” They are saying “you are not supposed to joke about people who are beneath you, who have less power, less privilege than you. The rule that is weirdest to me-that I reject wholeheartedly-is the idea that “ comedians are not supposed to punch down. Dillon spends several minutes of his speech characterizing and defending himself against this allegation of “punching down.” Quote: They make fun of the marginalized in society in ways that don’t land the same as making fun of the powerful–and in particular, making jokes at transgender persons’ expense. There’s a lot I disagree with in this speech as a pastor, advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion, and humor aficionado.īut where I want to spend my time on today is his response to exactly what I tweeted against them for years: that Babylon Bee is punch-down frat humor, not real satire that punches up. You can watch the video here (speech is minute 31 to 80, then an interview-style conversation after) or read about it in the Christian Post. In August 2022, Seth Dillon, the CEO of the Babylon Bee, was the speaker at a young adult-oriented worship service at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia, USA. In fact, they have doubled down on what I find to be a dangerous philosophy and fallacious theology. I would tweet against those types of jokes, saying to fellow clergy “friends don’t let friends share the Bee.”įinally, in March 2022, Twitter banned the Babylon Bee, in response to their unrepentant misgendering of a trans woman.įive months later, I saw the CEO was giving a talk to a megachurch in Virginia, and I tuned in to see if the Bee has learned anything. Even as I write this, the front page of their website (which I won’t link to) has a hateful transgender article. Over and over, like a crutch that they needed to lean on during a slow joke day. Unfortunately, over the years, in addition to taking potshots at the religion and political zeitgeists and personalities, the Babylon Bee has consistently made fun of transgender persons. They write from a conservative Christian viewpoint, but since I grew up in the Bible Belt, I can usually roll with the one-sided nature of their humor. I admit I chortled at many of their articles and takes on things.
The Babylon Bee is an allegedly-satirical conservative Christian website that pokes fun at religion and politics in headline and story formats. Screenshot: Cornerstone Chapel livestream Out of Babylon I wish the people at the Babylon Bee grew up learning about humor from my dad.
Even if he knew the person could take the heat, he found a way to have even the roasted walk away feeling like something funny happened. In my four decades of watching and learning from him (I still hear his voice coming out of mine for children’s sermons!), I never once saw him demean or make fun of someone in a way that would hurt them. Also, I survived middle school with a clown as a father–so no one can make fun of me for it now. It was his job! He’s still one of the funniest people I know, though his humor has become more subtle and off-hand than meticulously crafted. For my formative years, I saw firsthand how he handled humor.
#BABYLON BEE MEME PROFESSIONAL#
While I was growing up, my dad worked as a professional clown (birthday parties and corporate events, not circuses, mind you!). I think I have a good grasp of how humor works. After being banned from Twitter, the CEO of the Babylon Bee reveals why they punch down at marginalized groups instead of focusing on the powers and principalities.
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