Some comedians discuss serious issues in their acts. They are more than entitled to do so. Their views can be enlightening, or infuriating.
But “Don’t take him seriously; he’s just a comedian” does not absolve anyone of the responsibility to stand by the meaning of his words.
I understand that context is important. That is not what I am describing here. It is the blanket defense of ANY comedian’s words with the argument that you’re not allowed to take them seriously, even if context indicates that they intended their words to be as serious as cancer.
I’ll acknowledge that I’m talking mostly about Dave Chappelle & Bill Maher, two comics capable of great insight who have also used their platforms to promote ignorant & infuriating ideas. A recent comment on the latter’s Facebook page struck me as something of a Platonic ideal:
The Great Kyle Rittenhouse Gaslighting Operation is a sustained Republican effort to encourage vigilante violence against anti-authoritarian agitators like Black Lives Matter & Antifa under the guise of maintaining order and protecting businesses from potential rioting & looting
I think that even the NRA of 20 years ago would try & distance themselves from a 17-year-old kid who illegally brought a gun to the site of a protest & started firing at participants but today they recognize that their target demographic actively celebrates Rittenhouse’s mission
I know many NRA activists pay lip service to Protecting Themselves from Tyranny but the real mission of the NRA is “We need guns to defend ourselves from brown people swarming over our borders and thugs rioting & looting in the streets and also the best defense is a good offense”
My God, she’s right - nine months into his Presidency, two out of every five Biden voters I meet are tearing open their shirts & screaming WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?
If only Joe Biden had visited the border and seen firsthand the destruction wrought by the invasion of brown people, he would have demanded the swift completion of Trump’s border wall. Plus, he should have told Fauci to pound sand & redacted all COVID restrictions immediately
You have no idea just how many Democrats are FURIOUS that Joe Biden is allowing the rampant proliferation of Marxist practices like critical race theory, cancel culture, and the capital-gains tax to divide our nation’s young people
I have a few new red flags that you would normally never hear me say, so I thought I’d provide a list.
As before, I will leave the MAGAtry out of it, and restrict my answers exclusively to terms & phrases popular with my political ALLIES.
(Thread) ⬇️
10. “Stop re-Tweeting the Former Guy; you’re just helping him stay relevant.”
I hate to break this to you, but nothing you or I say on this platform will stop Trump from becoming the 2024 GOP nominee. I know Twitter creates an illusion of intimacy, but it’s really not up to us.
9. “Grift” (in pretty much any context).
“It’s all a grift” is simplistic, & overly reductive of the threat Trump poses to our republic. I do not believe he’s just holding rallies to bilk his followers; I believe he fully intends to follow through with another White House run.
👨💼: I support Dave Chappelle because I am a free-speech absolutist
🤵🏽: Hey, that’s great! As a supporter of free speech myself, I will state for the record that I believe Chappelle’s latest special promotes ignorance that may do serious harm to the transgender community
(1/5)
👨💼: Here come the SJWs to ruin everything
🤵🏽: Well, are you a free-speech absolutist or not?
👨💼: Fine. 🙄 Objections noted
🤵🏽: As a supporter of free-market principles, I will decline to support Netflix as long as they promote ideas that are harmful to the TG community
(2/5)
👨💼: Now, see—
🤵🏽: I will also use my freedom of speech to inform others of Netflix’s decision to provide a platform for such material
👨💼:
🤵🏽:
👨💼: By “absolutist”, I meant Dave Chappelle gets to talk & everybody else has to shut up
R: We’re not allowed to talk about the fact that COVID came from China!
D: Nobody’s really stopping you, but in the grand scheme of things it’s far less important than what we need to do to stop it
R: WHY IS THE MEDIA TRYING TO SILENCE US?
D: They’re not trying to
R: CHINA!!!
R: All the media does is tell us to socially distance & wear masks & get the vaccine! It’s a scam! They need to tell us that the virus came from China!
D: It may be difficult to believe, but all of those things are true
R: WHY IS THE MEDIA COVERING UP THE ORIGIN OF THE DISEASE?
R: Is there any particular reason this argument is so shrill & repetitive?
D: You tell me; it seems 100% driven by the conspiracy-minded notion of an activist media desperate to suppress the truth
R: And you’re including Bill Maher & Bari Weiss on our side; thanks a lot 🙄