Cupp runneth over.
I just read an article on the CNN website penned by SE Cupp titled: Kathy Griffin's unforgivable message to America and the world. Unforgivable? Rachel Maddow has wondered on the air if even endless war on terror is morally forgivable, and Americans have the audacity to indict a comedian’s artistic attempt at making a metaphorical statement about something over half of the country feels? The reason Griffin’s statement is not forgivable is because there is nothing to forgive. Although SE Cupp complained that the comedian’s image brought to mind other gruesome events, that is something Cupp needs to deal with in therapy instead of puritanical prose designed to promote her prime time show. Who among you thinks that you have been anointed to decide when and where comedy works? The current president that Kathy was mocking is on camera ridiculing a reporter’s physical handicap and was still elected. Seems he was forgiven. The president claims the image was disturbing to his son Barron, Eric Trump was so shocked about the Griffin photo he dropped his elephant tusks.
You can argue that Griffin’s post was in bad taste, but again that is a matter of opinion, and if Americans had good taste what you see through the display windows in most malls would vanish. The fact that republicans voiced outrage at the photo of a bloody mask of Trump’s head, but at the same time ignored the Portland racial murders, and celebrated the election of a Montana congressman who beat up a reporter, shows you that their indignation towards Griffin is political, and the media, such as Cupp and CNN, who jumped on that bandwagon missed the chance to show support for the very freedom of speech they complain that Trump is trying to suppress.
If you dissect a good comedian’s monologue you will find gems of insight, and societal observations that are meant to reach the heart of what matters in the world. Kathy Griffin is not one of my favorite comedian’s, but she has many fans that have found delight in her diatribes, and I support her artistic freedom, which is nothing less than courageous and constitutionally protected. By firing her from the New Years gig CNN may have satisfied some subscribers, but when they ring in 2018 it will do what Cupp suggests, and bring to mind a gruesome event when a comedian was beheaded for representing a truth.
Buddy Winston is a former staff writer for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and his new novel about impeaching an American dictator called “Trumping Frumpf” is available on Amazon.