America's soil of racism is fed by jokes and incendiary speeches,by stereotypical images and symbols like the Confederate flag. Just as Rush Limbaugh,Donald Trump and other members of the Republican Party regularly disparage people of colour and claim they are simply telling the truth,Schumer can use comedy as a protective shroud to deny the harm and hurt caused by her jokes. A joke is considered benign especially when told by a supposed white liberal feminist. We can distance ourselves from the anger,from the harm,from the ideology,and from the hatred of the"extreme,"but also find comfort in the same anger,ideology and hatred that is"just a joke."
This rhetoric isn't just ugly. It contributes to a worldview that justifies a broken immigration system,mass incarceration,divestment from inner city communities,that rationalises inequality and buttresses persistent segregation and violence. Yet nobody wants to take responsibility for spewing rhetoric that breeds the fear that results in soaring gun purchases,that"inspires"monsters like Dylann Roof to craft a manifesto with deadly consequences.
Comedy has always played an instrumental role in advancing social justice,in pushing society to look into the mirror,to reflect on the inconsistencies and contradictions. Schumer herself has shined a spotlight on rape culture,misogyny and sexism. But when it comes to race,she betrays this tradition. Blind or not,joking or not,Schumer used her stage to play and profit off race while people of color bearing the brunt of racial violence.
Several people have rushed to her defence,arguing that Schumer can't be racist because she doesn't intend to be. But the motivation of the joke-teller and what compels laughter is not at issue.
While black families are burying their dead,churches are burning,black women church pastors are receiving death threats and the KKK is planning rallies in South Carolina,Schumer is"playing"with race. While Latinos are being deported in record numbers,while 80 per cent of Central American girls and women crossing Mexico en route to the US are raped,while children are languishing in camps in the south-west,Shumer has got jokes,and only white America is laughing.
Stacey Patton is a senior enterprise reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education,an adjunct professor of American history at American University,and the author ofThat Mean Old Yesterday.David J. Leonard is Associate Professor and chair in the Department of Critical Culture,Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University,Pullman.
Washington Post