think before you slate

the other day, i posted to my facebook page a hilarious REMIX of a news INTERVIEW with charles ramsey, the cleveland man who helped free amanda berry and two other women from the house where they had been held captive for nearly a decade. in response to my post, a friend of mine directed me to this SLATE ARTICLE, which, in so many words, alleges that the only reason why he (and antoine dodson and sweet brown before him) has gone viral is because of an unconscious desire to see black people "perform," and further alleges that all three of those videos play into the most basic stereotyping of black folks as ghetto and/or uneducated.

now, i have no issues with the person who sent the article to me, because he's a well-educated, worldly, funny guy who is responsible in both thought and action. what i DO have an issue with, however, is the slate article, because it smacks of two of the things i detest most in the world — "political correctness" gone awry, and hypocrisy.

first of all, the videos aren't funny because they play into a stereotype, they're funny because THEY'RE FUCKING FUNNY. that wonderful ghetto vernacular flies in the face of the stoic, square reporters who are asking the questions. it transcends all of the padded language we hear every day. it's real. these people are who they are, not who someone else expects them to be, and that delights viewers. just because they fit into a stereotype doesn't mean that they're not funny. i know plenty of people and have seen plenty of youTube clips that feature people who fit into a stereotype, and they're wholly boring. these particular videos are viral because they deserve to be.

the REAL problem is that the irresponsible authors at slate simply latched onto the fact that all three of these videos feature black folks, which gave them an opportunity to cry "racism!" it is, after all, the "politically correct" thing to do, and they're in the business of being "politically correct." but i've got breaking news — black folks aren't the only stars of viral videos who fit a stereotype. what about the VIDEO of the texas dad who read some terrible remarks his daughter made about him on her FB page, stated what her punishment would be, and then emptied a full magazine into her laptop? he fits the stereotype of "'murica" to a TEE. a stereotype which, i might add, slate never seems to tire of contributing to. but no. 37 million views of a man publicly humiliating his daughter and i haven't been able to turn up one slate article about it in the first 5 of 12 pages of search results (by searching the name of the video, "facebook parenting"). and what about the VIDEO known as "star wars kid?" try and tell me that doesn't fit the stereotype of geek outcast or uncoordinated fat person. 27 million views, not one slate article purporting to care about what could very easily be viewed as crushing humiliation in the name of humor.

what i'm saying is that these videos aren't funny just because someone fits a stereotype. just like charles ramsey, they're funny because they make you laugh. it's not because ramsey is ghetto or the texas dad is redneck or the star wars kid is an uncoordinated goofball. THEY'RE JUST FUNNY. period.

unfortunately, because the people at slate suffer from white guilt and the disease known as "political correctness," they've embarked on a misguided journey to CREATE racism where it doesn't exist. the mere fact that they claim anyone finding it funny has an unconscious desire to see black people "perform" is a dead giveaway (see what i did there?) that THEY saw it as a black man "performing." who's the racist now? know how i saw it? a guy answering questions that made me laugh. that's it. not complicated. i saw a man who, despite having 3 convictions for domestic abuse that resulted in a 6-month jail sentence, performed a selfless and heroic act that gave three women their LIVES back. that's redemptive and awesome. but guess what? his answers to the questions were funny, sorry, that's just the way it is. that doesn't mean that he's a dancing house negro to me, it means that i laughed. it's a base human reaction, the people over at slate should check it out some time.

here's an invitation for slate. i'm a highly intelligent, well educated, professionally respected person who does and has done more good than bad in my life. i'm not racist, sexist, or homophobic, and i find that video and its remix funny as hell. you wanna judge someone? i'm right here — pick on someone your own size, motherfuckers.