On walking people at a college gig

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on April 20th, 2009

Comedian Steve Hofstetter has proudly uploaded the above video which depicts him onstage at a gig at the University of Utah while audience members… walk out. Hofstetter is to be commended for putting up a video that isn’t exactly flattering (who likes to walk anyone?) and his honesty is refreshing.

But the way in which the video is presented (in such a way as to kick off a debate on the clash between free speech and the rights of individuals) got us thinking.

Hofstetter edits the video down to 4:03 and splices in titles that explain what’s going on and give a sort of play-by-play (with dollops of Greenday’s puerile anthem, “American Idiot” thrown in).

In the course of the set, Hofstetter acknowledges that folks are walking. He alternately praises the ones who stay and derides the ones who have left. Toward the end of the video, he inserts this:

In a time of war, financial crisis, and civil unrest… some people still seek to censor voices based on words, and not message.

Censor? We didn’t see any evidence of censoring. We saw people simply walk out. No fist-shaking, no heckling over the shoulder on the way up the aisle, no disruption– perhaps the politest bunch of walkers we’ve ever seen.

At one point, someone in the audience yells “They’re jerks!” (referring to those who left) and Hofstetter corrects them, “No, they’re not jerks, they’re just children.”

Let’s contrast that to another story. Back in August ’07, we posted about a college gig gone horribly wrong involving a story on the local (PHL) news about comic Steve Trevino performing at Villanova. We speculated on the situation and concluded that there had to be more to the story. Turns out, there was. Trevino was done a tremendous disservice by the local TV station (WPVI), and he was also dissed (in absentia!) by the creepy ‘Nova bureaucrats who sought to cater to the overly-sensitive among the student body. Further, he was done wrong by the students from the activities board who vetted all his material.

In the Villanova case, it seems, Trevino was a victim of students, administrators and a local reporter who conspired to portray him as an unprofessional comedian and a racist. They assailed his ideas and they never sought his side of the story.

Fast forward to 2009 and we have Hofstetter posting his video, gamely trying to manufacture a controversy where there doesn’t seem to be one.

Were there students who walked out? Yes and they are clearly visible doing so on the video. Did they walk out because of foul language? We’re not offered any evidence. There are a number of reasons folks walk. Perhaps it was a large outbreak of amoebic dysentery. Why quibble? (Maybe because the info on the video says that “not everyone was in the mood for uncensored comedy.”)

Did they walk out because of Hofstetter’s ideas or concepts? Again, we’re not offered any evidence. (Walking out during the second minute of the performance, however, might indicate that, at least for the early ones, it might have been a matter of having a problem with foul language. As for the later waves of defectors, it’s anybody’s guess.) So, it’s clear that some folks found the language as the main sticking point.

The incident occurred only recently (Friday), so there may well be some irate letters to the school newspaper, but, in the grand scheme of things, a couple of irate letters to the student rag is pretty tame (and it hardly constitutes censorship). Judging from what’s been presented to the students of University of Utah in the past (Margaret Cho, Queer Comics 101, Dennis Miller, the antiwar Lysistrata), neither administrators nor students seem to have any problem with controversial ideas.

Foul language might be another story, however.

In the case of Trevino, he performed on a Friday. The ‘PVI piece appeared on the following Monday night. So there could very well be a hit piece on a Salt Lake City station this evening. If that happens, Hofstetter would appear wise for getting out in front of this thing.

But questions remain. Was his performance advertised as containing offensive language? If not, the people who screwed the pooch here might be the ASUU officials who failed to warn the students. Is having a healthy proportion of the audience walk out due to swearing really enough to put one in a league with Hicks and Bruce? (Judging from the comments, it is.) Is there any truth to Hofstetter’s contention, in the comments under his video, that “If they left because of the language I was using, they clearly would have preferred my show to be censored”? It may well be that they might prefer his language to be different, but can we honestly say that they want his message silenced. The difference is significant. As comics, we’re frequently asked to knock out certain words. And we often do so– with absolutely no degradation to our message. (See Television, network, primetime. See also Television, late night, network. See also Television, cable.)

Hofstetter’s brief tirade about foul language (and his allusions to censorship) are an attempt to frame the incident as a blow for free speech and a blow against uptight bourgeois attitudes. But saying “It’s just a word, it’s no big deal” when defending foul language is about as clever (and persuasive to those who might think otherwise) as the stripper who protests that “The human body is a beautiful thing” while disrobing at the local grocery store. (And his crack about “maybe he’s got puppets!” completely ignores Otto & George– one of the filthiest– and funniest– acts out there!)