Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker…and Tits

U.S. Elections, comedy, george carlin

* ”The real reason that we can’t have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse: You cannot post “Thou shalt not steal,” “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and “Thou shalt not lie” in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment.”

                                                 Sharing a Memory of George Carlin

 Before the headline of George Carlin’s passing had been completed, I already missed him.

 My introduction to the impact of Carlin came at a young age with an inauspicious beginning.

 A Friday afternoon spent collecting subscription fees from my paper route (as was the style at the time), left me flush with cash. Not necessarily my cash (I learned was ‘please remit’ meant at a young age). But as part of the Friday collection routine, I found my 8 year old self purchasing AC/DC’s Highway to Hell, King Crimson’s ‘In The Court of the Crimson King’, and - struck by the hirsute and dishevelled image of Carlin, I included a copy of ‘Class Clown’ in my selections.

 Coincidentally, that was the Friday night that my mom had her bi-monthly bridge night, with her turn to host. For anyone who knows these bridge nights, it’s the equivalent of hens clucking endlessly - much like what an experience watching the View is - except with cards.

 That was my cue to find, as respite, the room with the record player. Nothing special of course. One of those 1970’s units that are adequate enough for non-audiophile families. Something that dad plays Herb Alpert on, or the occasional and seasonal records of Christmas carols.

So with the clucking underway like Gene Krupa in the middle of a drum solo, I hid myself away amid the choleric tones of 21st Century Schizoid Man , and found great comfort in hearing this music that would end up be a part of the rest of my life. At this point, ready to give the spoken word record with the fun warning attached (how could a kid resist?!)

 I listened and enjoyed, but a live spoken-word comedy record (recorded at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California) doesn’t quite have the volume intensity that acidic riffage a King Crimson record automatically offers. So amid the hens-a-cluckin’ I boosted the volume to about ‘7′, only to be greeted with the rhetorical flourish

 “Have you noticed that most of the women who are against abortion are women you want to fuck in the first place?” 

 Like most of I was already able to make out, made sense to me. I was an observant little kid. 

 However, THAT was enough to silence two tables of eight gossiping bridge players. Not to mention mortify the host (my mom), and the reaction was so swift that the only thing I recall after hearing that line was the sound of a needle being drawn across a record (clearly, proper usage and treatment of stereo components became something of no consideration whatsoever).

 It’s a fun anecdote, because in a way in illustrates that same kind of effect the great comics have. In this instance it almost might qualify as a metaphor for a society that censors things because they don’t believe that their wards can handle it.

 Believe me, this is just an afterthought. But for someone for whom good comedy means so much, whether it be Dave Allen, Lenny Bruce, The Mighty Boosh, Monty Python, Bill Bailey et. al., we understand the role of the jester in being crucial in speaking truth to power and sharing and dissecting the bizarre nuance of the world we live in. Laughter is a visceral thing - much like the responses I have seen in reaction to Carlin’s death.

                                                                Post Script

 It’s not for me to engage in all the dissection (or dissertations) of Carlin’s work that media outlets will offer as part of their eulogizing. Some will miss the point - call him vulgar - only reference the Seven Dirty Words without knowing the deeper meaning behind the use of language (which Carlin can certainly credit Lenny Bruce for), others, the aforementioned that do appreciate the power of the word and how it can be used, will already know.

 But on the plus side, perhaps someone will hear a clip used to ‘colour’ their newsbrief, and be curious enough to avail themselves of the media sharing formats to hear more of Carlin. Carlin on religion, on politics, on war, on social issues, on euphemisms - Carlin was able to train his incisive sights on everything with a unique skill so absent in much commentary today.

 *Incidentally, LibertyForum.org are discussion and sharing their 101Greatest George Carlin Quotes. And Carlin had hundreds of them. They are almost Neitszche-like aphorisms, simple statements of truth.

 Many of them would look great on tee-shirts, even more would be great tags in public places (there are, after all, plenty of Conventions coming up!). Get those Jiffy Markers ready.

 And if you have any memories of your own, please feel free to share.

                                     ~Sven Eric Balabinoff

admin @ June 23, 2008