No one walks a rhetorical tightrope as deftly as Dave Chappelle.

That thought nagged at me while watching Chappelle's widely-anticipated
appearance last night on Saturday Night Live, where his guest-hosting stints
after major electoral events have become something of a tradition.

But Chappelle didn't devote much of his monologue to the midterm elections,
even though news had broken earlier in the day that Democrats had defied
expectations to likely retain control of the Senate. He spent more time
talking about Kanye West and antisemitism.

"Early in my career, I learned there are two words you should never say
together," Chappelle noted during his opening monologue. "Those words
are...'the' and 'Jews.' Never heard someone do good after they said that."

https://youtu.be/_m-gO0HSCYk

Chappelle was already a controversial guest; critics -- including me --
slammed his 2021 Netflix special The Closer for its homophobic and
transphobic jokes. He didn't apologize. As I said in my review, Chappelle
seems to think he's above criticism; for him, race seems to trump all.

That modus operandi was in full display Saturday night. As his monologue
unfolded, Chappelle negotiated a fine line - admitting West, now known as Ye,
said things so terrible that even Adidas, a company founded by brothers who
were members of the Nazi party in the 1930s, was offended ("I guess the
student surpassed the teacher.") But at the same time, the comic seemed to
suggest that Ye's barbs about Jewish people controlling the media and show
business - echoing classic antisemitic tropes - were not entirely untrue.
("I've been to Hollywood - it's a lot of Jews," he cracked. "Like, a lot.")

He also joked about Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who was suspended after
posting a link to an antisemitic film, called Hebrew to Negroes: Wake Up
Black America, that asserts the Holocaust never happened. Chappelle noted
Irving's "Black a-- was nowhere near the Holocaust."

One line in particular seemed to stun the audience, before they offered
scattered applause: "I know the Jewish people have been through some terrible
things all over the world. But you can't blame that on Black Americans."

What that has to do with a professional athlete posting a link to antisemitic
film with no explanation - and then taking several long days to disavow the
film's antisemitic content - I do not know.

What I do know, is that one of comedy's boldest and most incisive voices had
a chance to lend insight to the long struggle Black America has had with
antisemitism. But instead, his monologue seemed filled with justification and
minimization - failing to mention, for instance, allegations that Ye has
expressed admiration for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Yes, comedy isn't a news report. But if we're going to elevate particularly
skilled performers like Chappelle - because there's a sense their work also
contains powerful truths about society and life - then we also have to note
when they offer material that does the opposite and obscures an issue which
should be cut and dried.

The rest of Chappelle's Saturday Night Live appearance unfolded as a better-
than-average episode. A pre-taped parody of HBO's House of the Dragon
featuring additional Black characters, some inspired by figures from the
comic's legendary Comedy Central program Chappelle's Show (and Ice T as Light
Skinned Larry Targaryen) was particularly on point.

https://youtu.be/TybjwLS1VtA

Another bit featuring white anchors joking with a Black blues artist about
the title of his album Potato Hole - until he tells them it was a crevice
enslaved people dug to hide their most valued possessions from plantation
owners - also scored.

But Chappelle's monologue had already thrown me off balance; another moment
when an artist who fans admire for illuminating issues in surprising ways
chose a different path, letting us all down in the process.

--
Let's go Brandon!

> Ubiquitous
>
> But at the same time, the comic seemed to suggest that Ye's barbs
> about Jewish people controlling the media and show business -
> echoing classic antisemitic tropes - were not entirely untrue.

https://i.postimg.cc/XvfYBd64/1996-Moment-magazine.jpg

Ed Stasiak <edstasiak1067@gmail.com> wrote:

>https://i.postimg.cc/XvfYBd64/1996-Moment-magazine.jpg

Anti-Semite! I'm siccing Jonathan Greenblatt on you.

On 2022-11-13 at 13:33:40 CST, "Ubiquitous" <weberm@polaris.net> quoted in
toto:

<https://www.npr.org/2022/11/13/1136343690/dave-chappelle-saturday-night-live-antisemitism>

"If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to
criticize."
— Voltaire

On 2022-11-13, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
> No one walks a rhetorical tightrope as deftly as Dave Chappelle.

Well, Clayton Bigsby (the black white supremacist) is a pretty tough bit
to top even after nearly 20 years. (Though "The Niggars" comes pretty close!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLNDqxrUUwQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLOw_SzkRQ8

--
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rogblake@iname.invalid wrote:
> On 2022-11-13, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

>> No one walks a rhetorical tightrope as deftly as Dave Chappelle.
>
> Well, Clayton Bigsby (the black white supremacist) is a pretty tough bit
> to top even after nearly 20 years. (Though "The Niggars" comes pretty
> close!)
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLNDqxrUUwQ
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLOw_SzkRQ8

The "Racist Animals in Hollywood" bit is a fav of mine.

https://www.cc.com/video/yl4nz1/chappelle-s-show-frontline-racist-hollywood-animals-uncensored

--
Let's go Brandon!

On 11/14/22 10:16 PM, RichA wrote:
> On Monday, 14 November 2022 at 15:41:45 UTC-5, Ed Stasiak wrote:
>>> Ubiquitous
>>>
>>> But at the same time, the comic seemed to suggest that Ye's barbs
>>> about Jewish people controlling the media and show business -
>>> echoing classic antisemitic tropes - were not entirely untrue.
>> https://i.postimg.cc/XvfYBd64/1996-Moment-magazine.jpg
>
> Lets just say the love Jews profess for blacks isn't reciprocated, as you'd expect, when one
> group occupies the top of the monied class while that other is at the bottom.

Wow, you either make it all sound so simple or you make yourself sound
so simple.