Reply #13: I pay my respects ... even though [View All]

[TahitiNut]

I avoided his 'show' at Long Binh Post in '69. (That was actually one of the rare times I volunteered, for perimeter guard that time, so other guys in my unit could go see the show.) While I respected Hope's efforts to some degree, I was never comfortable with either his politics or his manner. His humor seemed misgyinistic and too infused with what I call 'victim humor' -- selectively demeaning and patronizing. I was never able to detect an egalitarian attitude in him. He seemed very elitist to me. He and his coterie were very insular, exclusively in the company of senior officers and patronizing to enlisted men, especially the lower ranked, usually draftees. His shows exploited and objectivized women to a degree that crossed the (imaginary) 'line' even in their times. I never thought that was 'cute' or even appropriate merely because the audience was supposedly testosterone-poisoned GIs.

RIP, Bob. You're probably where altogether too many in your audiences have gone far earlier in their lives than you.