Dave Chappelle’s “The Closer”

Nuance is a helluva drug.

 

I do think this shouldn't be a "for" or "against" Chappelle - but more about a deeper discussion about the content of the work in its entirety. I think the focus of the special was really cancel culture - and the controversy after the special broke kind of underlined his point. No matter what you think of Chappelle.

 

Meh - most of the discourse I've seen online is in *defense* of Chappelle. It's also mostly from white guys, aged 30 to 50. I realize that's partially because of the places I'm at online - SJ.com, the Facebook group for The Rewatchables podcast, the Bill Simmons podcast subreddit - but excluding SJ.com, most people have decided to cape up for Dave, and his right to say "I'm team terf."

 

It always irritates me when a group demands "an end" of things they have no use for anyway, whether its guns, higher taxes, the end of a career of some celebrity they aren't a fan of in any event....easy to ask to for someone else to sacrifice something to make your world better. It also leads to really bad "conflicts" when people are put in the position of having to defend "something" that is indefensible. (Like saying you enjoy hunting and don't want to give up your guns after a mass shooting, or don't want to see a particular author's book banned).
I'd love it if there was a rule that required a six-week period before any action could be taken after some outrage of the day. My guess is in most cases - the delay will differentiate the regular "daily outrage" from the behavior or action that truly requires remedy (Cuomo).

 

Yes, it's awful to be outraged in the immediate aftermath of yet another mass killing. "Small" ones, fewer than five people or so, barely break into news anymore. But do hold your outrage for six weeks.

 

This is the tactic of the NRA and other pro-gun advocates. Insist that no action should be taken quickly and hope everybody has moved on to the next distraction by the time the waiting period is up. No thanks.

 

I disagree - I think gun violence is clearly a problem, we can't even go six weeks without a "now is not the time...." blah, blah, blah, before another shooting. It's a problem so prevalent that it shows that something six weeks later it continues to resonate. Rather than something stirred up just for clicks.

 

Dave's not finished pissing people off.

Dave Chappelle sets 'some conditions' for meeting with trans Netflix employees

 

First comedian quoted in this story did not see the special.

What these trans comedians have to say about Dave Chappelle's jokes at their expense - CNN

 

Cancel culture is a Christian extremist term. any attempt to bring civility and decency to public discourse by pointing out dated and prejudiced actions and statements runs contrary to Christian extremist politics. Hate of others, those different from the Christian extremist, is the only discourse the right wingers allow. Violence against civility and morality is the hallmark of Christian extremism. We’ve seen that in Charlottesville, January 6 and the reactions to demonstrations against police brutality. What’s chappelle’s real point though, I am more of a victim than you are.

 

I get that you want that waiting period. Funny how the NRA wants a waiting period for people to take action when there is a shooting, but heaven forbid any individual have to wait to get a gun.

 

So, if your position is they can't offer thoughts on his views on transsexuals unless they see the whole special, I have couple of questions:

1) Does the view he expressed about transgender people somehow change later in the special?
2) Why should a community that's attacked have to sit through an entire special after they've been attacked in it just so they can offer their opinions on his statement about their community?
3) Had he been a white comedian who disparaged blacks, would you feel the same way, that a black person should have to watch a comedian's entire special after a racist joke that attacked them if they wanted to say that the white comedian was wrong?