Janet Ybarra is back with a follow-up…
Thanks for running my comments today, and also for explaining your love of The Honeymooners in the context of forgiveness instead of just "Well, Jackie Gleason was hysterical and that's why I like it."
But since you were sensitive to Cosby's many victims, let me just leave you with this thought to ponder. If you had a daughter, would you want her getting involved with — let alone marrying — a guy who was conditioned to think it's ok to raise a fist to a woman in any sense because Kramden did and got laughs (and maybe this hypothetical guy doesn't grasp the themes of love and forgiveness)? Just asking.
Hmm. Well, if I had this hypothetical daughter, I wouldn't want her getting involved with a bus driver who's paid so little that they have to live in the crummy apartment that the Kramdens had. And no, I wouldn't want her living with a guy who would even joke about belting her but I might also think she knows this guy better than I do and maybe she really loves him.
I also wouldn't want her living like Ginger and Mary Ann did on Gilligan's Island or living like Lois Lane did on the Superman show or living like Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke or anyone on The Sopranos or hundreds of other fictional characters on fictional shows I could name.
In the real world, I am against anyone hitting anyone for any reason except possibly genuine self-defense or protecting someone who genuinely needs protecting. In fiction, it's a different matter, especially in a situation like The Honeymooners where Ralph never does it, Alice knows he'd never do it and they both love each other like crazy. It makes me a bit uncomfy since the joke doesn't play as a joke for some but maybe it's a nice indicator of progress that the concept of belting your wife no longer seems as funny as it once did.