Aw, gee, George!

[burleybreath]

Just when I was starting to like you, after acquainting myself with some of your opinions--some even valid, some even yours--on YouTube and other places...

I'm gettin' tired of guys who smoke pipes. When are they gonna outlaw this shit? Guy with a fuckin' pipe! It's an arrogant thing to place a burning barrier between you and the rest of the world. It's supposed to imply thoughtfulness or intelligence. It's not intelligent to stand around with a controlled fire sticking out of your mouth. I say, "Hey, professor! You want somethin' hot to suck on? Call me! I'll give ya somethin' to put in your mouth!" I think these pipe-smokers oughta just move to the next level and go ahead and ... [censored]

― George Carlin, Brain Droppings

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

He wasn't as good as Ringo, but still great on "Shining Time Station" --- I really got into Thomas the Tank Engine when my oldest was born.

 

[newbroom]

Carlin's comic genius was also prodding us to question our status quo values, and to think about words. Like the 7 you couldn't say on tv. Nobody is perfect.

 

[mso489]

I've never seen a whole George Carlin show, but the bits I've seen, I really enjoyed, for his his unique critical and analytical perspective and his pitch perfect comic timing.

I would protest, I never placed a burning barrier between him and myself, never saw the man in my life except on video. Nor have I ever intended to imply thoughtfulness or intelligence by pipe smoking, most of which i do in privacy or out walking solo.

I get his resentment. I hope he disliked the pipe smokers he encountered for other reasons and just set upon the pipe as a signature part of their annoying presence. Otherwise, I just shrug.

 

[brian64]

That's ok...he took no prisoners...it's only right that pipe smokers got the Carlin treatment along with everyone else.

His asides on something as irrelevant as pipe smoking are easily overlooked in light of other much more significant commentary he offered...especially in his latter years.

Also there were genuinely important topics I disagreed with him on, such as certain religious issues, but that's not a problem. I'm a true believer in free speech...which is why Carlin would hate to be around these days. He would most certainly be targeted by the fascist "cancel culture" mobs who pose as anti-fascist.

 

[vosBghos]

Probably in the minority here but I never really was into Carlin certainly not a dimwit but maybe a midwit at best.
I'll never understand the appeal we all got our opinions but when it comes to comedy I like to laugh so I'll go with Norm Macdonald and if I want to laugh while being philosophized at I'll go with Diogenes. YMMV

 

[Searock Fan]

Carlin was great, but like all great men he could be wrong sometimes.

 

[burleybreath]

Carlin was great, but like all great men he could be wrong sometimes.

That pretty much sums it up. Plus he was, at times, an a55hole--something he'd probably agree with. Nevertheless, he was good at pointing out things that are true, with comic effect coming not directly from him, but from the truth itself. It's like he's making a living by just stating the obvious. One of my favorites is ...think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that. Knee-slapper, I must say.

With regard to pipe smokers, his apparent distaste for the tribe is shared by at least a few others. Salespeople in car dealerships--at least when I worked there--had a term for a difficult customer. This was a guy who was usually almost mute, had to ''think it over," pondered things slowly or appeared to, and was impossible to work into an excited state about getting a new car, which is kind of a sine qua non in selling cars. They never bought on the spot. Maybe two weeks down the road, after they talked it over with their son in Omaha or whomever. That's not an exact description, but you get my drift.

Pipesmoker, the term I'm referencing, wasn't meant to be a pejorative, exactly, but a warning from the more experienced staff that the guy who just stepped onto the lot was a pain in the ass. But, you know, if you're not doing anything else, you might get lucky. On a busy day, forget it. Time waster. I found it funny, having smoked a pipe since age 16--and did so at the dealership. Could they have been trying to tell me something?

 

[kcghost]

He was taking a dump on us, but that's the way humor goes sometimes.

 

[burleybreath]

He was taking a dump on us, but that's the way humor goes sometimes.

I'll take a wild guess and state that George smoked many pipes over a lifetime. He was just ticked off that the ones he was puffing on at the time weren't legal.

 

[wesquire]

Probably in the minority here but I never really was into Carlin certainly not a dimwit but maybe a midwit at best.
I'll never understand the appeal we all got our opinions but when it comes to comedy I like to laugh so I'll go with Norm Macdonald and if I want to laugh while being philosophized at I'll go with Diogenes. YMMV

Carlin is extremely overrated. Had some good bits but his delivery was bad. Norm was much better. Carlin started the preachy comedy schtick.

That said, Carlin is absolutely right to call out people that think they are more profound for smoking a pipe, just doesn't apply to all pipe smokers.

 

[georged]

I'm gettin' tired of guys who whine about people who smoke pipes. When are they gonna start smashin' the little shits? Guy whining about fuckin' pipes! It's arrogant to screech, whine, and complain about everydamnthing you encounter in life that isn't just the way YOU like it, never mind a tiny ember of tobacco "invading your space". It's supposed to indicate sensititivity and compassion somehow, like you're doing it for EVERYONE's benefit, but that same everyone knows you just like carrying on like a baby in a crib... open your mouth and make enough noise and soon everything will be just the way you like it again. "Hey, whineyboy! You want somethin' that will make you cry for REAL? Call me! I'll give ya somethin' that will put you back in that crib crying for your mommy like you're wearin' a diaper again... [censored]

― this George

 

[burleybreath]

That said, Carlin is absolutely right to call out people that think they are more profound for smoking a pipe, just doesn't apply to all pipe smokers.

Who the frig would that be? Pipe smokers don't think they're "more profound" because they're smoking a pipe. Other people might think they look more profound, but if that's the case, the error lies with the observer, not the pipe smoker.

 

[BarrelProof]

I just think it’s a result of a livelihood that’s predicated on fresh content and the need to have the masses identify with your act. I imagine them carrying on their normal lives, seeing a situation, and going for it.

I had a buddy who wanted to get into stand up and he was insufferable. Literally everywhere we’d go and everything we’d see, he’d try to turn it into a bit. I credit Carlin for being good at it and making it funny, but I don’t think that means he actually meant or believed half the shit he said. Rather, he saw an avenue to another routine and, thereby, a paycheck.

But Norm is hilarious. I especially like when he’s in a conversation with other comedians because even they’re laughing, which is a testament to him actually being funny vs. being well-rehearsed in his routine and delivery.

 

[vosBghos]

Carlin is extremely overrated. Had some good bits but his delivery was bad. Norm was much better. Carlin started the preachy comedy schtick.

That said, Carlin is absolutely right to call out people that think they are more profound for smoking a pipe, just doesn't apply to all pipe smokers.

True, that's a lot of effort to con people into thinking you are smart never mind the ton of working-class Joe's that enjoy/ed a drugstore pipe and a good codger, salt of the earth types seem to have better sense and better things to do than pose so the whole observation seems a bit daft on its face. And his whole telling us how it is bit "So the Emperor has no clothes you say George?" Next he'll be telling you how the sky is blue...Just not my cup of tea but it takes all kinds for all kinds I guess ,,,No harm No foul...

 

[5star]

Were there all that many pipesmokers around in Carlin’s day ? Hefner was into it. But after WW2 cigarettes grew in popularity & pipesmoking began its long decline. How many pipesmokers did Carlin come across back then? I’ve seen only one out in public over the last 5 years.

Mac

 

[Silvrbdgr]

He also really hated Rice Krispies...

 

[geoffs]

George was one of the all time greats. This was a weak bit, but comedians exist to take the piss out of people who take themselves too seriously. I think more than a few pipe smokers might fall into this category.

 

[burleybreath]

Were there all that many pipesmokers around in Carlin’s day ? Hefner was into it. But after WW2 cigarettes grew in popularity & pipesmoking began its long decline. How many pipesmokers did Carlin come across back then? I’ve seen only one out in public over the last 5 years.

Mac

I was wondering about that too, but there was a surge in pipe smoking following the 1964 Surgeon General's report that lasted throughout the '70s into the early '80s, as I remember. Rochester NY alone had several B&Ms, the real deal, not least of which was Briar Route, a chain of no fewer than half a dozen in upstate NY at one time. I traveled extensively in that era, and no matter where I went in the US, there was never an absence of real tobacconists around in any city I visited. Some were even out in the boondocks. Pipes were very visible in airports and elsewhere. This was before the cigar craze of the '90s, obviously. The question is, when did Carlin utter these words? (Like it matters to anyone.)

 

[burleybreath]

He also really hated Rice Krispies...

That's at least as significant as his distaste for pipe smokers. The man was obviously a commie.