I’ve said many times and for awhile now that one of the problems we have in America is that we are too uptight. Too uptight about sex. Too uptight about political correctness. Pretty much too uptight about just about anything there is to be uptight about. This is why the whole Tracy Morgan incident really irks me. For those of you that have had your head up your ass, at a recent comedy show in Tennessee Tracy Morgan said some “off color” remarks about gay people. His quote was (paraphrased) that if his son was gay he better come home and talk to him like a man or he’d stab him to death. Apparently this “offended” some people. One of the “offended” went to Facebook to describe why he was pissed. This led to Tracy making a “heartfelt” apology to the gay community claiming that, “I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others.” He and the pissed off man hugged it out. No problem right? Uh, no. I have a huge problem with this whole ordeal.
First of all, let me clear the air. I do not hate gay people. I actually support their rights to marriage and feel they should be able get the same rights as heterosexual married couples. Shit, think about all the “straight” marriages that end in divorce. My problem is with this guy getting his panties (no pun intended) in a bunch. Hey pal; YOU’RE AT A TRACY MORGAN STAND UP SHOW!!!!! What did you honestly expect? You even said in your Facebook post that you “figured some gay jokes would fly”. Now you’re upset? Seriously? I’ll admit that maybe this particular joke was a tad bit in the “gray” area but come on. Have you ever listened to Tracy Morgan’s standup or even an interview? The man loves his kids. I’m 99.9% sure that if his son was gay he would not stab him to death. It was all in the name of comedy. Would he be a little upset or possibly disappointed? Probably at first, then once the initial shock wore off he’d have unconditional love for his child. Honestly I’d be the same way and I guarantee most of you would too. Again, it was comedy and apparently from your own account the joke killed (again, no pun intended) with most in the audience.
Oh, you’re shocked that I said I, along with you would be a tad bit disappointed? Wake up people. Let’s not be uptight and get real for a second. How many people say when they are about to have a baby, “I hope my son/daughter is gay”? Exactly. Most people say that I hope my baby is healthy and you’ve all heard the quote I hope they have all their fingers and toes. Does that mean that if your baby has four fingers on one hand you wouldn’t be upset at first? You’re lying if you say no. After that initial shock you’d unconditionally love that child. To steal the line of the late, great Bernie Mac, Tracy was just saying what we are all thinking. Did he exaggerate? Yes, but the message is the same. If your child doesn’t come out the way you were expecting then you’d be thrown off a little but you’d still love them same. Don’t be uptight America.
Tracy Morgan even said it in his apology that he is an “equal opportunity jokester”. Meaning he got everybody. Mr. Kevin Rogers, did you laugh at his black jokes? How about the white ones? Fat jokes? You get the point. Yeah, I thought so. Look, I’m not saying that people shouldn’t get offended. But let’s take this in context. You’re at a comedy show. Comedians cross the line, that’s what they do. Are they politically correct? No. That’s why they are funny. They say shit that we normally wouldn’t in everyday conversation. That’s what makes them funny!!! If you were at work or at a restaurant then it’s a completely different story. You should have known what you were getting into when you bought the ticket. If you wanted PC comedy go on Netflix and rent a Bill Cosby DVD or go see Sinbad. I wouldn’t go to a Kenny Chesney concert and get pissed that I heard country music so don’t go to a comedian’s show who is known for edgy comedy and get pissed that he said something edgy.
The other thing about this that irks me is the whole apology. I’m not saying that Tracy Morgan wasn’t sorry. He seems like the kind of person that really wants everyone to like him. But it all seemed staged to me. To see him apologizing to the gay people he offended seems off to me. Does Chris Rock or any other black comedian owe me an apology for making white, fat jokes? Should every blonde or Polish person be apologized to? Seems kind of ridiculous doesn’t it? Yeah, I thought so. I get political correctness. I really do, but come on people. We are all different. People make fun of those differences. If America wasn’t so uptight maybe they’d get the joke.
Again I’m not anti-gay. I’m anti-uptight. Once again I agree there is a lot of hate in the world but I don’t see it at a comedy show. People need to know their surroundings. Hopefully this post will spark some discussion. Hopefully some people disagree with me and feel strongly. Hopefully strongly enough to leave a comment. The only way we as Americans will ever stop being so uptight is to talk about all the things that “they” say that we shouldn’t. (I sense an uptight sex post coming soon) Let’s have a dialog and get over all of these uptight feelings. Please. For the sake of society. For the sake of my sanity. Until next time this is Jimbo saying uptight is not alright and definitely not out of sight. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook at Obstructed Views and Twitter @Obs_Views_Blog…..that is if I didn’t piss off all of our readers.
No comments:
Post a Comment