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1. ron says:

   October 21, 2006 at 5:21 pm

   How about “Why Don’t Audiences and Comedians both Monitor How Much They Drink and Learn What is Appropriate Behavior in Public?”How about “Why In the World Should a Performance Space Need To Have a Bouncer?”Oh,yeah, alcohol is certainly part of the answer.Is the following dialogue really necessary?“. . .(words that could be perceived as racist)”” . . .(objection, words taken as racist)”” Shut up, c**t!”Even the most ardent defenders of the 1st Amendment, including the courts, acknowledge a difference between “Free Speech and “Fighting Words.”Substitute the N-Word for the C-Word in the above repartee, and tell me what you think.Although I was not present the night of this Inman incident, I have been present at other Inman incidents. And there have indeed been others.In this particular case, he was actually able to turn the mood of the crowd, make his point, and have a great set even AFTER this little episode. A tribute to his great comedic skills trumping his Asperger’s-Syndrome-Like lack of self-awareness.Nobody was actually harmed in the making of this video.Please – I’m not defending anyone’s right to take a swing at a performer. It certainly isn’t a right. And as someone who has been the “room manager” in this particular club, I myself have been struck by drunk, angry customers. Because we do get drunk, angry customers. And we do ask people to be quiet, and we do throw them out if necessary. We have had to call 911. I’ve been shoved, punched, and called “fag” plenty of times by sodden morons who have no clue that they’ve ruined an evening for 200 other people. Maybe a couple of skinny middle-aged intellectuals aren’t the best choice for a job that sometimes requires “security.”But sometimes the comedians have to take some responsibility – because freedom requires responsibility. Any road comic, and any club manager, has tales to tell of fights being started by a few ill-chosen words used in an inappropriate manner by someone drunk with focus, power, Jim Beam, and a microphone.

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2. Brian McKim & Traci Skene says:

   October 21, 2006 at 10:13 pm

   Ron wrote:“Even the most ardent defenders of the 1st Amendment, including the courts, acknowledge a difference between “Free Speech and “Fighting Words.”To which we reply:You don’t want to go there. No court, not even the Ninth Circus, would conclude that an audience member has a right to strike an artist.Artists, as we are told on a near-daily basis, have a duty to shock. Club owners who start to view certain artist’s work as “fighting words” have a tendency to present bland nonsense that eventually doesn’t resemble art. Or so we’re told.If a club owner views certain acts as provocative and others as mere troublemakers, he is not interested in art any more. Or so we’re always told.Here’s another hot one for you: We’re always told that comics who <>don’t<> shock, provoke, disturb have no write to call themselves artists or comics. How does the above square with this?Ron writes further:“Substitute the N-Word for the C-Word in the above repartee, and tell me what you think.”To which we reply:We live in a society, in the year 2006, where grown adults feel that it is necessary to use baby talk– substituting “N-Word” for the word “nigger”– so as not to offend the delicate sensibilities of those within earshot. Lenny Bruce and George Orwell are both spinning in their graves.To rephrase what you present here: The intent of the artist is not to be considered. We are merely obligated to be on the lookout for certain words, topics, phrases or sentiments which might make unspecified audience members uncomfortable. Once again, the delicate sensibilities of the audience member is paramount. Art be damned. This is a disturbing trend.Ron also writes:“Although I was not present the night of this Inman incident, I have been present at other Inman incidents.And there have indeed been others.”To which we reply:If booking Mr. Inman is “too much trouble,” then someone else will no doubt be willing to do so.Ron writes further:“Please – I’m not defending anyone’s right to take a swing at a performer.”To which we reply:Yes. On balance, you are. Let’s look at it this way: If Mr. Inman were to file assault charges against the two women who accosted him, and the case were to go to trial, it seems highly likely that any defense attorney, after reading what you have posted in your comment, would subpoena you to testify <>on behalf of the defendants.<>

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3. myq says:

   October 23, 2006 at 4:03 am

   I believe the first amendment is pretty all inclusive (barring certain exceptions).That said, I think most reasonable people would agree that there’s a sizeable difference in using the word “cunt” or “nigger” in a joke, as opposed to using such words in referring directly TO an audience member, as in this case.Not a LEGAL difference. But an ARTISTIC difference.I’m not saying that comedians (or whoever) shouldn’t have the right to say whatever they want (except for “fire” in a crowded theater, etc), but I will say that not everything that every comedian says is art.This could turn into a discussion of what makes something art or someone an artist, both of which are difficult questions to answer, I would say.So in summation, I would reiterate that people should be allowed to say what they want, people should not be allowed to hit each other whenever they want, and calling an audience member a “cunt nigger” is not art, most of the time. (But is legally fine to do.)

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4. James Inman says:

   November 3, 2006 at 7:41 pm

   I’m James Inman and I just want to say for the record that the Seattle Comedy Underground has to be the best club in the country. In my humble view… Wait, fuck that… I KNOW EVERYTHING AND THE CLUB KICKS ASS BECAUSE I SAY SO!Here’s the deal. It’s not the kind of club where you make a bunch of money. It’s not the kind of club where they have a nice condo or hotel or the people working there treat you right. It’s the coolest club because it’s UNDERGROUND! It’s in a goddam basement. It’s Seattle where grunge music started and they have WTO protests in the street. It’s weird and edgy and subversive and Ron and Karl have to be the coolest managers in the country. You have no idea how much chaos I have caused on that stage. No where else in the country lets me get away with the shit I have pulled at the Underground.On top of all this they have the Heirs of Lenny Bruce festival. It could be two months or one month I’m not sure but this was the week Jon Fox booked me and I have done it before and I didn’t want to let anyone down. There is a time and place for everything and the time to do edge comedy is at the Underground. So that was what was in my mind when I went on stage that night.I’ve been doing stand up for twenty years and I know how to do this. Some clubs you have to watch what you say and you have to cater to the bartender, waitresses, managers and local comics. I do what I have to do to get a paycheck at most clubs and I’m sad to say that yes I compromise. At the Underground it’s almost total anarchy.In a way I hate the fact that this video is out on the internet and it’s not helping me get more work. In another way it’s just a snap shot of what I do and my favorite comics take chances. They live life dangerously. It is child like freedom and it’s all supposed to be a joke and some of the greatest comics in the country have worked this club. Ron has a point and the comedian is responsible in a way. We are responsible for getting laughs and we are responsible for not boring the fuck out of the audience and we are responsible for staying somewhat sober so we can do our job. I wasn’t that drunk that night but I would have said the same thing drunk or sober. She wouldn’t shut the fuck up, it was the Lenny Bruce festival and what do you think I would do? I was having such a great time until she open her pie-hole and I didn’t want her to screw it up for everyone else. So yes I made a point to push it as far as it could go. It’s all crowd control anyway. I knew everyone was on my side at the time and I knew she was crazy. I tried my best with the situation and I tried to turn it into something funny.You have no idea how many websites have posted this clip and how many emails I’ve had to respond to. Ron and I go back a long time and he has seen me lose my mind more than a few times. But the fact is this. IT WAS THE LENNY BRUCE FESTIVAL! And I just wanted to do something weird and special because I love this club so much. Or fuck who knows what I was thinking. I just said whatever was on the tip of my tongue in the moment. I get tired of doing jokes sometimes and I like to go off on a tangent. My point with the joke is this. Religions, governments and dictatorships who repress the people have very few comedy clubs and the people who are stuck in these situations are so scared shitless they never laugh at anything. I think it was Aristotle who said, “Laughter in and of itself is subversive to the state”. So chill out it’s just a joke. I don’t see why I can make fun of fundamentalist Christians but not make fun of fundamentalist Muslims. Some of them are blowing themselves up for fuck sake! Tell me that is just not retarded. They need comedy clubs, they need titty bars and they need drive through liquor stores.“He who climbs the highest peaks laughs at all tragedies real or imagined… And when I beheld my devil I found him serious, thorough, profound and solemn… He is the Spirit of Gravity and through him all things are ruined”.– Fredrick Nietzsche

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5. James Inman says:

   November 3, 2006 at 8:10 pm

   I typed that last comment out in Word and I just cut and pasted it. If it’s too hard to read I’m sorry. I can’t seem to find a way to edit it from this site. Fuck HTML!And I apologize to all the people who use HTML. But fuck you anyway.

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6. Banjofag says:

   November 6, 2006 at 6:30 pm

   I’m James Inman’s roommate and first of all I’d like to thank Ron and Karl for giving him work. Things have been difficult since my accident and I rely on Inman’s money to survive. Secondly, I’d like to say that two words that can never go together are Inman and Responsible. I had a blast at your club when we were there filming Deadbeat Hero. Saddly, I’m willing to bet that more people have seen Inman’s poorly edited snap than have seen Deadbeat Hero. Our young James has gotten your club more publicity outside of Seattle than anything I can imagine. You would have to come up with a laugh based cure for aids to get more, and better, free publicity. The only real problem with the clip is that it is so short. I’ve seen the entire show and much as I hate to admit it, Inman killed. Anyone seeing the whole thing would understand the context and probably do so without death threats, of which there has been many. Ron and Karl, please book our young man again, and soon. I need the money. Lastly, what is Pink Fuzzy Bunny’s real name? I used to know it and it is killing me.

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