Just a quick note unrelated to statistics.

Tony Hinchcliffe recently made a “joke” about Puerto Rico that might sway the 2024 election. And People are really mad. Hinchcliffe is being universally trashed (see what I did there) over this. But he has an unlikely defender: Jon Stewart. But Jon Stewart is wrong.

Choosing to think Tony Hinchcliffe is funny or not is a matter of personal taste. (I personally think he’s terrible, but that’s just one old man’s opinion). But the larger issue here is that context matters. Tony Hinchcliffe wasn’t on a comedy stage. He wasn’t on a celebrity roast. He wasn’t recording a comedy podcast. He was at a politically rally (A politically rally, mind you, for a guy who was recently called a fascist by an actual retired US general. That’s no small thing).

The context matters! And Joe Rogan somehow knows this better than liberal hero Jon Stewart. While Rogan also defend Hinchcliffe, he also claims he told Hinchcliffe: “It’s a political rally, and you’re doing jokes like you’re in a comedy club. Don’t do it!”

(Rogan goes on to say: “I’ve gotta tell you, that joke kills at comedy clubs. I don’t like the joke, but it kills.” What the fuck?!!?!? That joke KILLS? It’s genuinely a bad joke. It doesn’t even make sense. I don’t even understand why it’s a joke. The only way I can even conceive of it being funny is if you have some pretty terrible feelings about Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans.)

My point is this: I’m so sick of these right wing “comedians” spewing the most racist hateful shit you’ve ever heard and then hiding behind: “It’s just a joke” and “People are so easily offended these days”. Fucking. Stop.

Finally, I think Sean O’Connor sums up the entire situation better than anyone possibly could:

Cheers.