![Blaze News original: 'Thought police and the rainbow brigade': Comedian Sam Walker was attacked by the government for mocking a serial killer](https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/blaze-news-original-thought-police-and-the-rainbow-brigade-comedian-sam-walker-was-attacked-by-the-government-for-mocking-a.png?id=52360700&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=1%2C0%2C0%2C0)
Photos via Bruce Bennett/Islam Dogru/Anadolu via Getty Images/Sam Walker
Comedian Sam Walker couldn't have known the government would take issue with him mocking a convicted serial killer. However, after already being in the crosshairs of activists from a previously weaponized joke, the escalation seemed inevitable.
Walker is part of the comedy troupe called the Danger Cats, and they've been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Of course, in the comedy world, getting canceled isn't always a bad thing, but the government doesn't typically make remarks about a comedian's jokes, either.
The Danger Cats first encountered their perpetually offended activist foes when group member Brendan "Uncle Hack" Blacquier had a joke surface about Native residential schools that were run by the Catholic church. The roast battle joke was already years old, but a Facebook video dug the 10-second riff out of the archives for fresh outrage.
The Danger Cats and the venues that were hosting them faced death threats, arson threats, and other promises of violence in response to the joke.
Read our Blaze News Original about those events here.
"We went to every city they didn't want us in," Walker told Blaze News. A consistent threat of silencing from "Bolshevik censors," who are trying to crush "subversive thoughts" makes being a comedian "the most dangerous profession in the world right now," he continued.
While it sounds like hyperbole, not only has the government-funded media acted as the arbiter of jokes during the Danger Cats' saga, sitting government officials have also demanded apologies from the comedians, as well.
Walker also pointed to "government-paid activists" running a grift in an effort to get funding to fight "hate." In the spirit of taking offense, the same groups targeted another old joke.
'Comedians are standing by in abject terror and horror watching what is happening to us.'
Just like the previous joke that sparked completely inorganic protests, according to Walker, government media selected a joke about a serial killer and a piece of merchandise to continue a pile-on in hopes of causing more cancellations for the comedians.
"For four or five years I've been telling a Robert Pickton joke; people forget about this guy. He went into jail in about 2006, convicted of six murders, and he's doing life in prison," he explained. "I like to bring to people's attention very dark and horrible things and make jokes about them to take away their power. And about a year ago, I hired a designer to design a T-shirt, and then when his parole came up that was when the politicians hit the panic button and deflected their responsibility by putting it on us. They focused on the T-shirt and castigated us as bad, horrible people."
Pickton was reportedly convicted in 2007 for the second-degree murder of six women and accused of murdering 20 more until the charges were stayed in 2010.
The T-shirt mocking the murderer was picked up by government broadcaster CBC, which cited a petition of just 2,000 signatures as proof of widespread outrage against the comedy group.
"This group is known for profiting off the tragedy of the Willie Pickton serial killer by making and selling shirts that exploit the murdered and missing Indigenous women and other women who were his victims," the petition reportedly read. "Their act also includes content such as residential schools and mass Indigenous graves, which is completely unacceptable."
As protesters stood outside the Vancouver, Canada, venue, the group's third member Brett Forte mocked the protester leader for only having three minutes of material.
"It's tough to fill a 10-minute set. Three minutes, and she's out. I mean, now she understands it's a tough job. Now she's stretching, now she's going to do crowd work. It's not an easy gig," he joked.
"The government media has started slandering and libeling us without any receipts for that," Walker said. "They don't have anything that passes muster as far as committing of crimes or anything. They couldn't even tell you a single joke that we do," he detailed. His explanation, however, does pass the sniff test.
The government report claimed that the Danger Cats' stand-up set had included disparaging remarks about residential school survivors. Not only were the old remarks not part of a stand-up set, they also did not disparage anyone other than the comedian on stage. Consistent misinformation about the jokes led to eight cancellations, threats of arson, and even elected government officials talking about the comedians.
British Columbia Premier (equivalent to governor) David Eby, made an unprecedented move by addressing the comedians in an official capacity during a press conference.
"I just really encourage this group to think carefully about this sad attempt at humor and to apologize to the families of the victims because those are the people who they really hurt with this," Eby claimed, according to Hope Standard.
"I have seen the t-shirt being promoted by this group ... All I can say is how deeply disappointed I am by the idea that the lives of vulnerable women could be trivialized like this. These are women with families and friends, who were murdered and then their lives ignored and the fact that they were considered ... less worthy, less human, was one of the reasons why Mr. Pickton was able to operate and kill them with impunity for so many years."
Official government platitudes have not wavered Walker, who said that he knew he was striking a nerve when he saw Eby take time out of his busy day of "counting bodies at the morgue of fentanyl overdoses from government-funded drugs that they gave out to junior high kids."
"Apparently, he's a connoisseur of stand-up comedy in this country and asked us to apologize for a joke he's never even heard of, that his little minions have penciled in and gave him the Coles Notes on."
'It's all for the servitude of the ruling class. They want a second-class citizenry in this country to do their bidding and be at their beck and call.'
Despite the very high-profile exploits, Walker said that very few comedians have voiced support for the group out of fear that they will soon come under the watchful eye of government and activists should any of their jokes "run afoul of the thought police and the rainbow brigade."
"Comedians are standing by in abject terror and horror watching what is happening to us ... and they'll be in the exact same boat we are," Walker explained.
After years as a contractor, Walker found himself working jobs in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. No, not as an athlete, although he would tell you he could have if he wanted to.
After the games, Walker returned to work; but something had changed. Wages had significantly dropped, and the majority of employees on projects like home buildings were foreign workers.
"I looked around the industry and what had happened was ... a certain nationality and group had imported massive amounts of unskilled workers, and these guys were showing up in crews of 10 or 20, working for pennies an hour, dollars a day."
Walker added that standards dropped drastically, producing inferior products.
"They underbid every major job in the Lower Mainland [of British Columbia] at the time, by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars less. I went from making a living wage to barely being able to survive."
The comedian echoed sentiments by many critics of immigration that have stated not only are the immigrants themselves being exploited and being given false promises, but the mass migration has diluted the labor market with "cheap, unskilled foreign labor." This has eliminated entry-level positions, he added.
"It's all for the servitude of the ruling class," Walker went on. "They want a second-class citizenry in this country to do their bidding and be at their beck and call. This is a country of immigrants, but, you speak the language, you honor the laws, and you are a skilled worker; you contribute something. These people do nothing but take, take, take. People are getting very upset with it because it's visually jarring seeing an underclass of people coming out of the shadows."
Follow Walker on Instagram, and look for live tickets on the Danger Cats' website.
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Andrew Chapados