the constitution that 2A folks will call out the militia and march down Pennsylvania Avenue (to save you the trouble of doing it, perhaps?). But 2A was designed for self-defense and to put down usurpation of power in the extreme.

"The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it." -attributed to Thomas Jefferson

[Tejas]

24. it's a good thing some antis do NOT own guns

"The gun nuts do take themselves so seriously, dont they?.......
yes, they constantly tell us that they "need" their deadly guns to make sure the government doesnt "become tyrannical", yet they never do anything when they claim the government overstepped its bounds."


Sounds like you're suggesting that violence with firearms would have been a good idea in the past when "the government overstepped its bounds".


Care to give an example?

[WWFZD]

10. That was hilarious, what a babbling imbecile

"Right now we don't do anything to keep the crazy people hardly from getting the guns"

I'm just about to spout off with a lie, oops better qualify it.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

14. On that note, Helmke imitated the gun grabbers quite well.