Bill Burr is a funny guy.

His stand-up specials layout everything’s that’s screwed up in the world, all in a spectacular, albeit dry hour of comedy that only he could pull off.

Burr consistently flattens late-night hosts with jokes that make woke audiences cringe. He also has a great podcast that feels like a breath of fresh air in an entertainment world that tries to emulate the success of Joe Rogan.

Bill Burr is unique in every sense of the word, but he’s also intensely baffling.

He makes too much sense

Comedians like Burr baffle me because they make too much sense. Burr says how things used to be; how kids used to get smacked upside the head when they cursed at their parents or how everyone wasn’t so easily offended and we all laugh because… well, he’s right.

His deadpan delivery, no-crap-given attitude, and general demeanor all make him a great comedian. But his material is what makes him a legend.

Unfortunately, as Burr’s material gets more comical, it subsequently gets sadder.

Political correctness is getting worse. People are more compelled to censor their language and that of others. Moreover, certain jokes make audiences shudder when spoken:

“I am so pro-swine flu. I want it. We need a plague. It’s got to happen; don’t be afraid. It’s only going to kill the weak.” — Bill Burr

Would These Guys Be Cancelled Today?

George Carlin
Lionel Ritchie
Redd Foxx

We acknowledge these guys are legends, but the common consensus among writers and longtime comedy fans is they would no doubt be condemned today for some of their best material.

Caitlin Flanagan once noted in the Atlantic, the state of stand-up comedy on college campuses is increasingly dire.

“They wanted comedy that was 100% risk-free, comedy that could not trigger or upset or mildly trouble a single student,” she writes.

“They wanted comedy so thoroughly scrubbed of barb and aggression that if the most hypersensitive weirdo on campus mistakenly wandered into a performance, the words he would hear would fall on him like a soft rain, producing a gentle chuckle and encouraging him to toddle back to his dorm, tuck himself in, and commence a dreamless sleep — not text Mom and Dad that some monster had upset him with a joke.”

Bill Burr’s Candidness

In 2017, Burr was talking about the one-sidedness of alimony and divorce with the PC King of late-night Jimmy Fallon.

When Burr said there’s an “epidemic of gold-digging whores” on live television, Jimmy looked like he wanted to crawl back into his shell while Fallon’s woke audience was ready to stone Burr to death.

It’s amazing television.

Conversely, this isn’t to say that Burr’s way is the “right” way of acting (both metaphorically and politically speaking). Yet he’s risen to prominence because people respect candidness.

Burr doesn’t virtue signal on his social media, and he speaks his mind the way he sees fit. Bill Burr is a savage — and people love it.

We Need More People Like Bill Burr (But Not Too Many!)

At the end of the day, however, Bill Burr doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He wants to provoke his audience, make them think, and above everything, make them laugh.

If his words offend you, you don’t have to start a petition to cancel him or send him death threats on Twitter. After all, he won’t care anyway.

And that apathetic attitude towards hypocrisy should be admired in 2021.