Sorry for making the change. I originally said "Culture has become more complex and sophisticated" but that's not true across the board for all forms of culture.. Music culture has gotten much less complex though lyrics sometimes have more depth than in pre-50's music. So I made the comment more specific to  just Comedy culture since that's really all that my comment addressed. As someone who cares deeply about music that sloppy error of generalization kept gnawing at me. I couldn't let it stand even though no one probably would notice it.

Perhaps it's important to clarify what I mean by PC limitations. There are really no limitations on free speech. There's simply a discussion about what is said and push back among those who disagree. That applies to everyone. It's easy to be a racist, sexist etc. in your head or with your friends if they're all racists too. It can get a bit harder to be an outspoken racist at work or in public. If you're speaking to an audience of hundreds or thousands in public forums and you want to get paid for what you say you need to say something that appeals to those masses. Whether you pander, teach, enlighten, or degrade and scapegoat outsiders those jokes and the message behind them need to appeal in some way if you want to get paid.  Everyone and comedians can ignore the conversation and the push back but it's getting harder and harder for comedians to be simple or hateful and appeal to enough people to get paid.

I and probably no one is denying that humor can help us to deal with painful things with laughter. I agree with Jones that laughter can be the best medicine. My point was that it can also be the worst poison. I don't think PC culture demands that comedians not talk about painful things or issues that are sensitive. Comedians like Cameron Esposito and Hannah Gadsby joke about rape and many other sensitive topics all the time and are admired for it. In fact todays comedy culture nearly demands that comedians address painful and sensitive issues. It's not the topic that constitutes PC but who or what is the butt of the joke? What is the message?

It's a tough time to be a comic. It used to be comedians could just beat each other up, fall down, or insult someone  to make people laugh. Slapstick used to be the vast majority of comedy. Now slapstick plays a minor role and the audience expects comedians to be satirists. And they have to be meaningful, insightful, and sensitive satirists. Get used to it comedians. Comedians need to stop complaining about PC culture or at least say something meaningful about it. The reality today is if comedians want to get paid to pontificate on stage they need to do more than fall down or insult someone. The people are demanding that they raise their game. If they want to blame someone for that they should blame Lenny Bruce and George Carlin. Or Hannah Gadsby for recently substantially raising the standard that the public expects from comedians.