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He's an actor on stage, and saying a line in character. It may have shocked them for a moment, but nobody who's been in a theatre before should believe that he
by ken 8y ago
He's an actor on stage, and saying a line in character. It may have shocked them for a moment, but nobody who's been in a theatre before should believe that he's actually threatening violence.
When a character holding a rifle prop points the barrel out into the house, do you think the audience believes their lives are actually being threatened?
- macintux 8y agoThere’s a qualitative difference between a general threat that’s part of the play and singling someone out for a threat based on their behavior. If he had, say, climbed off stage and walked towards them menacingly, that too would be acceptable as part of the scripted play yet more disturbing if done impromptu as a response to the audience members’ behavior. I think what he did is fine, but I don’t think your analogy is a strong one. Edit: minor wording
- coldtea 8y ago>There’s a qualitative difference between a general threat that’s part of the play and singling someone out for a threat based on their behavior. And both are OK if that someone is behaving like a jerk. Beyond some point even actual violence is OK.
- chrisseaton 8y ago> Beyond some point even actual violence is OK. For behaving like a jerk? That's bonkers.
- coldtea 8y agoReally? I'm pretty sure most resort to actual violence after the jerkish behavior extends a threshold. Where do you cut the "jerk behavior" threshold? Someone skipping a queue? Smoking in a closed office? It could get way worse... How about someone hitting badly on your wife with you and your kids present and no taking no for an answer (and them knowing it you're married?)
- chrisseaton 8y agoNo you can only use physical violence in defence of yourself or others against imminent physical harm. I think in the US you can also use it against someone in your home (presumably because by the time in your home you are otherwise defenceless.) Anything else is you just assaulting someone and puts you in the wrong. The law doesn't allow for 'they were winding me up' as a reason to assault someone. I can't believe anyone would think violence was warranted for skipping a queue or speaking to someone in a way you didn't like.
- coldtea 8y ago>No you can only use physical violence in defence of yourself or others against imminent physical harm. That's legally. I wasn't talking about legally -- but about what people will actually do beyond some point, legal implications or not.
- macintux 8y agoAnd “OK” is how you described violence in the absence of a genuine threat, which is not an objective statement of “what people will actually do” but a subjective endorsement.
- darkerside 8y agoI think you're underestimating the amount of interpretation actors bring to their roles. It's not like every movement and intonation is choreographed, and live actors need to play to the moment, not just perform their roles like robots. At least, that's my take.
- cheez 8y agoIt's because he's black. Bill Burr has a bit in a special where he talks about beating a specific woman in the audience.