The Rubesletter - Good comedy isn’t on anyone’s side
This is the Rubesletter from Matt Ruby. I’m a comedian, writer, and the creator of Vooza. Every Tuesday, I send essays, jokes, and videos to your inbox. You’re on the free plan, for the full experience, sign up for a paid subscription. The Chris Rock special aired live Saturday night on Netflix and of course social media tribalists turned it into an invitation to post whatever “See, *I* was right all along” propaganda they were gonna post anyway. Easily offended libs were, you guessed it, offended and anti-woke conservatives were all “he’s one of us.” Blinded by their partisanship, both sides missed the point that good comedy isn’t on anyone’s side. An artist speaks for themselves, they gather information and filter it through their heart and mind and speak their truth, unfettered. They don’t care about the consequences. A great artist is the antidote to society, the guardrails and the leader. The "You should never joke about _____” crowd A silly thing going on these days is how intention and context don't matter anymore. Is someone saying something at a comedy club or at a rally? Is the end goal to get laughs or incite hate? Because that matters. Online dialogue, however, frequently cherry picks incendiary quotes, takes them out of context, and compresses any nuance. (Caveat: It’s totally reasonable to not like a joke or think it’s unfunny for you, I’m just arguing that doesn’t mean it’s truly offensive/shouldn’t be told to others.) Oddly, many of the people complaining about offensive standup material are also “trust the science” left-of-center folks. Why’s that odd? Because, in a way, comedians are joke scientists. Our data: Laughter. Before a comedian like Rock tapes a special, he’s toured all over North America telling these jokes night after night. Thousands upon thousands of people have heard these bits, in small clubs and theaters, in big and little cities, and in red and blue states. If a joke is truly as bad, offensive, and wrong as the offended claim, it wouldn’t survive this process. Comics start out with a hypothesis, test out its validity, and then repeat that test over and over again. That’s why we care so little about online blowback to a special. Audiences have already delivered their verdict in real-time every night. If you dig the scientific process, trust the “science” of standup too. It’s silly to claim a joke is offensive and shouldn’t be told when, night after night, rooms full of people demonstrate how much they disagree with you via their laughter. To decide that YOUR opinion is more valid than theirs feels pretty damn narcissistic. The “This proves I’m right about woke people!” crowd
Chris Rock’s Netflix special isn’t just notable for his smackdown on Will Smith. It’s notable because it’s yet another cultural indicator that the anti-woke revolution is upon us. You silly goons. Comedians, like most people, don’t buy into your tribal nonsense. Great comedy calls bullsh*t on everyone on all sides. Have you listened to Rock and Chappelle talk about police brutality? Or Maher talk about Trump? Which side do you think George Carlin represented? ‘Cuz I can find you a joke where he totally attacked that side. These men aren’t on your team; they’re on no team. Your narrow-minded bubble gives you the illusion that everyone in the world is also involved in your Red Sox vs. Yankees-esque scrum. We’re not. Most of us are in the middle and think things are more complicated than this reductive pov. On top of that, don’t even assume what’s in a comic’s act is literally what they believe. After all, these are jokes, not a political platform. In fact, many comics are deliberately provoking because watching someone dig themselves out of a hole they created is great standup fodder. Heroes and villains? Nah.
If you immediately go to your tribalist corner after watching a comedy special, you’re mostly just revealing yourself as an extremely online fringer who doesn’t understand we’re not all playing by foolish binary rules where one side is heroic and the other is villainous. Good art doesn’t play by those rules, it makes up its own. Quickies🎯 If you're a low level state politician and Jon Stewart wants to fly to your state to interview you, you might wanna consider saying, "No thanks." 🎯 Crypto guys are just poker players who can use Telegram. 🎯 "Why did you move from NYC to LA?" "I wanted more snow." 🎯 "I got that rizz!" 🎯 Something you never hear anymore: "Who am I to judge?" 🎯 "H!tler was a great public speaker." Really? Dude was just yelling a lot, that heil-ing thing was super weird, and his whole vibe was trés thirsty if you ask me. 🎯 Re: vaccines...I'm not good at reading science stuff. Are the hospitals still using refrigerator trucks to store all the dead bodies? No? Then, I'm gonna go ahead and say I'm for 'em. 🎯 TikTok creator? Phew, i'm tryna think of something less stable than building a career on a social media platform (avg duration of those is tiny) owned by the Chinese government (which the US gov't hates). It's like building your house on a fault line owned by a sinkhole. 🎯 Marcels gonna Marcel: Wordworker and Vidhead for hireFYI I do writing, video production, and other stuff for corporate clients (often tech companies). Viva capitalism! For example, here’s a new video my team just created for Collie, an engineering management tool: You can see more samples (of writing and vid work) here. Wanna discuss a collab? Hit me up at mattruby@hey.com. Comedy😈 I post clips of my standup and more at Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. 😈 Listen to my podcast: Kind of a Lot with Matt Ruby. Latest ep is all about therapy-speak, mental health, and victimhood. Here’s a clip: 😈 Low ticket warning for my show in NYC on March 9: Misguided Meditation with Matt Ruby: Mindful Comedy Show + Open Bar. Discount code “exhale” for $5 off. Get a taste of the cool visuals in this IG reel… 😈 Recently at my other newsletter “Funny How: Letters to a Young Comedian”… 5-spotted🗯 C.S. Lewis on verbicide, the willful distortion or depreciation of the original meaning of a word.
Sounds like a Carlin bit. 🗯 We All Want Ja Morant to Grow by Chris Herring.
🗯 Ted Chiang, sci-fi writer, believes our fears about A.I. are best understood as fears about capitalism.
I wrote about AI and capitalism recently here. 🗯 No one trusts anyone anymore, according to Mike Binder.
🗯 Mark Manson, who wrote Will Smith’s autobiography, describes the pitch that landed him the gig.
That’s it. Thanks for reading. Leave a comment/send a reply/tell a friend/do a little dance/make a little love/get down tonight. ✌️ -Matt You’re on the free list for The Rubesletter by Matt Ruby. For the full experience, become a paying subscriber. Watch “Substance,” Matt’s 2023 comedy special where he performs sets high, drunk, sober, and on shrooms. Check out Matt’s other newsletter: Funny How: Letters to a Young Comedian. Follow Matt elsewhere: Instagram • Twitter • YouTube • TikTok • Facebook |
Key phrases
Older messages
Keep talking about what you love
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Revelations from a night on ayahuasca (aka spiritual GPS).
"You're married, but you're not happy"
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
On ChatGPT, Bing AI, and our ongoing naiveté about the future.
Let's chat it up
Friday, February 17, 2023
Also: The real problem with social media? It was built by dorks with no social skills. Of course it broke bad. | Plus: Thoughts about horseshoe theory, Andrew Tate, status, and the science of beauty.
How to be a man without being toxic
Friday, February 17, 2023
Our masculinity crisis and the last men standing.
How to make weed cookies 🌿➡️🍪
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Cook weed (video and recipe included) and you won't get fooled again by your edibles. | Also: Thoughts from Rick Rubin, Heather Havrilesky, Dean Wareham, Oliver Burkeman, and more.
You Might Also Like
'Kraven The Hunter' Heads To December, 'Karate Kid' To Chop Next Summer: Sony Release Date Changes
Saturday, April 27, 2024
View on web New reader? Subscribe April 26, 2024 'Kraven The Hunter' Heads To December, 'Karate Kid' To Chop Next Summer: Sony Release Date Changes By Anthony D'Alessandro This
What's Next for Harvey Weinstein?
Friday, April 26, 2024
View on web New reader? Subscribe April 26, 2024 What's Next for Harvey Weinstein After His New York Rape Conviction Was Overturned? Questions mount over whether Weinstein will face a retrial in
Zendaya and Luca Guadagnino Movie 'Challengers' Topspinning To $15M Opening - Box Office
Friday, April 26, 2024
View on web New reader? Subscribe April 26, 2024 Zendaya & Luca Guadagnino Movie 'Challengers' Topspinning To $15M Opening - Box Office By Anthony D'Alessandro This email was sent to
'Beyond Paradise' Renewed For Season 3 Plus Christmas Special By BBC and BritBox
Friday, April 26, 2024
View on web New reader? Subscribe April 26, 2024 'Beyond Paradise' Renewed For Season 3 Plus Christmas Special By BBC & BritBox By Max Goldbart This email was sent to newsletterest1@gmail.
house of balloons
Friday, April 26, 2024
a new Trapital episode on KKR's role in music rights and catalog acquisitions
HAVEN MADISON’S NEW EP, TURN OFF ALL THE LIGHTS, AVAILABLE NOW
Friday, April 26, 2024
This email was sent to newsletterest1@gmail.com by Rolling Stone. Please add to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. Visit the Preferences Center to update your profile and customize
Spotify Newsletter #209
Friday, April 26, 2024
Your Weekly Dose of Spotify News ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Dylan Schneider’s Bad Decisions EP Available Now
Friday, April 26, 2024
This email was sent to newsletterest1@gmail.com by Rolling Stone. Please add to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. Visit the Preferences Center to update your profile and customize
The Gaming Pub Newsletter #229
Friday, April 26, 2024
The best gaming content of this week View this email in your browser Issue #229 - April 26, 2024 # NEWS Helldivers 2 CEO says after success, the goal now is simple—'make this the best live game you
'Challengers' Is Sex, Tennis and Zendaya in Beast Mode
Friday, April 26, 2024
View on web New reader? Subscribe April 26, 2024 'Challengers' Is Sex, Tennis and Zendaya in Full Beast Mode, Not in That Order The 'Euphoria' star dominates this white-hot, disorder-