During the incomparable shows at the Apollo Theater, if the audience was not satisfied with a particular stand up comedy act, the audience would mercilessly boo and jeer the self-proclaimed entertainer until they either voluntarily exited stage left or were shepherded off by a person with a big hook. At first glance this may seem cruel or even abusive, but a lot of stand up comedians just do not seem to take criticism well, and it makes sense, considering that their only director is, well, themselves. When you criticize an actor, dancer or even a singer, you are not just criticizing them; you are also making fun of a whole team of directors, casting agents, choreographers, assistants, set designers, lighting designers, writers, etc. You are saying that the movie was bad much more than you are saying that the actor was bad. You like the singer's album, even though you hate their dancing at the concert; sure it's godawful watching bad dancing, but they can still sing, so you let it pass. There is even a process for deconstructing adequate and inadequate portions of paintings for crying out loud. But who are you going to blame a bad standup act on, the bouncer at the front door? The bartender? The act before you? Sure, you could try that if you're desperate, but, at the end of the day, most people are blaming it on the comedian. You know, the person who wrote, directed, starred in, and most likely produced it. The whole thing is on them. There is nowhere else to place the blame. So, naturally the comedian projects their failures on the audience. "It was a bad crowd," is a term you hear all over the live entertainment industry, but you will not hear it anywhere near as much as you will hear it in the standup profession. The term heckler is used rather lightly by standup comedians. I'm sorry to say it, but it's true. I still remember Michael Richards, the actor who plays Kramer on Seinfeld, which I still watch by the way because the fact that Michael Richards is a dick does not make it any less funny, calling a heckler a "nigger" about five or six times at the top of his lungs all because this man interrupted his act. Unless you are a white nationalist, that just does not make any damn sense. Yes, I know, the guy interrupted; he was rude. Okay, so what? Should anyone really have that hateful of a reaction to bad manners? I thought this was America. Our nation has a long history of loud and rowdy crowds. Even the British do. Granted, we do not engage at such behavior at prestigious suit and tie events, though even that is a bit pompous to me. But we certainly are quite polite when the occasion calls for it. However, a dank night club at two o'clock in the morning with the stench of piss and alcohol wafting through the area isn't really an occasion for anything other than drunken rants. You are aware that these comedians know exactly what they are getting into, right? They know the crowds are drunk; they also know that audiences in general are difficult to mange. They know this, yet the anger that comes out of these people when their jokes don't land is just sad. You are supposed to have a thick skin after all. Now, I'm not saying all hecklers are like that. Sometimes the audience just gets out of hand and it's beyond your control, but own up to it! You had a bad night. Take the hit, and move on to the next play. What is this crap nowadays where these comedians are talking about they were stressed out? Or that there were plants hidden in the audience? Or that people are just too stupid to understand them? Or that they killed in such and such town. Whatever jokers! A loss is a loss. Even the best of warriors experience them. Why on earth are the supposedly best comedians to ever grace the stage wasting time on such a petty subject? Why should it even bother them and why do they get so offended all the time? That used to be taboo in the entertainment business. It is not a common practice to demean those who pay your salary.