This weekend the internet was in an uproar over the #cancelcolbert hashtag. A comedian made a sarcastic comment about racial insensitivity. That’s what comedians do. They bring light to controversial topics via comedy. Sometimes the jokes make their points brilliantly and sometimes they miss their mark, completely. But the outrage over the comments were almost as absurd as the Washington Redskins’ charity that the jokes were trying to make fun of in the first place.
We need to stop throwing the term “racist” around every time we get our feelings hurt. A racist is someone who belittles another race to show his race’s superiority. Colbert was never belittling another race to show his own racial superiority. He was belittling the owner of the Washington Redskins (Daniel Snyder), who also is not necessarily a racist. Snyder didn’t name the team. He bought the team when it already had its name. Because he chooses to not change the name of the team that has been in existence for over 40 years doesn’t make him a racist. It may make him racially insensitive or even a douche bag…but he’s not a racist. Hitler was a racist. David Duke is a racist. Steven Colbert is a comedian. Daniel Snyder is a racially ignorant business man. The irony is that through this whole mess…Colbert’s joke has drawn more ire toward him than Snyder has drawn for his deliberate insensitivity.
Second of all, in marriage, spouses are always told to pick your battles. The same goes here. If you’re the leader of a movement, and you’re trying to prove to the world that you should be taken seriously, you need to stand up against/for something that matters. Blowing your wad on a stupid joke makes you look petty. While there are real problems involving race and discrimination in the country, you’re wasting your time and our time on something that honestly doesn’t fucking matter. If my first impression toward your organization is that you waste your time on meaningless noise, then when something comes along that does matter, I won’t be there to support you. Ever read the story about the boy who cried wolf?
A great new album by the Cloud Nothings is out now. With only 8 songs, the band doesn’t waste our time with album fillers…because every song matters.
Here are the 11 Best Songs By The Cloud Nothings:
- Not Important (Cloud Nothings)
- Wasted Days (Attack On Memory)
- Stay Useless (Attack On Memory)
- Morgan (Turning On)
- You’re Not That Good At Anything (Cloud Nothings)
- Leave You Forever (Leave You Forever EP)
- Our Plans (Attack On Memory)
- Been Through (Cloud Nothings)
- Cut You (Attack On Memory)
- Should Have (Cloud Nothings)
- Didn’t You (Didn’t You)
Buy the Cloud Nothings new album, Here And Nowhere Else …now!!!