First of all, now that I have your attention, I want to make clear this is not an attack on National Public Radio.
But it was an NPR broadcast that sparked my thoughts about the power humor has to trivialize evil. How comedy can move the focus from the heinous to the humorous, and in the process blunt the evil at the core of the issue.
These ideas came about on Saturday as I was listening to Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! WWDTM), NPR's "oddly informative news quiz." (Which, BTW, I generally find very entertaining.)
The topic: the ACORN sting, which documented the willingness of ACORN staff members to give advice on running a child prostitution brothel and other illegal activities. One staffer even volunteered to help smuggle the under-age girls into the U.S. from Mexico.
What I find particularly appalling is that none of the ACORN workers in the videos seemed the least bit bothered by helping enslave a dozen 12 to 15 year old girls as prostitutes.
Unfortunately, the host and panel of WWDTM don't seem too appalled either. Here is the opening to the topic. (To hear this portion of the broadcast CLICK HERE and select "Panel II: ACORN And Fashion Week" in the right column.)
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