“Everyone believes in free speech until someone says something you don’t like”, comedian Bill Burr said on the Joe Rogan Experience earlier this week. I have been thinking a lot about this quote lately and how relevant it is. Stand-up comedy is one of the last pure and raw artforms that we have left as a society. It is especially unique in telling the American struggle.
American stand-up comedy has been at the forefront of the battle for free speech. The First Amendment is what makes being an American so unique. Yeah sure, other countries claim they have free speech, but it is not quite like what the First Amendment entails here in the United States. Besides yelling “fire” in crowded space and the incitement of violence, you can basically say anything you want. No other country is like this. This is important for a free society, especially for a country as diverse as this one.
Lenny Bruce was arrested for saying “obscenities” on stage. This case would eventually be dropped because of freedom of speech. The case was dropped posthumously, Bruce died of a drug overdose. It was already too late; comedy clubs were afraid to book him for the rest of his life. He died a martyr. Today, comedians are still in this fight. Comedians aren’t quite being arrested like Bruce but are facing a lot of pushback from the politically correct crowd. Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld have stopped doing shows on college campuses and many other comedians have followed suit. College used to be the epicenter of free speech and now it seems like the opposite.
Comedy should be shocking. We go to see comedy to hear someone say something that we would not normally say. Cancel culture is real and if we try to censor this artform we might be losing out on some unique perspectives that we might never know about because a lot of us never leave our “social bubbles”. Deon Cole said in his last special, “Music sucks, movies suck, comedy is the last form on raw expression. If you take that away then everything has fucking gone to shit”. Nothing explains the American struggle better than comedy.
Dave Chappelle put out a special the other night in response to the killing of George Floyd. Chappelle has been able to bring to light some of the struggles of being black in America throughout the years. The show was angry, it was raw, it was powerful. Midway through the set, Chappelle said, “Yeah… this isn’t funny”. For the most part, it wasn’t funny, but it was perfect. After watching the comedy special I looked at my girlfriend and just said “wow”. I cannot remember the last time I was that blown away.
Louis C.K. created a show a few years ago called Horace and Pete. The basic synopsis of this show is it is about an old bar in Brooklyn, NY that has been owned for generations by this one family and how a changing corporate America is leaving the common man behind. The show deals with alcoholism, mental health, child abuse, etc. While Chappelle speaks about being black in America, Louis’ project was focused on ‘working-class’ struggles and the evaporation of values of living in America. The show is dark, smart, and real. Watching both shows juxtaposed really gives you a good understanding of what American life is.
The past couple of weeks have been a drain. Society seems like it is at its breaking point. Politics and sports are divisive. A lot of people think sports should be separate from politics. In a perfect world maybe it would be, but it is not a perfect world and the two worlds often clash. Laura Ingram told LeBron James to “Shut up and dribble” back in 2018, and then a couple of years later she tells people to leave Drew Brees alone for his political views. These people are phonies, I don’t care what side of the aisle you are on. Political commentary is full of hypocrites. It is all about what team you are on.
What tends to unite people is comedy. Comedians are able to laugh at themselves. People appreciate honest people. Good comedians can make fun of both sides. When Jon Stewart was on The Daily Show, he made fun of Bill Clinton just as much as he made fun of George Bush. The best way we as a society need to get back to normal is, we need to learn how to laugh at ourselves again. Comedy is a unifier. It is our best shot, and we need to protect it.
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