Episode 59 — Gun Control

[dizzykiwi3 0]

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Poignant and absolutely fucking hilarious, I registered and ear-wolf account just to tell you all this.

Long time listener

[mattbesser 605]

hey matt,

 

i had recently made remarks on another forum here on earwolf about how i couldn't get into this episode and someone brought it to my attention that i should probably bring that opinion here. it seems i'm one of the only people to not have appreciated the lack of sensitivity regarding the skits. i mean, i really think the 'too soon' idea could be applied here and although i know you and your guests were more so trying to tackle the issue of gun control as a challenge, perhaps it could have been one that you didn't attempt to take on less than twenty-four hours after such a tragedy. sorry to seem like i'm bashing you, i think you and your comedic friends are exceptional performers with a quick wit, but i don't understand how anyone could find humor from a skit that sets up a scenario of a student having a gun in a classroom given the matter. perhaps, i'm not being fair because i couldn't even get through the whole episode, but i just wanted to share with you my feelings on this episode because i found it in poor taste. i don't consider myself someone who is easily offended, but i couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with certain aspects of the skits. sorry i couldn't get into it, apparently everyone else could and maybe i just missed what you were going for.

 

Prestonsinfield, will you please call in to improv4humans to discuss?

[prestonsinfield 6]

 

Prestonsinfield, will you please call in to improv4humans to discuss?

 

hey matt, i suppose that's only fair of me to do. i didn't mean to make a whole thing out of it, but i did go out of my way to express my feelings on the matter. so, i'd be happy to try and discuss it with you and make amends on the issue. please be easy on me though, i'm a hypocrite with a fragile ego.

[RyanCampbell 38]

Paul Rust's delivery of "It's a gun!" was beautiful.

[JacobCrites 4977]

hey matt,

 

i had recently made remarks on another forum here on earwolf about how i couldn't get into this episode and someone brought it to my attention that i should probably bring that opinion here. it seems i'm one of the only people to not have appreciated the lack of sensitivity regarding the skits. i mean, i really think the 'too soon' idea could be applied here and although i know you and your guests were more so trying to tackle the issue of gun control as a challenge, perhaps it could have been one that you didn't attempt to take on less than twenty-four hours after such a tragedy. sorry to seem like i'm bashing you, i think you and your comedic friends are exceptional performers with a quick wit, but i don't understand how anyone could find humor from a skit that sets up a scenario of a student having a gun in a classroom given the matter. perhaps, i'm not being fair because i couldn't even get through the whole episode, but i just wanted to share with you my feelings on this episode because i found it in poor taste. i don't consider myself someone who is easily offended, but i couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with certain aspects of the skits. sorry i couldn't get into it, apparently everyone else could and maybe i just missed what you were going for.

None of the skits had anything to do with the tragedy itself, but rather the issue of gun control. The episode isn't all laughs, either. A large portion of it is dedicated to simply discussing the issue.

 

Speaking personally, it was cathartic to be able to find humor in an issue that makes me so angry. There's nothing funny about the tragedy, but there *is* humor to be found in some of the anti-gun-control arguments.

[Jerkface 58]

I really liked this episode, because I like when Matt gets political & the other improvers are great as usual. I'd like to comment as someone who owns a handful (fistful?) of guns but is also open to any type of gun control. Specifically to rebut Matt's '2 shell shotgun' for home defense point. Shotguns are not great for home defense in suburban or urban environments because of over penetration, where the bullets could go through walls and may end up harming others. There is still plenty of massacre potential as well, even with a 2 shot shotgun, as I believe a guy in the UK shot a bunch of people with a 3 shot shotgun. I don't know what the alternative is, but I don't think even limiting it to shotguns is the way to go. More must be done. It is tough because even limited magazine hunting rifles can massacre people, you just have to reload more often. Perhaps only active military, police, and those with hunting licenses should be able to own them. I'd say no to ex-military & ex-police without stringent mental health checkups.

 

Here is a great youtube about CCW holders & how humans are not trained to get in shoot outs:

I really disagree with any gun holder who imagines armed vigilantes saving the day. In CCW class the instructor/police liason tells you specifically not to get involved. They want you to run, not to stand & fight. Its a last resort thing.

 

And shit, its not like the police are any better, NYPD winged 9 civilians trying to get that empire state building shooter.

[Mathew Shit 115]

"Case Closed" could be more accurately renamed to "Yelling at chumps from my bully pulpit." Sure, after the long awkward dialogue we are rewarded with funny improv, but we first have to sit through the views of an uninformed party and a less informed party as they sloppily debate an issue that is far from their grasp.

 

The formula Improv4Humans has built has worked well, but I've always found the call-in segments to be mean-spirited and unworthy of the show itself.

[Neclord 194]

This episode had some pretty fucking great improv spun out of the interview, so I feel it's a totally worthy feature. I guess it did take up a chunk of the show since they didn't break it up with any scenes, but... I dunno. One thing that initially really grabbed me about the show was the at times serious and interesting tangents that come out of one-word suggestions, et. al., that weren't really about improv at all, so I like when the show digresses into that stuff, be it from callers or what have you.

[mattbesser 605]

"Case Closed" could be more accurately renamed to "Yelling at chumps from my bully pulpit." Sure, after the long awkward dialogue we are rewarded with funny improv, but we first have to sit through the views of an uninformed party and a less informed party as they sloppily debate an issue that is far from their grasp.

 

The formula Improv4Humans has built has worked well, but I've always found the call-in segments to be mean-spirited and unworthy of the show itself.

 

i agree with you that I was a bully on Ep. 36. We really ganged up on that guy and that was no fun. I regretted that show and tried to change the way we do case closed after that. I think every other Case Closed has been either light hearted like Catchment, Capt. Pike, antique cars, or has been fair like Gun Control. As you heard on the show I asked my guests not to gang up on him. There were certainly moments when we were passionate but I don't recall being mean to him. When did that happen? FYI, Tyler also tweeted me after the show that he had a good time.

I like case closed for several reason but maybe most of all it's a nice antidote to the one way negative commenting that rules the internet.

 

Also you are right that I am uninformed on gun control. I guess I'm pretty much uninformed on every topic in the world besides sketch and improv. But I'm not presenting i4h as a political talk show, it's just our opinions,

[JacobCrites 4977]

The "Case Closed" on episode 36 definitely made me uncomfortable, but all the rest of them have been some of the highlights of the show. Matt usually calls himself out on his own attitude, too. On the Cyborgs episode he says in a hilariously brash tone, "People can write comments about the show on the website. I like the positive comments about myself the best." This Gun Control episode in particular had a great discussion; I don't think the caller felt offended or threatened. He argued his position well and seemed to have a good time.

 

That being said, I like that it's not a weekly thing. After the Kat Williams-themed episode and the Gun Control episode it was nice to have a regular one this week.

[reptar 25]

Using the failure of drug prohibtion to demonstrate how gun prohibition wouldn't work falsely presumes that everyone is on board with the prohibition of drugs in the first place.

 

Drugs and guns are entirely different beasts. There are no drugs where its entirely intended purpose is to murder other people.

[Jerkface 58]

What about Ultra Weed? It's designed to kill

[GregJ.Hansen 316]

This episode just proves that Besser's in the pocket of Big Improv! It was good to get some Potential Yesand action on the podcast.

 

Thank you, also, for going into the guns/cars equivalency. It gets tossed around so much in these discussions, and is so absurd, that I relish any mockery made of the mere premise.

[pdxsean 241]

On a re-listening tour, and this episode was a real highlight. Not just because of the awesome Case Closed or the subsequent controversy around it, but also some flat hilarious skits. "The History of Billfolds" was a great ending, but once again Paul Rust had one of the most hilarious lines when he called out his fellow human for the Triumph impersonation. Good times.

[Pokwok 32]

I love Besser, but goddamn he's a stubborn idiot.

 

There is a middle ground on this. A lot of gun control laws really aren't enforced well, and that has to change.

 

But at the same time, there is literally no correlation between how many firearm homicides there are in a particular state and how strong their gun control laws are. Chicago has more gun violence than any other city, but it also has some of the strictest gun control laws.

 

And even though I would never own a gun and I think people who own them for protection are paranoid nuts, this idea that stricter gun control laws would affect mass shootings like this is really stupid. If anything, allowing people to CC on campus or having an armed security guard is basically the only thing that could seriously reduce the death count on these things, or deter potential mass murderers altogether. The idea of a "gun-free zone" is so fucking stupid. Literally every mass shooting in the states over the past decade has occurred in "gun-free zones". The logic behind it is just so idiotic.

 

And then the whole "ohhh dumb right wingers think if we take away their guns Obama's going to declare war on the people"... You know what a strawman is Besser? Basically all you did in this episode.

 

It's naive to believe that at no point in time could any government eventually get to a point where it goes tyrannical. It's happened countless time throughout history. I don't see how the US is different. Has nothing to do with the current administration.

 

The bottom line is the arguments they are making only make sense if they are advocating complete removal of guns from the citizenship. And even then it's obvious guns would still flow into the country. I see it like I do the drug war; in a rosy perfect world the government could remove them from the country completely, but that's not going to happen. So get it out in the open, regulate it properly, and allow law-abiding, mentally stable individuals to own firearms.

 

But Besser's political opinions are pretty stupid across the board. And I consider myself a liberal btw. I also live in Canada.

 

I know this will never get seen but who knows, maybe other people going through old episodes will post.