Way to look for a story in a space where there isn't one. There was plenty of applause when Muse announced she was married, but there wasn't even a pause after she noted they had a baby before she pushed into her joke (which got a great response, btw).

I doubt anyone was "weirded out" by Bell miming jerking off on a pile of guns (as most of the subjects of the night were far deeper than that), but that one joke didn't flow very well with the rest of his set. For all the highly intelligent jokes being shot out, this one was an easy target with a 12-yr-olds punchline. The second he moved on, the audience was with him.

And you're right, the response wasn't AS big for Kondabolu's feminist dick joke, but (a) most of the people in that room are big fans so they've all heard this joke several times already and (b) that was probably the most rushed delivery of this joke that I've seen. But the rest of the night, the crowd was going crazy for him and he probably got some of the best reactions of the night.

My point is that your article comes across as reaching and your examples of discomfort are poor. Instead of regurgitating a few jokes and using the varied reactions as examples of privileged guilt, perhaps you could have focused on Karinda Dobbins' hilarious set (which I guess you were in the bathroom for?), how Portland seems to go nuts over anything grammar related, and how fulfilling smart and pointed comedy is and what we can do to encourage it in a Dane Cook world.