Jack Black's bandmate, Donald Trump and when jokes go too far

Jokes are, inherently, supposed to be funny. But when they go too far ... no one's laughing.

In the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, amid the thoughts and prayers, many have taken it as an opportunity to make memes and otherwise brush off the first violent, visceral threat to a U.S. president's life in decades. One such jokester is Tenacious D band member Kyle Gass.

Jack Black spoke out against his bandmate Gass' controversial comment about the assassination attempt. In a statement provided to USA TODAY, the "School of Rock" actor, 54, said he was "blindsided" by bandmate Gass saying "don't miss Trump next time" on stage during their Tenacious D show on Sunday. Black also said he is ending the Tenacious D tour and pausing plans to continue working with Gass.

In his own statement shared Tuesday on Instagram, Gass apologized for the remark and made clear that it was not planned.

Violence is not limited to slaps and kicks, according to experts who study violent speech and psychological harm. Violence can be the words we use to mock, categorize, exclude and control.

The cultural conversation around violent speech tends to focus on the most egregious acts, including hate speech and slurs. It's the uproar when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she was called a "f------ b----," by Rep. Ted Yoho on a staircase at the U.S. Capitol. It's the outrage when Trump himself referred to Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and "animals." It's our indignation at the most horrific examples of online abuse, when Internet mobs are unleashed and reporters and academics and TikTok creators are inundated with rape and death threats.

But some linguists, psychologists and philosophers of language argue that in only condemning the most abusive speech acts, we excuse and dismiss the more subtle forms, including comedy. And people need to remember that words have consequences. A small ripple could soar into a tidal wave.

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Jack Black's bandmate and 'toxic speech'

It starts with a cruel thought in someone's head, voiced aloud. Then other people join the ferocious fray and the comments grow nastier. It spirals from there.

Dehumanization always begins with language, according to T.M. Robinson-Mosley, counseling psychologist. This has repeated itself throughout history.

"This can lead to people believing that those in different groups don't deserve the same treatment as them or even don't even deserve the respect," Mosley previously told USA TODAY. "This is where often the justification for treating someone differently, or in some cases, treating an entire group differently, or poorly, gets justified."

While Trump has made headlines with his controversial speech, that doesn't give anyone carte blanche to fight fire with fire – as much as many thinks it does, especially when you're a public figure. And while Gass' words didn't contain a direct slur or curse word, they still fell into dangerous territory. The same can be said for President Joe Biden whose recent comment, "it's time to put Trump in the bullseye," has ignited controversy among some Republicans.

Lynne Tirrell is a philosopher at the University of Connecticut who studies how language can influence social justice and facilitate injustice. She wrote in a 2017 paper that "people who think about how speech harms have tended to focus on the oppressive power of epithets, slurs and derogatory terms.” But she says language can contain no pejoratives and still cause harm. She calls this broader category “toxic speech.” 

Toxic speech, she writes, “comes in many varieties, can be chronic or acute, can damage individuals or society, in whole or in part, permanently or for a time.” 

Violent speech has social implications. It can drive people from participating in public spaces, it can discourage people from going online, it can influence who gets a voice and who does not. It can explicitly or implicitly sanction other forms of violence. And it's often marginalized groups who suffer the most – women, people of color, queer people and religious minorities. 

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Where do we go from here?

While we can certainly apologize, we can't take back our words.

"The other person, or the group of persons affected by those words, will always remember that you spoken callously and with a lack of a consideration," psychologist Reneé Carr previously told USA TODAY.

Comedy is one way of making sense of the world. Many people laugh at horrible things as a way to cope. William Gay, a professor at UNC Charlotte who studies the philosophy of language, previously told USA TODAY that while comedy is an important and useful part of the culture, everyone has a responsibility to think about the consequences of the things they say. 

"One of the challenges of studying linguistic violence is there are many fewer jokes that you can laugh at," Gay said, "and especially that you can tell."

Contributing: Brendan Morrow, Alia E. Dastagir