If we haven’t reached peak stupidity yet, we’re certainly well on our way:
As Stacey Patton and David J. Leonard write:
America’s soil of racism is fed by jokes and incendiary speeches, by stereotypical images and symbols like the Confederate flag. Just as Rush Limbaugh, Donald Trump and other members of the Republican Party regularly disparage people of color and claim they are simply telling the truth, Schumer can use comedy as a protective shroud to deny the harm and hurt caused by her jokes. A joke is considered benign especially when told by a supposed white liberal feminist. We can distance ourselves from the anger, from the harm, from the ideology, and from the hatred of the “extreme,” but also find comfort in the same anger, ideology and hatred that is “just a joke.”
This rhetoric isn’t just ugly. It contributes to a worldview that justifies a broken immigration system, mass incarceration, divestment from inner city communities, that rationalizes inequality and buttresses persistent segregation and violence. Yet nobody wants to take responsibility for spewing rhetoric that breeds the fear that results in soaring gun purchases, that “inspires” monsters like Dylann Roof to craft a manifesto with deadly consequences.
Smart take.
Now, you may think Amy Schumer is hilarious. You may think she’s lousy. But to actually suggest that her comedy “inspires” people like Dylann Roof is — pardon our French — effing stupid.
Right?
All this raises the question:
Can’t wait for the op-ed telling us the answer.
***
Update:
‘Lay down and die!’ Turns out the writer sliming ‘racist’ Amy Schumer is a NASTY piece of work
