I've barely tapped into this long rich read because I'm short on time, but I had to see your remarks about Chappelle. First, your identifying his target in mocking trans and handicapped people rings so true -- those who posture glibly and with great delight on social media to proclaim their moral superiority. I had been trusting Dave completely as a grounded and sane human being even without the clarity you just provided.
After one viewing of Dreamer I texted my sister: "I am reminded once again how totally brilliant and fearless he is. The last twenty minutes I was smiling and my mouth was open in astonishment." I want to watch this special again (no time right now), especially to see if I understood this line in context: "There is no more powerful dreamer than a trans man." I took it as a sign of genuine respect. I read an oblique reference to this line by a reviewer who took it as one last dig against the trans among us.
I look forward to a relaxed reading of the rest of this rich, ridiculous, roaming, and reflective Rubesletter that you always deliver.
Interesting. I saw the Gervais show last night and while I absolutely love him and have tracked his discontent for years (including great Sam Harris podcasts), I found it a bit tiring, stale, even cringy.
I’ll always have love in my ❤️ for Gervais not just because he was so excellent hosting the GG (the only reason I even watched it) but especially after his heart shattering work with After Life. He’s an icon. He’s tops. Just not last night. :(
Great piece. I personally think Chapelle/Gervais are targeting trans people and they're using their "talent" to shift the target over to the perfect victim of outrage culture. You can just tell when a joke is rooted in prejudice - Gervais more so than Chapelle as DC is a much more accomplished comedian than RG. That Sam Morill nails it with "why the sudden interest in women's swimming" ?? The whole thing with DC having a friend what committed suicide is another example of a perfect victim. Her suicide had nothing to do with him and it was a pretty low blow for him to use her death as a loophole so that we can't call him transphobic.
Of course outrage culture is a great target for a joke, but I can tell when that wasn't the nugget of truth that inspired the joke. I see you! I wish these geezers would just admit that they're kind of grossed out by trans people. It would be so refreshing!
I've barely tapped into this long rich read because I'm short on time, but I had to see your remarks about Chappelle. First, your identifying his target in mocking trans and handicapped people rings so true -- those who posture glibly and with great delight on social media to proclaim their moral superiority. I had been trusting Dave completely as a grounded and sane human being even without the clarity you just provided.
After one viewing of Dreamer I texted my sister: "I am reminded once again how totally brilliant and fearless he is. The last twenty minutes I was smiling and my mouth was open in astonishment." I want to watch this special again (no time right now), especially to see if I understood this line in context: "There is no more powerful dreamer than a trans man." I took it as a sign of genuine respect. I read an oblique reference to this line by a reviewer who took it as one last dig against the trans among us.
I look forward to a relaxed reading of the rest of this rich, ridiculous, roaming, and reflective Rubesletter that you always deliver.
Interesting. I saw the Gervais show last night and while I absolutely love him and have tracked his discontent for years (including great Sam Harris podcasts), I found it a bit tiring, stale, even cringy.
I’ll always have love in my ❤️ for Gervais not just because he was so excellent hosting the GG (the only reason I even watched it) but especially after his heart shattering work with After Life. He’s an icon. He’s tops. Just not last night. :(
Some of your best stuff, dude. Insightful and hilarious
Great piece. I personally think Chapelle/Gervais are targeting trans people and they're using their "talent" to shift the target over to the perfect victim of outrage culture. You can just tell when a joke is rooted in prejudice - Gervais more so than Chapelle as DC is a much more accomplished comedian than RG. That Sam Morill nails it with "why the sudden interest in women's swimming" ?? The whole thing with DC having a friend what committed suicide is another example of a perfect victim. Her suicide had nothing to do with him and it was a pretty low blow for him to use her death as a loophole so that we can't call him transphobic.
https://michaelhobbes.substack.com/p/dave-chappelles-some-of-my-best-friends
Of course outrage culture is a great target for a joke, but I can tell when that wasn't the nugget of truth that inspired the joke. I see you! I wish these geezers would just admit that they're kind of grossed out by trans people. It would be so refreshing!