April 20th / 22nd, 2007
"Humor Isn't Always Hate Speech"
I grew up listening to the comedy stylings of Red Foxx, Don Rickles and
(later) Richard Pryor and Don Imus. As an adult I became a huge fan of Sam
Kinnison, Eddie Murphy, Andrew Dice Clay, and Chris Rock. They all have one thing
in common: insult humor. They made slurs against whites, blacks, women,
men, gays, straights, Puerto Ricans, jews, politicians, athletes, and anyone
else who got in their line of fire. Somehow, despite all that negative
exposure, I never used the “N” word , never judged people based on their looks or
religion, or to my knowledge ever intentionally demeaned women or gays.
True, I was never personally the object of the comedians’ derision, so I can’t
say with any certainty how I would have reacted to a slur against me or my
family by any of those legendary funnymen. But I do know that, in those days,
people had pretty thick skin, and didn’t whine to the media every time an
insult was hurled. And that brings me to Imus’ latest indiscretion and to the
subsequent fallout.
For five decades now, Don Imus has been a political and social satirist. He
is now, and always has been arrogant and obnoxious, so it came as no
surprise that he jokingly referred to the Rutgers Womens Basketball team as “
Nappy-headed Hos”. But according to fellow comedian Bill Mahr, what made Don’s
latest attack so problematic was that it broke the two main rules of comedy.
The slur wasn’t based on truth, and the attack was made on young coeds and
not against a powerful public figure. I agree with Mahr to some extent, but
the Rutgers women became public figures by way of their outstanding play on
national television. And while Imus’ hurtful, stupid statement was off-color,
it was not necessarily off-limits. Remember, Rickles, Foxx, Kinnison,
Clay and others made a living by slinging racist and sexist remarks at perfect
strangers in attendance at their concerts, and those “victims” were never
powerful public figures.
Then there’s the argument by some that college athletes in general are off-limits.
Speaking to David Carr of the New York Times, George Washington
University professor Robert Entman said that college athletics is “sacred” in our
culture. Bull, Dr. Entman. College athletics is all about money and power.
On the men’s side it is replete with greedy coaches and players, and on the
women’s side, it features scandals such as the recent firing of a coach who
was accused of having an affair with one of her players. And just for the
record, Imus’s remarks in no way dimished the accomplishments of the Rutgers
team. To the contrary. His cruel, misplaced attempt at humor has brought
more attention, recognition, and respect to the Rutgers women (and to all of
women’s basketball) than would have been possible otherwise. To say any
different is to demean the courage and empowerment of these young women who are old
enough to know that Imus is a harmless jerk and a crusty old white guy who
has no credibility in this matter.
Speaking of credibility, let’s mention two crusty old black men who also
have none. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are the worst kind of panderering
opportunists in America. They are alarmists who make a living off of inserting
themselves into situations in hopes of turning mole hills into mountains.
Respected Black journalists such as Larry Elder and Joe Madison have
expressed their anger (most recently on Larry King Live) with Jackson and Sharpton
for presuming to speak for all African Americans. Madison also blamed the
media for always seeking out the "dynamic duo of doom" for sound bites instead of
taking time to contact leading Black educators and journalists. And the
ultimate hypocrisy was Jesse and Al demanding apologies from Imus. Here are two
guys who have slurred Jews (remember Jackson’s “Hymie Town” rant?) and
women (Sharpton referring to the Central Park jogger as a “whore”), and who both
demanded a rush to judgement in the Duke lacrosse rape case, in which they
convicted three innocent young men in the media, and helped to destroy three
families in the process. Not one apology has come from Jackson and Sharpton
in those matters.
But in all fairness, I can’t lay the entire blame at the clay feet of the
two rabble rousing Reverends. As David Carr pointed out, we are living in an
age where radio is now visible. In the past, Imus, Howard Stern and other
shock jocks were insulated by their own niche audiences, and never concerned
themselves with more far-reaching implications of their profanities or hurtful
slurs. But today, millions of people have access to television simulcasts,
and millions others are alerted by media watchdog groups, thus creating an
immediate firestorm whenever someone perceives that someone else might by
offended by something said on any given broadcast.
Finally there is the issue of fairness. When sponsors were frightened by
hypocrites Jackson and Sharpton, CBS pulled the plug on Imus. Did the punishment fit the crime?
No, but the network can’t disregard the fears and
concerns of advertisers, and so Imus became a casualty of his own battlefield. He
lived by the sword, and he died by the sword. Still, Jackson and Sharpton
continue to operate freely without regard to the damage they cause, while young
Black rappers continue to use undeniable hate speech without fear of
retribution. I don’t see CBS threatening to ban rappers from appearing on MTV, for
example. And I don’t see HBO pulling the plug on “Bad Boys of Comedy”, a
recent episode of which was laced with repeated use of the “N” word, and with
one African-American comedian referring to members of his own race as “
monkey ass”. This kind of unchecked hate speech sends a mixed message to our
young people, and the double standard only serves to fuel racial divides in this
country.
I can’t help but think back to the days of Muhammad Ali and Bobby Riggs.
Ali consistently hurled hateful slurs at his opponents during the pre-fight
press conferences, and that just made guys like Ken Norton and Joe Frazier fight
better. Riggs, meanwhile, leveled every kind of gender slur at Billie Jean
King, but she responded by kicking his butt in the tennis match of the
century. The two remained friends until Bobby’s death. It was an era when a guy
like Don Rickles could attack anyone and everyone without fear of litigation
or loss of income. It was a time when Richard Pryor railed against ignorant
"White Crackers", but everyone knew his rants were benign, though socially
relevant. The Rutgers basketball team has not been sullied by Don Imus, and
their coach should have taken the opportunity to go on Imus’s show and blister
him in jest. That would have prevented a destructive media frenzy, and
instead, turned it into a constructive, humorous discourse.
We as a society must try and reclaim our sense of humor. We must not rely
on loud-mouthed opportunists such as Imus, Jackson, or Sharpton to provide
our moral compass , or fuel our inner fears and prejudices. If someone uses
sexually-harassing speech in the work place, then it’s OK to get them fired.
But if a comedian takes a shot at you, then deal with it in like manner.
Either let it roll off your back, or challenge the idiot to a humorous debate.
Be like Joe Frazier and Bille Jean King. Don’t let someone else define you.
And don’t lose your ability to recognize the difference between hate speech
and humor speech, and then act accordingly. More times than not, I think we’ll
come to realize that laughter, not anger, is the best defense against most
offenses.
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