Who finds good, clean laughter more offensive than a bawdy night of, say, the Diceman? Christopher Hitchens. His support for the ouster of Saddam Hussein threatened to declassify him as an autonomous liberal. Not to fear: he's made a go of shouting down a mountain with some post-mortem calumny against Bob Hope, the man whose humor routinely separated people between those who enjoyed him and those who were dead at the time. This is the comedic equivalent of telling people that you hate chocolate.
Spit into the ocean, Hitchens. I bet Bob's laughing.
COMMENTS: [February 20th, 2004. I've still got them, and Demski put an excellent defense of Hitchens. For your perusal.]
DEMSKI:Ubaldi-- Hate this to be my intro to your site, but here goes... I must confess, I don't post on politics and other issues b/c frankly I'm not as well informed as I would like (but I try). But 'funny'? I think I know 'funny,' and one thing that is not funny is Bob Hope. God Bless Hitchens for saying what many people think but are afraid to say b/c it's not 'polite.' Do you actually find Hope funny? Who does? His humor, if you can call it that, is scattershot and weak-- I wouldn't know a signature Hope joke if it hit me in the forehead. Why? Because there's no signature. He hosted the Oscars for so many years not because he was funny, but because he was the most recognizable, bland, harmless face out there. And there was a team of writers behind this! He always quipped about never getting nominated-- what a shock, check out his movies! Being nice and an ass-kiss doesn't equal funny. And don't get me started on his USO shows. In short, Hope won't be missed by yours truly. But what do I know? I like the Diceman.UBALDI: The Diceman's funny. He hurts my virgin ears, but he's funny. Let's get that out of the way. ;-)
I made sure to include the "chocolate" comment to soften the point - some people don't really like it, even though it's the kind of food that most take for granted as a broadly popular treat. But does anyone come right out and declare that they hate the stuff? To each his own, yes, but to be vocal about it? At, say, a birthday party with chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream?
I'm not a Bob Hope aficionado, and I prefer other forms of humor. "Bland" is probably an accurate term for someone who doesn't care for him; I'd call him "mild." But by way of being either bland or mild, he's also inoffensive - at least one would think so. I can see how someone doesn't really care for his humor, though I'm puzzled as to why an uncontroversial man would be such a target for vilification. Not a week following his death, either, and with such odd conviction. Hitchens sounded angry!
DEMSKI: Well, I think that Hitchens' repsonse stems from the media beating us over the head w/ stories of Hope and how great he was blah blah blah... For days, I would flip through the channels and every news show was pushing Bob ever so closer to sainthood. It certainly got on my nerves. Bein' dead don't make you any more important, and I'm glad at least someone said it. No one gave a rat's ass about the guy for years - except maybe when his death was erroneously reported and announced in congress. He had a long career and that's fine and dandy. But if I hear anymore Hope-worship I might barf into the ocean.
Oh - and the chocolate comparsion doesn't quite wash with me. Perhaps plain 'ol Vanilla? I know plenty of women who are addicted to chocolate, but none who are addicted to this guy.
UBALDI: He had a long career and that's fine and dandy. But if I hear anymore Hope-worship I might barf into the ocean.
Ha ha. Yes indeed, the death of a celebrity is always a feeding frenzy for the media. I'd agree with you especially in the case of Princess Di - a woman who I felt was even more undeserving of praise. Hey - at least no one wrote a piano-played pop song about Bob.
I spoke to my father about the topic and he was measured. He put it this way: "Yeah, I like what I know about Bob Hope. What's interesting is that by the time his particular style of humor went out of style, he was an American institution."
That might explain, in addition to what you said, Hitchens' response. But man, what a screed!
Oh-- and the chocolate comparsion doesn't quite wash with me. Perhaps plain 'ol Vanilla?Aw, c'mon. He ain't Bob Dole! ;-)