And Remove All Doubt

The quote, often mistakenly attributed to Mark Twain is, "It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it." or, it is in the earliest found source of the quote. Today Louis C.K. opened his mouth and removed all doubt. Not that he's a fool, the history of comedy includes a rich history of playing the fool, and many of us don't mind being thought fools, at least when we're "on". No, Louis revealed that he's "behaved inappropriately" towards the five women in the New York Times article. Since I don't shy away from profanity, the inappropriate behavior in question is him asking for permission to masturbate, then whipping out his dick and doing so...in his confession, he describes why it's a problem, and it seems like he understands the power dynamic at play, so I won't bother repeating his words. I do find it odd that he comes off like this inverse relationship between power and consent just recently occurred to him. Five women came forward, and I'd bet that there are more who haven't, did he never stop to think that maybe, just maybe, releasing your donger and firing off some knuckle children in front of people you're not in a relationship with might be a little creepy? I find it hard to believe that anyone could be insightful enough to make a successful career in comedy yet so oblivious that they'd fail to see a problem with this behavior.

Full disclosure: I used to be a Louis C.K fan. If this were a Mitch Hedburg joke, I'd follow that up with "I still am, but I used to be, too". Except I don't know that I am any longer. I've never been as into his work as I've been the works of people like Patton Oswalt or George Carlin, and frankly his work isn't anywhere near the same league as those guys. I haven't bothered checking out any of his recent stuff, and I want to tell myself that it has nothing to do with the accusations that have been floating around him for the last couple of years, but does it? I honestly don't know, and I that's not the question that matters. Will I ever be able to look at any of his work going forward and not feel like a shit? Also doesn't matter. This has me in a weird spot. Cosby wasn't relevant to me. Weinstein was just some guy who funded pretty much everything, this is (as far as I can recall) the first time someone I kind of looked up to was pegged as being a creep. His career is certainly on a hiatus for the foreseeable future, but he seems to have "fuck you" money, and dealing with the familial fallout is probably going to be his priority for now. What I really want to know, though, is how does he make this right? Is it even possible to do so?

I'll say this much though, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours and I'm already sick to death of seeing the phrase "This is a good first step". Taking that ten thousand foot view of the situation, his first step was to unleash little Louis and proceed to peel his chili. His second step was to lie about it for a couple of years. At best, this is the third step. More to the point, these commentators who seem so eager to give him absolution? Don't. Fucking. Matter.