SNL: Excedrin for Racial Tension Headaches and Chris Rock
Wow. It's been one hell of a week in the news.
I've not blogged about the Gates arrest because my opinion is simple. What on earth was an old and angry 58 yo black man with a cane going to do to a young cop with a gun that would justify charging him with disorderly conduct and taking him in? It's b.s., and it never would have happened if Gates were a 58 yo white man with a cane and a smart mouth.
Plus, everyone has an opinion on it, and there really is no need to join the fray. This post from Gawker pretty much sums up my opinion and they threw in some legal code, so I love them: No, Henry Louis Gates Is Not a 'Railer,' a 'Brawler,' or a 'Common Street Walker'.
With that said racial tension has been the name of the game this week.
I also got a comment on the Presumptuous Racist post I wrote last year from someone by the name of Tae. I didn't publish it, which is rare. However, not for that particular post. There have been two comments that crossed the line.
Wait, there is more the obviously more intelligent and genetically superior Tae stopped by again to spew more verbage. It's somewhat comical because, if I'm so hopelessly inferior, why bother?
I can always tell when someone has wandered in from a Google search, read one post and has decided they know everything about my point of view. Someone who disagrees with me is not offensive but someone who confuses disagreeing with being disagreeable is offensive. Someone who disagrees, even forcefully, will have their comment published, even if in my reply I'll skewer them ;) However, if a comment crosses the line to just a barrage of insults, it's not getting published.
This is my little section of the Internet and those are the rules. It's like going into someone's house, dropping your pants and taking a crap in the middle of their living room. Since I caught this fool unzipping, I avoided any damage. This is my house. I can reply at will and I did.
Someone on an online forum I frequent posted this video to comment on this week's events. I think it's very apropos, so enjoy. It's pretty funny. I added another from Chris Rock follows simply because he's brilliant.
Saturday Night Live - Excedrin for Racial Tension Headaches
Chris Rock on Race (hilarious)...
The most racist people in the world? "Old black men."
For those who cant see the SNL clip, here is the script that I found here:
Indistinguishable Black Woman (played by Queen Latifah): “Do I get stress headaches at work?” Yes, definitely. From the moment I get in, it's “Denise, we need this,” “Denise, we need that,” which is stressful, 'cause my name is Linda. Denise is the other black woman who works here.
By ten a.m., someone in the Copy room makes a joke about Kobe Bryant, and everyone looks at me to make sure it's okay. And I smile like it's okay, but, really, my head and neck are starting to throb.
Then, I spend the rest of the afternoon training my interns and answering their questions, like “Yes, black people use shampoo” and “No, I don't know any good reggae clubs around here” and, “Yes, Condoleezza Rice is very articulate. Why do you sound so surprised?” And, “No, I can't tell you where to buy weed.”
And that's when I reach for Excedrin—new Excedrin for Racial Tension Headaches.
Excedrin RT works fast, taking me from “Oh no you didn't!” to “I wish a motherfucker would.” I like that.
Voiceover: Excedrin Racial Tension Headaches—fast relief for hundreds of years of nagging pain.
(Please ignore the "read more" field below. I've got some renegade HTML code lurking somewhere.) Sphere: Related Content
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI followed your link from NP and was very curious to read your latest post. Unfortunately, two obstacles to full appreciation arise: the first video and cornerstone of the post (SNL-Excedrin for Racial Tension Headaches) is not accessible to viewers outside of the U.S. (and the use of proxy VPNs consistently louses my own network settings); and the "Read More..." link to the text portion after the Chris Rock video (brilliant, indeed!) is ineffective.
If you manage to fix the broken link (or is it only me?) for a complete viewing of your entry, would you be so kind as to append a synopis of the SNL video for the deprived non-U.S. visitors to your site? Thanks!
I didn't link it ;)
ReplyDeleteActually, you can't watch Hulu outside of the States. That was a huge frustration for me when I lived abroad. So, it's not me, it's you.
The "read more" glitch is actually just a glitch I was too lazy to fix last night when I updated it with the Chris Rock video. If you click around my blog, some entries collapse and you have to click "read more" to, well, read more. There isn't more to read on this so I'll get to fixing it.
Thanks for the swift follow-up!
ReplyDeleteYes, I know that Hulu videos "are not accessible to viewers outside of the U.S." That is why as asked if you would be so kind as to append a synopsis of the video's pertinent (to your musings) points to the current blogpost... whether it falls on the first page or after the phantom jump. ;-)
I missed that, sorry.
ReplyDeleteI was tired and cranky when I replied (slept late, missed my scheduled bus that I'd pre-paid for and had to pay for another - only $10 but still!)
I'll see if I can find the video via another site. But, if not, I'll try to summarize it when I get some down time (right now in Manhattan looking for a job) ;)
Thanks for that breakdown of the SNL video! Ah, the tales I could tell of my own run-ins with ignorragance [i.e., ignorant arrogance / arrogant ignorance... take your pick] across 'enlightened' Western and Northern Europe. But, sadly, they would not be unique! Sometimes, the best racial-tension stress reliever actually *is* to blow off some steam, come what may.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I was impressed with European art and culture, but I was not impressed with Europeans and how they deal with race. Granted, I'm generalizing to a whole continent.
I just remember being in Berlin and noticing how people in the Prenzlauer Berg section of the city were reacting to me walking around dining, shopping and drinking (I was staying in the area.) My host's solution wasn't "oh, wow, people reacting like that isn't good". Instead, it was "the black people are in this district of the city." Um, I wasn't asking where the black people were. I was pointing out that, at least in that neighborhood, a middle class black woman in that area was an anomaly. Not a really progressive approach to race, but this is worldwide.