Epstein's column was the set-up, and the WSJ's follow-up column was the pay-off: say something intentionally offensive in *every* possible way, provoke a perfecty reasonable response, and then cue the follow-up editorial about cancel culture and double standards. Epstein wasn't trying to be funny; he was trying to bury the poison pill in a wad of dog food. His point wasn't humor; his point was to "get canceled" to prove that cancel culture is real. The "I was just joking" is the inside joke for the people who know the routine.

This is such a tired culture wars tactic, like spewing racist insults and then crying about "political correctness." It does pay, and it pays off for the outlets who profit off the manufactured outrage cycle.

But Epstein, for all his long ambitions to attain the prestige of being The Gadfly, is more of a gnat. He's certainly no Camille Paglia.

Let's face it: Men just aren't that funny.