Funny???!!

Obviously, I would not boast about it (!!), but I was often informed by my pupils that I would make a good 'stand-up comedian'.  I usually pointed out that I would need to have some of them to provide the appropriate  foil for my witty comments!  Of course, neither the opportunity, nor any real desire, ever arose to make such a career a possibility.

Part of the reason why I would not have wanted to follow that particular line of work was the low standard of what I occasionally heard on television, with so-called comedians (and comediennes) coming out with the most unfunny comments, liberally peppered with obscenities, blasphemies, and seemingly endless innuendo!  Mind you, I did think, on those rare occasions, that perhaps my pupils were correct.
 
I thought of all of that when I read, in today's newspapers, of Mr Frankie Boyle - one of these great stand-up comics who are not particularly funny at all.  It has been reported in a number of publications that, on a Channel Four programme, last night, he made comments (presumably he thought that they were 'funny') about the eight-year-old blind and autistic son of model Katie Price - suggesting that the child might sexually assault his mother; and also that his parents were fighting over custody of their son, with the loser being the one who was successful.

It is, surely, a sad reflection of the culture and society that has grown in much of the 'western' world during the past three or four decades.  This was, as others have stated, a vile and despicable attack on a defenceless child, and Mr Boyle should, in my opinion, be banned from every television studio, theatre, club, bar, or wherever, and told to go and find a proper job that would involve some manual effort on his part!
How different the attitude of the Lord Jesus!  His words about children were "Allow them to come to me; don't place any stumbling-block in the way; use their simple trust as your model. (cf. Mt.18:6,10 ; Mk.10:13; Lk.18:16).

As we move towards the season when some of us will celebrate His birth, rather than a mid-winter-fest, I can't help wondering how much better the world would be with more of Him, and less of people like Frankie Boyle!

PS  Don't forget to watch the Damaris video-message!