I do like a surprise.
A shock. An unexpected turn of events. I like seeing a different and unusual character trait in someone I know or know of. Something I wasn’t expecting and makes me see them differently.
I can’t remember how or why I started following Rob Delaney on Twitter but something made me. Perhaps it was the ‘accident on the side of the motorway that I simply have to look at’ style jokes he posts. They’re so close to the edge and sometimes so far over the edge that the edge is no longer in sight that a shocked laugh almost involuntarily falls out of me. He literally shocked me into laughter and held me captive as one of his nearly 900, 000 followers.
‘I bet before they invented sign language, deaf people would rub a hot dog on a pretty flower to let each other know they wanted to do sex’
‘Now that the war on the word “nigger” was won, it can take 3-5 seconds longer to realize when a racist is speaking’
‘Pudgy girls in bikinis make me sex-grunt’
‘What adults might not consider an “exciting” snack can actually be a real treat for a toddler, like a slice of apple or a cigarette’
Are just a few of the borderline unexceptable tweets you’ll expect to find at @robdelaney
I’ve never seen him live or even watched a stand up set of his on Youtube so didn’t really have a clue as to what he was like as a comedian. I didn’t know whether he was married or not, whether I thought his jokes ~other than his 140 character ones ~ were any good but I think I had already placed him into a certain box. He was in my dominant male stand up box: penis jokes, pub anecdotes, a tinge of misogyny with an aim to making the MEN of their audience laugh. I don’t often lift the lid on this box or enjoy watching their work but I guess there’s a place from them out there somewhere. I guess…
So, imagine my surprise when a woman that I follow on Twitter {I can’t remember who} tweeted something about Rob Delaney writing a piece for The Guardian entitled ‘Why I support women’s access to safe, legal abortion’. I skipped over and was surprised, elated and chuffed that we had another on on our side. His love of women, his children and protecting their choices, rights and equality was so profound and strong I couldn’t help but beam with love for him.
The article as a whole is a great read {see here} but just the opening few paragraphs would have done for me:
I have two kids. I love them. I wanted them to be born. I wanted to be a parent for years before my wife gave birth to them. I cried when I saw their first ultrasounds. My wife and I even bought a cheap fetal heart monitor so we could listen to their heartbeats some nights before we went to bed, smiling.
I fly a lot for work. Now, when there are babies or toddlers on a plane who make a racket or cry, I don’t mind. They remind me of my own children, and any noise they make (which previously would have driven me nuts) makes me miss my own kids and count the days till I can be home with them wishing they’d pipe down.
Both times my wife was pregnant, I would sometimes envy the fact that she got to carry our babies around in her all day and all night. She was getting to know them before me. It seemed like the ultimate snuggle.
Our oldest is two and the younger one is an infant. We’re already talking about having another. My wife loves being pregnant and we both love babies and kids, so signs point toward a third. We may adopt. We’ve talked a lot about that, too.
I also believe that a woman should have access to a safe, legal abortion if she wants one.
Yes Rob! Your jokes about sex grunts and apples in the fridge that I laugh at with almost embarrassment show nothing of the liberal feminist that you are who thinks women are great and should have equal rights and safe choices.
You surprised the hell out of me and for that I shall forever champion you, Thank you.