I’ve been giving piling on a good bit of thought lately, in light of Eddie Murphy declining to skewer Bill Cosby on SNL 40. I’m aware of what Cosby did (or allegedly did, though I’m pretty sure the alleged train has left the alleged station). 

Norm Macdonald said he didn’t do it because he wouldn’t kick a man when he was down. There have been a lot of comments denigrating Murphy for not doing it, and I just don’t agree. I don’t know why he didn’t do it and I don’t really care, but I’m glad he didn’t.

I grow weary of piling on, throwing things up in people’s faces. It might be because I think everyone will get theirs (I do believe that, incidentally) without the rest of us pushing it along. It just all seems so much like beating a dead horse. 

According to the guy at the Washington Post, Murphy didn’t do it because it just wasn’t funny. I can’t speak to that. I think Eddie Murphy can make anything funny. But you know, maybe he wanted to do Buckwheat or Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood because those are known to be funny.  

Generally speaking, I don’t ever think piling on is funny. The reality is that the person being piled on could rescue a burning bus full of nuns and orphans and they’d still be despicable.