For me, calling comedy offensive isn’t even an insult.

I am always prepared to be offended by comedy, and if I am, I will keep watching, but only if it is funny enough.

My mom used to tell me a story about how she watched Pulp Fiction in theaters when it came out. Some of the scenes were so gross, offensive, horrific and bland that they drove the audience away in waves, until she and her friends were the only ones still there, laughing at how one film could make so many people upset.

Something said by a comedian doesn’t make it a joke. And something being a joke doesn’t shield it (or the teller) from criticism.

> A man claiming that he's a woman because he wears a dress and make-up and really believes he's a woman

Actually, my understanding is that it's really only the radical activists who insist on that sort of thing. Most real-world trans folks are sensible enough to grok the fact that while they might perform socially as their gender of choice, they don't in fact embody it in the same way as someone who was assigned that gender at birth would.

I think you may well be right, though it's hard to say just how many trans people aren't on board with these controversial ontological claims of gender identity activism - perhaps in part because those who speak out against it get accused of 'internalized transphobia' and such, and relentlessly bullied by the activists.

Agreed, as in a lot of times comedy is used as a fake excuse to get out of something that intended to offend.

If the main point was critique with comedy, sure, it makes sense to see through it.

“ Ful ofte in game a sooth I have herd saye!” (Many a true word is spoken in jest)

Accredited to Chaucer

Of course. That's my second point there.

But you can't just say "F You!" and say it's a joke. It's not a "free for all" card.

It has to at least try to be funny