Open mind, large heart – Times of India

In a sparkling comedic career spanning more than half a century, stand-up superstar and social commentator George Carlin eviscerated America and Americans like no one before or after. From calling the United States a war-mongering nation full of bullshit and a country that was stolen, to torching the American obsession with marketing and advertising, mindless consumption, and over-the-top religion, Carlin was relentless in his critiques of the people and the country he was born into, constantly questioning its self-professed greatness, and its commitment to economic, social and racial justice. For his scalding commentaries and epic rants, some of it coarse, vulgar, and scatological, America honoured him with a place in the stand-up comics Hall of Fame, a Mark Twain Prize for American Humour, more than a dozen HBO comedy specials, and a score of Emmy and Grammy nominations and awards. By most accounts, he is regarded as a comedic national treasure whose wit and wisdom will be weighed and worshipped by generations. No such honours will await Vir Das, 42, when he returns home from a US tour, after a mild takedown of India during one of his shows in Washington DC triggered atavistic passions among hypernationalists back home. Instead, he will likely be subjected to lawsuits and boycotts, and run out of work with specious complaints that he somehow lowered Indias image and prestige abroad. A fledgling field of stand-up comics and entertainers, already walking on eggshells in the face of increasing intolerance at home, will fold without a fight given the might of a troll patrol backed by the establishment.

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Open mind, large heart - Times of India

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