The_Red_Crayon said:

Trust me if it wasnt for Howard stern these people would probably be living on the street, and now they are rich and somewhat happy.

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Well first off, I doubt very much that either of these guys are/were "rich". They've made a fair amount of money, but does that make it ok for me to laugh at them?

I don't want to be the kind of person who laughs at someone who is down. I love these guys. I have more cds and DVDs of these guys than I care to admit, but am I just laughing at their illness and then justifying it by saying "Well, they made money from it."?

question_for_joo said:

I struggle with the same issue, as far as Howard Stern goes.  It's the only part of the show that consistently makes me laugh, when he has wackpackers come on.  I love them all.  They always brighten my mornings with their weird outbursts and musings it seems. 

I honestly believe that these eccentric/crazy people, Wesley Willis, Beatlejuice, Kenneth Kieth Kallenbach, High Pitch Eric, Fred the Elephant Boy, John the Stutterer, old school Stuttering John, Tiny Tim, the fat kid on the internet who raps....I think they are just flambouyantly being one aspect of who they are, and they know they are making people laugh, and I believe they want people to respect them (as everyone in the world wants others to respect them), yet at the same time they may be aware that many of the people who laugh at what they do are laughing at them in a mean, condescending way.  I laugh at them, but I have a lot of respect for them because they say awesome things, they have awesome delivery, and mostly because they keep doing what they do, making people smile, regardless of the fact that so many people who are laughing at what they do don't respect them also.  It's the people who laugh at them in a mean way who are stupid because they think the wackpackers can't help what they do, that there is the foolishness.  These guys are entertainers, they are gifted, they're just a little further into their character than Dustin Hoffman was doing Rainman.  I don't know what the hell I'm trying to say.  I think basically it comes down to whether or not you respect them at the same time you're laughing at what they do.

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Wow, question!  Very well said!  You really hit the nail on the head.  This gives me something to think about.  Interesting analogy about Dustin Hoffman, etc..

I really do respect these guys.  I mean, they're so brilliant sometimes and so honest all the time.  I mean, even when Beetlejuice is lying he's being honest. 

You should see the amount of files I have of these guys.  I have hundreds of Wesley Willis songs and hours of Beetlejuice's appearances on Stern, etc..  I'm silly.

beejay said:

I've hung out with Wesley Willis a couple times. He was definately crazy, but fun to hang out with. He was obsessed with giving people head butts. Not like fighting, but instead of shaking hands kinda thing. I definately miss drunken nights at the Metro with him though.

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Wow, you've hung out with Wesley? Man, you're so lucky. I'd love to be able to hang out with him. I know what you mean about the head butting. I have his documentary called "The Daddy Of Rock n Roll", which is amazing. What is your favorite song? I couldn't really choose one, but "I Smoke Weed", "You Fucked That Man's Car Up" and "You Better Find My Pistol" are up there. But there's just way too many to choose from.


FeveredEgo: It's hard to say weither Stern has Beetlejuice and Wesley Willis on the show to ridicule them. On one hand he's putting them on display knowing full well that they will be laughed at. On the other hand he obviously loves Beetlejuice as a person and would probably have loved Wesley if he had had him on the show more than that one time. Stern definitely falls more on the side that ridicules them IMO. The fact that he has given the monikers "Gary The Retard" and "Wendy The Retard" to people proves this.


Question: Interesting story about KKK. I didn't hear his most recent spot.