“The Case of the Heckled Comic and the Drink-Tossing Lesbians”

Incidentally, what are the human-rights protocols governing stand-up comedians in their delicate dance with drink-lubricated hecklers – whether said hecklers be lesbians, heterosexuals or, as is increasingly the case, of indeterminate orientation? Has the International Criminal Court had time to give this explosive area a once-over? Will Don Rickles – finally – be arrested on some international warrant? Is Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on some human-rights watch list?

(…)

They should also avoid any jokes involving sex, religion, politics or global warming. Outside those boundaries, I think they’re safe. Chicken crossing the road jokes are safe. Assuming, of course, the fowl pedestrian is free-range and it doesn’t meet a vegetarian halfway over. Absent those elements and I fear cries of chickenphobia will rear their squawking heads.