Is the Castro-falls-down clip funny?

[NinetySix]

I'm no fan of Fidel Castro's, but I must say that to see it used as a kind of comedy gag at the end of the Daily Show kind of bruised my sensibilities.

I mean, he is a human being, growing elderly as we all hope to, and I felt really bad for him on that level. I know there are lots of people who would like to see the old man die, but exploding cigars aside, does anyone really want to see someone else fall and break a hip, then waste away in a hospital bed? Even one's greatest enemy? I just don't think it's funny.

I know he won't change his antidemocratic ways, but I still don't wish him this kind of ill anymore than I do Gen. Augusto Pinochet. I'd love to see Pinochet brought to justice for his crimes, but suffering due to an accident isn't justice.

Am I alone in this sentiment?

[One Taste]

1. Honestly, I laughed

but I did feel bad for him.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. I Felt Bad...

nt

[Maple]

3. No, it's not funny

It's just somebody tripping and hurting themselves.

No different than what anybody does. At any age.

Hell, Bush keeps falling off his bike!

[NinetySix]

10. Bush's falls ARE funny

...from his photo-op Segway spills to his mountain bike misadventures. But relatively speaking, he is fairly young and physically sound. If I saw Bush fall in the same way as Castro fell and learned that he had fractured a knee and an ankle, or God forbid, broken a hip, I must say I would feel the same way as I do for Castro. I honestly don't care to see anyone get injured like that.

[fujiyama]

4. I'll admit it

I laughed.

And if it was Bush that fell like that, I'd laugh.

And in all honesty, I'm not one of those that even liked "America's Funniest Home Videos".

Maybe it's just seeing dictators (or wannabe dictators) fall over and hurt themselves that makes me laugh.

[George W. Dunce]

5. I feel bad for the guy

who put the stage set up. He is probably swimming to Florida as we type.

[Bjornsdotter]

6. No...

....I didn't think it was funny.

Cheer,
Kim :toast:

[Atman]

7. I didn't laugh

But then, I'm one who thinks Funniest Videos aren't funny at all, either. What next, Castro gets whacked with a crotchbat?

[fishwax]

8. They showed it on Countdown too

during Oddball, and had a good laugh about it. I missed it at the end of TDS, though.

My initial reaction was kind of similar to yours, but then I thought about the hearty laughs folks got out of stumbles by Gerald Ford and then Bob Dole in the '96 campaign. So it isn't unusual, I guess, but personally I don't bust a gut just b/c someone busts a kneecap.

[T Roosevelt]

9. Sorry...I laughed at that one

then I wondered if that was really him, and thought that must have hurt. But it was funny.

[lefador]

11. I think it is funny

... the guy is an asshole, when bad things happen to assholes, it is funny. Plus I hate to say it, but the guy had pretty quick comeback line, in Spanish obviously. The guy is pretty sharp, he can adliv a 5 hour speech like nothing.

When you take life too seriously, then it is when bad things happen. In the end that is what I find empowering, just like when Dim-son fell of the segway or chocked on the pretzel. They can be powerful, and evil f*cks all they want.... in the end I can laugh at them and there is not a god damned thing they can do about it.

So to recap, yes... it was funny.

[jean]

12. no - he's an old man. His aides jerked him up by the arm as soon as

he hit the ground - had to have been painful.

I was ashamed of the news idiot who presented the story as humor and laughed out loud. Bad form.

[Bimini_Twisted]

21. As the son a parents that had to flee Cuba in 1959 I wish

the son of a bitch had broken his neck and died. With luck maybe an infection will set in. How can I be more clear to those that don't realize the harm that Castro did to innocent hard working people for many years. Bush is like Mickey Mouse compared to Fidel. Fuck Him!!

[jean]

27. the news guy joking and laughing did nothing to convey

anything about Castro and the scourge he has been - it was like a stupid kid yucking it up and the opportunity to pass on actual info about Castro and Cuba to uninformed viewers was squandered.

[chefgirl]

13. I have to agree

I didn't think it was funny. In fact, I gasped when I saw it on the news. Didn't really matter to me that it was Castro. I just saw an old guy falling and probably hurting himself. I felt bad for him.

-chef-

[Doosh]

14. I thought it was funnier when Bob Dole fell

honestly, I feel kind of bad for Castro, but not for that bastard Dole.

[Name removed]

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[Mr_Spock]

16. It's not really funny - how can anybody laugh at a person breaking bones

...even if it is Castro.

[donco6]

17. I sorta felt sorry for him.

OK, he's evil, satanic, blah blah.

But he's an old man, and it had to really hurt.

[Not Me]

22. I didn't think it was funny either.

I guess I just don't see much humor in an 80 year old falling and breaking his knee.

[JI7]

18. it would have been funny if he had slipped or showed his feet tripping

you know that embarrassing trip where you don't always fall but people can see you tripped up over something.

but this was more of a hard fall that looked too painful. the reaction is more of a "shit, that must have hurt".

[crispini]

19. I didn't think it was funny.

I winced when I first saw it and I winced when I saw it replayed twice on the Tonight Show tonight.

BUT, I knew before I saw the clip that he had broken bones in the fall. So I knew exactly how much it must have hurt. If I had not known he had broken bones or if had been a younger man that wasn't hurt, I probably would have thought it was funny.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

20. If he was younger it would be HILARIOUS. But he's an old man.

.

[Demi_Babe]

23. you are not alone...I have always hated seeing any elderly take a fall

[MAlibdem]

24. A Dictator is a dictator.

Castro deserves nothing more than a good kick in the ass and a jail cell until he dies. He has spent that last 50 odd years suppressing the liberties of his people. That is a crime against humanity, to repress the RIGHTS of human beings is one of the most vile things a human being can do.

Good. I hope he falls down and doesn't get up, that would be good for human happiness and human liberty.

[RevCheesehead]

25. No, it's not funny at all.

People may not have noticed, but he didn't just "fall" - he missed the step down. I have done that a number of times, and one time, I broke my foot.

It's a pretty sad state of affairs (pardon the unintentional pun), when we resort to slapstick politics for a cheap laugh at ANYONE's expense. We sound more immature every day.

[pabloseb]

26. Am I the only one here who respects Fidel Castro?

And by the way he gave a great short speach after the fall.