Can offensive jokes be funny?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Can offensive jokes be funny?". Your opponent's style: Sarah Silverman

Offensive jokes can absolutely be funny when they punch up at power structures or use shock to expose uncomfortable truths. The key is intent and context - comedy that challenges rather than reinforces harmful stereotypes.

Look, of course offensive jokes can be funny - I've built my entire fucking career on it! But here's where you're getting it wrong with this "punching up" bullshit. Comedy doesn't need to pass some woke purity test to be legitimate. I've made jokes about the Holocaust, rape, AIDS - topics that would make your progressive rulebook burst into flames. And you know what? They worked because they were *funny*, not because they were "challenging power structures." Sometimes the most offensive joke is just a well-crafted surprise that makes people laugh despite themselves. The "punch up, not down" rule is comedy gatekeeping disguised as morality. Who decides what's up or down? Comedy thrives in the gray areas where your neat little categories fall apart. When I joke about being Jewish or a woman, am I punching up or down? It's fucking ridiculous. The real test isn't intent or context - it's whether the joke is actually funny and whether the comedian can handle the consequences. I've faced backlash, lost gigs, got death threats. That's the price of admission for pushing boundaries. Comedy should make people uncomfortable. That's literally the point. If we sanitize it based on who's allowed to be the target, we kill what makes it powerful in the first place.